- What’s Worth Celebrating?
By Roderick Reed
What a year. The never ending Presidential Campaign and election are finally over. Everyone feels the fatigue. There have been wars, terrorism, and climate disasters .Much news about shootings of and by police. An escalating civil war in Syria. 2016 has provided an amazing assault on our senses with all the overwhelming news this year. Did we forget the surprising results of England voting to leave the EU?
How do we face all this uncertainty in the world and still manage to be hopeful and content? The answer is to Stay Home.
French Philosopher Blaise Pascal famously wrote, “All of humanities problems stems from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” I am not suggesting that we all send ourselves to a self-imposed solitary confinement. The “spirit” of his words reminds us that home can be a place comfort and renewal. I think people have forgotten that your home is a sanctuary where you can control the information you receive, or overhear, what you see, the music and even what’s served for dinner and there’s no tipping required!
Be a little old school. Ignore all the media devices such Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest etc. Instead read a paper book, listen to music or hear silence. Alternatively you may watch a little TV or cuddle with your wife in front of the fireplace. Make this the time to think of your home as a place of beauty and not simply the place where you hang your hat. Turn your home into a place of reflection and respite.
If being home starts to heal your worn out “2016 state of mind” than what could better than to share it. Invite friends over and simply order a pizza. Or have a neighbor over and merely open a bottle of wine and look at the ocean we are so fortunate to have at our disposal.
Having family and friends over brings its own set of complications. Opinions, misunderstandings and feuds bring their own set of headaches. Invite those people anyway. Distance never improved any of those situations.
The bottom line is to rediscover your home. The money you save by not leaving your home to dine, dance or watch a movie may now be available to buy “that painting “ you love. Hang it and adore your evolving home environment. You may find your home is the coolest place that you could possibly be. Celebrate it.
