Emotional Growth Spurt

Do you sometimes feel like you are going through a growth spurt?

I don't mean physical growth like when you were a kid and your bones hurt from growing.

I mean a mental/emotional/understanding/awareness growth spurt?

I do not know why, but this holiday season I feel I am gaining clarity on so many things!

I asked a question on Facebook the other day to my Jewish friends about Christmas cards. Yes, I know that Hanukkah is the appropriate holiday for Jews, but my question, which I had never thought of before, was: If *I* celebrate Christmas and I am sending Christmas cards (because that is the holiday I celebrate) is it rude to send them to my Jewish friends? Is it considered rude? Should I go out and buy Hanukkah cards?

There was mixed response. Some people felt it was okay, as long as it was sent in the spirit of love and inclusion.

Others felt that while it wouldn't perhaps necessarily *offend*, it may be received with eye rolling for wishing someone to have a Merry holiday they don't celebrate.

I'm still on the fence about it, actually, but I feel like even asking the question or having the thought process creates growth and promotes understanding.

Personally, I can understand it both ways. I feel like if I am celebrating Christmas and I send out Christmas cards the MESSAGE I am sending is not necessarily about the specific holiday. To ME the cards represent a feeling of love and caring that I want to extend to the person receiving it. I am sending the card to tell that person that I love and care about them and that they hold a special place in my life.

If I were to receive a Happy Hanukkah card from a friend, I would be appreciative of them thinking of me and of including me in their celebration. I would be honored to know that they cared about me enough to include me in their holiday wishes, no matter what holiday that might be, including Festivus, Ramadan, Kwanzaa or any other holiday of which I am not aware.

I think this is part of what I find so interesting about people (particularly here in the US) beating the drum that they are going to say MERRY CHRISTMAS, damnit! And if *you* don't say Merry Christmas then you are some kind of jerk.

I have been out and about the past few days and when people have said Merry Christmas to me I have noticed that it is coming across in one of two ways.

One: it is said with some measure of defiance! Merry Christmas GrRRRR....!!  Like they are just waiting to pounce should the person respond with something other than complete thankfulness at being wished Merry Christmas.

Two: it is said with some measure of weariness. Uhmmm MerryChristmas. Quietly, quickly. These people are afraid that they, too, will be pounced on for uttering the wrong words.

Really?

Are people really missing out on the point of the HOLIDAY season...??

The holidays, of which in the US Christmas is the one celebrated by the majority of people (not right or wrong, just current fact), are a time where we are supposed to remember that we are to love one another, be kind, be gentle, be grateful, and be accepting.

What difference does it make if the store clerk wishes you Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays or Happy Kwanzaa? The appropriate response is "Thank you!" The store clerk certainly doesn't know if you are Jewish or Christian or Atheist just by looking at you. The INTENT of the message is not to offend or be bigoted, it is simply to pass on a blessing for happiness.

Another area of growth I have noticed is regarding religious beliefs in general. I am not what one would call religious. I have my belief system, but I do not participate in organized religion.

You know what? This belief of mine does not make it impossible for me to support and appreciate and congratulate those around me who DO participate in organized religion. I do not need to ignore Hanukkah because I am not Jewish. I do not need to ignore the excitement of a friend who has been baptized for one year today. This was obviously a big moment in her life. She is understandably excited to share. And I am happy for her!

Simply because her beliefs and my beliefs, or her level of participation and my level of participation are different, doesn't mean I cannot share in her happiness, and support it even. My support of her in no way diminishes my OWN beliefs or happiness.

I am in the midst of a growth spurt of clarity and enlightenment. It is amazing and freeing. I do not need to resent or ignore or have any negative feelings towards those who celebrate or pray in a different way than I do. I only need to maintain my faith and be respectful of theirs.

So, with that said....Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Ramadan! Happy Kwanzaa! And Happy Holidays! to each and every one of the people who come and read this blog. I appreciate you being here and I look forward to continuing to share my life with you.

