What's on the way?

While I realize many of you have no antenna for religion, we shouldn't be so foolish as to think that it has no influence on our lives anyway. Christianity, generally speaking; that is, independent of the many flavors of it we encounter daily, is so deeply entwined in our Western culture that it is simply more often than not overlooked. Being aware of certain things within that culture doesn't put one at a disadvantage, and, believe it or not, there are some things in the culture that can be downright helpful. Yes, when it has to do with good things, picking and choosing is perfectly fine with me.

We, thankfully, have Black Friday behind us. Talk about perversions! The day after Thanksgiving in America has got to be the most insane "event" ever derived from twisted minds. The logic of allegedly being so thankful for everything one has that it one is compelled to rush out and get even more stuff simply escapes me. But, then again, I don't think a lot of stuff does much for us except collecting dust, and I hate to dust.

But, just for your information, tomorrow is "officially" the beginning of the "Christmas Season". Yes, in the Roman and most protestant churches, tomorrow marks the beginning of the Church Year. It is always the fourth Sunday prior to Christmas, and this period of a month leading up to Christmas is known as Advent, from the Latin adventus, meaning "arrival" or "coming". The original purpose of setting this time aside was to get ready for the big event of the year: the solstice, Christmas, the coming of the light ... any number of things, most of which I talked about last year.

Regardless of the religious or philosophical doctrine you subscribe to, it simply makes sense to periodically take a step back and think a bit about what you think and what you believe. In pure calendar terms, a new year will be starting soon and you may or may not want the next one to be like the last one. If that's the case, I suggest you take some time and think about what it is you really want. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, there couldn't be a better time: longer nights and colder days drive us inside, both literally and figuratively.

Do yourself the favor. Take some time. Give it all some thought. Get yourself sorted for what's on the way.