2007 has come and (almost) gone, and it has been a very busy year. Despite all the assignments, tests, and challenges it has still been a great year with many good times and good health.
I wish you all a happy new year, and I hope you keep those new year’s resolutions until at least the end of January!
It’s finally the holiday season after some arduous final exams. Lots of studying, stressing, and constantly awakening pre-exam nights kept this month quite busy thus far. Now I’m finally on my holidays and I’m looking forward to sleeping in, all the chocolate, and the chance to catch up with friends and relatives.
Of course, when people think of meeting up with “annual relatives” during the holidays they often think of gifts! It’s amazing how much marketing has changed the mentalities of consumers and made Christmas an almost purely commercial event. It’s as if everyone says, “let’s give the economy a big push before the New Year!” I’m not opposed to the idea of gift giving or having a period of the year where we promote economic growth, but there’s no reason why we couldn’t have that same amount of growth spread out over the entire year instead of at the end of the year.
It is because of the commercialization of Christmas that everyone justifies not giving gifts throughout the year except on birthdays or other occasions. And now the general consensus is that we are almost expected to give gifts during the Christmas season and when we give gifts at other times of the year, we must have some ulterior motives. At least this makes guys look good if they give gifts laced with the line, “just because.”
The holidays should really be about rest, family, close friends, and welcoming the New Year after twelve months of hard work. Not everyone will feel the effects of my claim, but it wouldn’t hurt to consider the aforementioned as a possibility during the last weeks of December. We don’t get as much opportunities throughout the year to make the memories that will last, take the photos we will remember, and share the special meals we get to enjoy on an annual basis. It is without a doubt a special set of days, and it would do us all good if we had a safe, relaxing, and planned holiday season.
I wish you all the best in the coming year, and may your goals come to light despite the darkness of doubts.
My Christmas List (Sung by Simple Plan)
Santa is coming tonight,
And I want a car, and I want a life.
And I want a first class trip to Hawaii,
And I want a lifetime supply,
Of skittles and slurpees and Eskimo pies.
A want a DVD, a big screen TV.
JUST BRING ME THINGS THAT I DON’T NEED.
‘Cuz now it’s Christmas,
And I want everything,
I can’t wait. Christmas!
So don’t stop spending,
I want a million gifts, that’s right.
Don’t forget my Christmas list tonight.
‘Cus now it’s Christmas!
With Christmas but a week away, a lot of us are/will be scrambling to buy those perfect somethings for their perfect someones. A stroll through the mall, and you shall encounter a sea of people, covering every floor space there is, flowing through the place like fluid mosaic. Some shopping centers, trying to capitalize on this money earning occasion, offer extended shopping hours. Just a few days ago, my family went on a shopping adventure, returning to destination home-sweet-home no sooner than 1am.
Somehow, it feels as though the meaning of Christmas has been lost with all the buying, spending, gift-wrapping and giving. A lot of us has turned this time into a “me, myself and i” holiday. “I want this…I need that…Here is my Christmas list”.
I wish this year, my Christmas will be…
- a chance to reflect about its true meaning.
- a meaningful time spent with family and friends.
- another reason to be thankful for grace and salvation.
Magnificent and glorious can’t even begin to describe the sight! There I was, 6:45 am, on a cold winter’s day. Seated on the bus with my head leaning against the wide window, I gazed at the horizon, for a moment forgetting the dreadful day of classes ahead. It started off as a small beam, shyly taking covers behind a large, dark cloud. As the minutes passed, the beam glowed with more intensity, slowly brightening the sky, one patch at a time. The sky was soon painted by a palette of colors- canary yellow, raspberry red, eggplant purple…
Be captivated by the mysteries of the night! Looking above, what do I see? A world of wonders, imagination; a story of creation. Twinkling, sparkling stars, contrasted with the endless canvass of darkness. The moon, hung ever so lazily in mid-air. Breath in the cool, refreshing air and hear the songs of the wind. I stand in awe, and at the same time, in humility of how insignificantly small our planet is.
Look to the direction of the Light! Such wonderful contrasts of day and night. When I see such beautiful creations, I am naturally drawn to the Creator. The magnificent sunrise speaks of a glorious day, a new beginning, a fresh start, a second chance. The mysterious night whispers messages of comfort. How reassuring to know the God who created the stars in the sky, is also the God who listens to my prayers! Surely, God is good.
When I turn my eyes to heaven,
More than beauty there I see.
I know God always keeps His promise,
And I know that He keeps me.
What colour is the sky at this very second?
When was the last time you looked up to the sky? Most of the time our eyes are down to read a book, at eye level to watch television, or focused in the distance at oncoming traffic, but when do we ever need to look up except on the rare occasion? Most of our time is occupied behind screens of some sort, whether it’s a computer screen, a television, or even the screen on your mobile. We are surrounded by distractions everywhere we go, and it’s almost as if we distract ourselves just to stay occupied. (Ironically, I’m trying to kill time by writing an entry since the computer lab is not open as yet.)
One thing we should do every now and then is to take a good look at the sky. It’s almost like watching a big fish tank in slow motion. Sometimes the lights are on, sometimes the occupants are totally gone. But one thing is for sure, it’s almost always relaxing. When you look up, don’t try and predict what the weather will be like, or what types of aircraft you see. Just revel in the beauty of the sky, and let it relax you.
So the next time you’re standing outside and waiting on something, take a deep breath and give your eyes the chance to venture above you for a bit. It’ll help keep you down-to-earth.