Jackie O

You know, I always thought that I liked Jackie Kennedy. She was America's Royalty, camelot and all that. She was glamorous, yet she came from a modest background.

We couldn't help but feel some affection and sorrow for her...watching her husband get shot right in front of her; witnessing Lyndon B. Johnson get sworn in on air force one, still wearing her pink Chanel suit spattered with her husband's blood.

Later we watched her at President Kennedy's gravesite, holding the hands of her two small children, the former First Lady, now suddenly alone.

In later years, as she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, and raised Caroline and John Jr, she was seen as a glamorous woman with style and grace. Her second husband passed away in 1975, only 12 short years after the death of her first.

She never remarried. Instead she went on to become a book editor and was known for her love and support of architecture and the arts. She lived in Manhattan and kept a relatively low profile. She passed away from cancer in 1994 at the age of 64.

I, like so many others, feel drawn to the Kennedy's in some way. I always felt a strange caring for Jackie Kennedy, losing her husband in such a traumatic way, being in the spotlight for an immensely emotional time, trying to raise her children and live a private life after the public spotlight. I had a tender spot for her.

When John Jr passed away, with his bride Carolyn and her sister Lauren, in a plane crash off Martha's Vineyard I was glued to the news and internet. I was shocked and saddened when the rescue and recovery efforts began to find luggage pieces and airplane parts on the beach.

Recently, however, I was looking up some quotes to use for my inspirational blog. I wanted to see what kind of thoughts and quotes had been attributed to Ms. Jackie-O, image icon and glamorous former First Lady.

I must say, I was somewhat shocked and disappointed. The quotes I found strike me as somewhat bitter and, I don't know, snobby, or prude? Here are a few examples:

He didn't even have the satisfaction of being killed for civil rights. it had to be some silly little Communist.

I don't think there are any men who are faithful to their wives.

I think the best thing I can do is to be a distraction. A husband lives and breathes his work all day long. If he comes home to more table thumping, how can the poor man ever relax?

I want minimum information given with maximum politeness.

Sex is a bad thing because it rumples the clothes.

The one thing I do not want to be called is First Lady. It sounds like a saddle horse.

I don't know what exactly I was expecting, but I guess this wasn't it. She has other quotes that I did like, such as:

There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all.

I want to live my life, not record it.

Now, I think that I should have known that he was magic all along. I did know it - but I should have guessed that it would be too much to ask to grow old with and see our children grow up together. So now, he is a legend when he would have preferred to be a man.

This one I did like:

If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do matters very much.

What do you think? I am reading it all wrong? Do you know of another quote by Jackie-O that is meaningful and inspirational?

I would like to think that there was more to her than what these quotes represent, but perhaps, like her life, she kept many of her best thoughts private.

Randy Pausch

"The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people!"

~Randy Pausch

The Last Lecture

If you are not familiar with Randy Pausch, you should really aquaint yourself with him.

For simplicity, I have added the Last Lecture to this blog.

Yes, it is long, over an hour.

But it is a stunningly important message to hear.

I was introduced to The Last Lecture through a college class of mine. A communications class, actually.

I have never forgotten the impact of this lecture.

I think of Randy's quotes often.

I have watched the video many times.

I have read his book many times.

Randy Pausch was a man who knew what living life was all about.

Randy Pausch was a dreamer, but more importantly, he was a doer!

Randy went after his dreams.

Even before his cancer diagnosis.

Randy knew how to dream and how important those dreams were.

Randy is another person who is the epitome of what Inspire the Light is all about.

Randy did not stop to worry about the brick walls in his way, he just figured out a way to achieve his childhood dreams, which were really his life's dreams.

I cannot encourage you enough to view the video clip above.

Take the time, with an open heart and mind, to hear what Randy is telling you.

You can achieve your dreams.

You can have the life you want.

But start now, because:

"Time is all you have and you may find one day that you have less than you think."

~Randy Pausch

The Last Lecture