Twelve drummers drumming

On the twelfth day of Christmas, endless joy does abound
and those we hold dear, we should gather around
to praise and be thankful for the blessing we live
and resolve in our hearts this to others to give.

So, who is ready to make the leap? Who is make the effort to just get back to basics? Though today might be the (almost) last day of Christmas, it still isn't too late.

But perhaps I should ask the real question: who has the courage to make the change? It is easy to sit back and talk about getting together, and it is not the biggest challenge we face to be a bit more open and communicative with our families. It's a nice start, but it's just that: nice, and a start. Yes, it's technically true that even the smallest change is movement toward change, but such small, individual, even familial changes are not all that enduring. Bigger change needs a bigger effort, and bigger efforts require a bigger dose of courage. It's not enough that we decide to change for ourselves, we have to take that change out into the world.

Why is it that most of us are too hesitant to bring this kind of change to the world? Why do we shy away from suggesting, perhaps even insisting on, cooperation instead of the standard, brutal, self-defeating competition? Each one of us needs to answer this question for him or herself, no doubt about it, but I think it has something to do with simply being afraid.

Most of us know the bully, the loudmouth, the cocky, self-convinced "winner", the alpha-types, the … well, you can fill in the blank. And most of us know at least one, if not more, of these types who is simply acting that way to cover over a terrible inferiority complex. In the "game" (where all this competition takes place), it's easy to be someone else: the go-getter, the doer, the mover, the shaker, the one always chasing after the "prize", however we may imagine that prize to be. But the more time you spend looking for other things, the less time you have to find yourself. Anyone, with a little effort, can play a role, what takes much more confidence and self-assurance to be yourself. As they say, you just can't talk the talk, to be you, you have to walk the walk as well.

One of the by-products of this time of year is the opportunity to go within, to take a deep, hard look at ourselves, not in terms of pre-set goals, hopeful ambitions, or personal accomplishments. All of those are changing and fleeting. The only prize worth claiming, in the end, is your True Self, and it was this admonishment that was inscribed across the portal to the Temple of Delphi in Ancient Greece: know thyself. By the way, and just in case you were wondering, you're not going to find yourself by just looking in your head. No, instead, look deep into your Heart. That's where you'll have a much greater chance of succeeding.