5. "SNAP OUT OF IT!!"
Remember the scene in "Moonstruck" after Cher has slept with Nicholas Cage and he tells her he has fallen in love with her? She slaps him and tells him to "snap out of it!" It is a memorable scene because her reaction is so unexpected. It seems to me everyone could use such a slap every now and then... especially during this holiday season.
Will someone please tell me why everyone seems so compelled to repeat the same routines year after year after year... without true heart joy and depth of spirit? Is it really necessary to send out cards to people only because they send to you and not because you truly want to keep in touch? How many parties are you attending out of duty rather than desire? Is this why some seem older than others... because their lives are so routine and predictable? Or perhaps being in a rut is what causes aging unnecessarily.
And what about this "big 2000" New Year celebration hype? Why is it that so many people have been agonizing about their plans of where to be if they're married, and if they're single, who to be with when the clock strikes 12:00 midnight? There is definitely more stress with this year end than ever before, never mind all the Y2K business.
I can just imagine how we earthlings must appear to the more intelligent life forms. We must look like little lemmings rushing about from maze to maze in a frenzy of activity, wearing ourselves out and killing ourselves slowly with the stress factors. Just watch people shopping in the malls or circling the parking lots, everyone looking dazed yet driven. Count how many people you actually see smiling, I'll bet you only need one hand.
It IS true that there should be some special thought given to this particular time of year. Every year end does in fact herald a new year of beginnings. It IS good to look over the past and reminiscence, but only for one reason. That one reason is to recognize how far one has traveled, or not traveled. Holidays are like sign posts that measure the distance of one's journey from one year to the next.
My guess about people who find themselves repeating all the routine without thought have lost their way. Somehow they've gotten stuck in the maze and continue to simply bump along the walls without realizing that there is an exit at every corner. Their journey has become one of predictability down a narrow path of barren landscape. No wonder one sees so many walking zombies with that colorless expression on their faces.
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