Christmas Thoughts

There was a time ... I remember. I see it in my mind's eye. I was not here, but far away. I put myself there again, for a while.

I look out at the ocean. The shallow water is pale green and flat. Calm and peaceful. Tranquil. Pretty, even. Today. The ocean is beautiful today. Another day the ocean will be angry. It will be a killer.

Life is like that. One day life is calm, peaceful, beautiful. Another day life is turmoil. Perhaps the ocean is a metaphor for life. Or, perhaps life is a metaphor for the ocean. After all, the ocean was here first. The ocean gave birth to life. Life is a child of the ocean. We all carry some of the ocean in us. It is part of our blood, part of our sweat, part of our tears. Our body fluids share their chemistry with the sea. The sea is our mother. I suppose if the sea is our mother, then the Sun must be our father. Surely light came first. Light, and the warmth it provides, preceded everything.

But enough of memory. Today is day five before Christmas 2020, for those who celebrate Christmas. Today is cloudy and wet in my small city. The temperature is 38°F. A cold but gentle rain falls. I have moved my chair in front of the fireplace. I have a fire log burning in the fireplace. The log casts its heat and light onto my bare legs and body. It feels very, very good. For me, there has always been something primeval and lush about warmth on a cold day.

I have nothing to say today. I have written many words and said nothing. So I sit in my chair in front of my fireplace, holding my phone with both hands, with my elbows propped on the arms of my chair, and I dictate into the phone. The phone writes down everything I say and when I am done, a few taps on the phone will transfer what I have spoken into a blog post. What a world we have created! I hope a jovial Christmas spirit grants your wishes.