Peace on Earth?
I don't wish for much. Just peace really. It's not something Santa can bring or that my mother can send for Christmas. I mostly believe that if I wish hard enough, I'll get it. I'm mostly right. And completely thankful.
I've been a non-celebrator for awhile now. It started because I was broke, non-Christian, and far away from my family. It didn't help that I worked retail. Religiously, Christmas didn't fit and I refused to go into debt to buy gifts I couldn't afford. It's an easy holiday to get away with not celebrating. Once you say you're non-Christian, people tend to walk away and not ask too many questions. They don't get it and have no inclination to. Distance is their polite way of coping with something so far beyond their reasoning and ensures that they avoid the lightening bolts they feel will inevitably rain down from the sky at me.
Thanksgiving isn't as easy. I'm not a vegetarian nor an anorexic and refuse to pretend even for one week out of the year. This makes it hard to explain what I have against a holiday that encourages thankfulness and sanctions unlimited eating. For several years, friends invited me to spend Thanksgiving with their families, which while nice, generous, and a zillion other adjectives eventually turned into an exercise in frustration. I didn't want to spend time with family, especially a family that wasn't mine. I always came home full, yet unsatisfied, and strangely homesick.
After a few years, I stopped. I don't like to lie, but I've been known to do it vociferously to avoid complicated truths. 'Oh, thank you but I already have plans' was a common statement before I decided come out and admit that I just don't celebrate. Seriously, it's not fun celebrating with another family who has other traditions and which whom you and minimal history. Thanksgiving isn't about the meal, it's about family and tradition. I choose not to have that (working retail and getting barely twenty-four hours off for the holiday makes it nearly impossible anyway). My 'celebration' might be a trip to the Cracker Barrel for some turkey, dressing, and pumpkin pie, but that is the farthest I will go.
I've been called every name under the sun from Selfish to Scrooge. I've never understood why random people worry so much about my decision (which truly is MINE and impacts no one outside of my immediate family). I choose not to celebrate holidays. I make no judgements about people who do (even when they bitch about how horrible their family is and how much they hate spending time with them). It's not like I'm forcing my opinions about holidays on others or calling them names for wanting to celebrate. Their choice is theirs; my choice is mine. No relationship exists between the two.
Somewhere along the way, though, I saw the light and came to understand. I am at peace with my decision. In fact, my decision brought me peace. I don't celebrate 'holidays'. I don't have to worry about decorating, cooking, buying gifts, or how I'm going to pay off my credit card bills. They say that Christmas is a time of 'Peace on Earth'. I've yet to see it. They say Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks. I seldom see it. Maybe working retail has made me jaded, but Black Friday and a month of Christmas shopping chaos bring little thanks and even less peace. In my view, it's pointless.
Peace on Earth? I can only speak for myself. I wish for peace and I get peace. It's the only wish on my Wish List. Why so? Isn't there more that I want? Sure, I suppose. However, the way I see it, if I have peace, I have everything I need. It may not be a book deal or a house on a lake or new tires for my truck, but what good would all that stuff do if I didn't have peace to go along with it? I choose not to celebrate holidays. When I made that decision, when I decided to stop trying to force something I didn't want to force, I discovered even more peace. While everyone else is freaking out, I get to enjoy yet another peaceful day. It's perfect, really.
I've been a non-celebrator for awhile now. It started because I was broke, non-Christian, and far away from my family. It didn't help that I worked retail. Religiously, Christmas didn't fit and I refused to go into debt to buy gifts I couldn't afford. It's an easy holiday to get away with not celebrating. Once you say you're non-Christian, people tend to walk away and not ask too many questions. They don't get it and have no inclination to. Distance is their polite way of coping with something so far beyond their reasoning and ensures that they avoid the lightening bolts they feel will inevitably rain down from the sky at me.
Thanksgiving isn't as easy. I'm not a vegetarian nor an anorexic and refuse to pretend even for one week out of the year. This makes it hard to explain what I have against a holiday that encourages thankfulness and sanctions unlimited eating. For several years, friends invited me to spend Thanksgiving with their families, which while nice, generous, and a zillion other adjectives eventually turned into an exercise in frustration. I didn't want to spend time with family, especially a family that wasn't mine. I always came home full, yet unsatisfied, and strangely homesick.
After a few years, I stopped. I don't like to lie, but I've been known to do it vociferously to avoid complicated truths. 'Oh, thank you but I already have plans' was a common statement before I decided come out and admit that I just don't celebrate. Seriously, it's not fun celebrating with another family who has other traditions and which whom you and minimal history. Thanksgiving isn't about the meal, it's about family and tradition. I choose not to have that (working retail and getting barely twenty-four hours off for the holiday makes it nearly impossible anyway). My 'celebration' might be a trip to the Cracker Barrel for some turkey, dressing, and pumpkin pie, but that is the farthest I will go.
I've been called every name under the sun from Selfish to Scrooge. I've never understood why random people worry so much about my decision (which truly is MINE and impacts no one outside of my immediate family). I choose not to celebrate holidays. I make no judgements about people who do (even when they bitch about how horrible their family is and how much they hate spending time with them). It's not like I'm forcing my opinions about holidays on others or calling them names for wanting to celebrate. Their choice is theirs; my choice is mine. No relationship exists between the two.
Somewhere along the way, though, I saw the light and came to understand. I am at peace with my decision. In fact, my decision brought me peace. I don't celebrate 'holidays'. I don't have to worry about decorating, cooking, buying gifts, or how I'm going to pay off my credit card bills. They say that Christmas is a time of 'Peace on Earth'. I've yet to see it. They say Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks. I seldom see it. Maybe working retail has made me jaded, but Black Friday and a month of Christmas shopping chaos bring little thanks and even less peace. In my view, it's pointless.
Peace on Earth? I can only speak for myself. I wish for peace and I get peace. It's the only wish on my Wish List. Why so? Isn't there more that I want? Sure, I suppose. However, the way I see it, if I have peace, I have everything I need. It may not be a book deal or a house on a lake or new tires for my truck, but what good would all that stuff do if I didn't have peace to go along with it? I choose not to celebrate holidays. When I made that decision, when I decided to stop trying to force something I didn't want to force, I discovered even more peace. While everyone else is freaking out, I get to enjoy yet another peaceful day. It's perfect, really.
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