Tag: holidays

Seasons of Giving

It is that times of the year… Thanksgiving has already passed and Christmas is right around the corner. In fact, Christmas is tomorrow. Christmas has always been one of my favorite holidays growing up and it is still is to this very day. I love waking up early and seeing the presents under the Christmas tree. I feel like one thing has changed, especially as I have gotten older. I still enjoying getting presents and I love giving them away, but I feel like those are so materialistic these days. Like  the newest iPhone or computer or something like that. This quote says it the best. “I think as you grow older your Christmas list gets shorter, because the things you want cannot be bought.” I guess what I am saying is that the littlest of things is what matters like being in someone’s presence or getting a gift that actually matters and is low cost. I feel like one of the best things you can give someone else, especially around the holidays is your time, love and presence.

In other words, I think a great gift is one that keeps on giving or paying it forward. There is a movie about that.  Best of all those kinds of gifts come free or at least they should. I think that is why I want to try to volunteer my time or things I do not need anymore because if I do not need it then maybe someone else might. I have to remind myself that there are people who are less fortunate than me. I wish I could give more because I always believe in helping others. It is in our best nature to help others. That is why I hate how much this world has become the cars, houses, iPhones, jewelry and things we buy with our money. It is such a shame and I hope we can change that now, not only for our generation, but for the ones to follow.

So I guess what I am trying to say is best said in the following quote by Pierre Corneille. He says “The manner of giving is worth more than the gift.” So what he and I are trying to say is that the fact that we are giving is more important than the gift itself because that is what the holidays are all about. Even donating to charity, whether it is a dollar or donating school supplies or scarves and hats to the homeless shelters goes a long way. Those are just some examples, but I am sure there are some other ways in which to give a meaningful gift. Even donating your talents to a good cause can be a way of giving. I want to encourage my readers to think of some way they can give back to something or someone they really care about. That is something we all cherish. Happy holidays everyone!!

My Free Gifts

I could buy you all of the materialistic things that
Do not matter or get you a lifetime of laughter.
I can be your solider who can fight and combat
Next to you. I can give you what comes after.
I can be a light that shines within the darkness
Like a precious jewel that you cannot buy with
Money. I will stand with you in the starkness.
I can give you something that only a wordsmith
Can give you. Those are the things that do not cost
Anything because they already come free with me.
Darling, I know that when you are completely lost,
I will be the home and peace you come to. I would be
Everything you cannot find in something else. I am
The gift that keeps on giving to those that realize
That life is far from fake and becoming a sham.
There is something about me that makes me a prize.

All Things Long Distance

When I first think of long distance, I think of something along the lines of a long distance phone call or a long distance relationship. However, after thinking about it for a while longer, it goes far beyond that because you can also have a long distance friendship or relationship with family members. I remember when I was in college (on the East Coast), I had that kind of relationship with my friends and family who were out here in California. Now I am dealing with the same kind of thing over here with my friends and people who are like family to me on the East Coast. Long distance is one of the most challenging and difficult things to deal with. You do not always get to see them as much as you used to (it even happens sometimes when friends and family are close by too).

Luckily, I have not been in a long distance relationship (even though I have been pretty close to having one a couple of times with my first boyfriend and a guy I was “dating”). Like I said before, anything long distance can be challenging and extremely difficult. It takes a lot of strength, courage and a lot of patience. It is not for everybody (I know that), but also you go through so many obstacles it may (or may not) be worth it in the end. I know that I would learn so much from having one of those kinds of relationships. Sometimes those kinds of relationships/friendships are better than the other ones (I am lucky enough to have those who are far away and also close by). You cannot help but miss them.

I searched high and low (because I just did not want to focus on just long distance relationships, as in romantic relationships) for a great quote. I think that I found a pretty good one. “You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That’s the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.” I love that quote so much because wherever we go (whether it is across the United States or outside of this country) we always meet amazing people and they can sometimes become that person who means a lot to us. I am thinking of this long distance, especially with more of the holidays coming up (like Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s, etc.) because those holidays are about being together and sharing many moments together. Sometimes it is hard to celebrate because family, friends and others are not right there besides you physically, but for the most part they are there with you mentally.

This serves as reminder to my readers and everybody else to cherish those moments with people who are right besides you because you will never find anybody as special as them. Furthermore, do not forget about those who may seem far away because you will (eventually) see them again. Do not forget to cherish those moments (whenever you see them) with those people as well. Nobody said long distance was going to be easy, but you just have to hang in there. I wish everybody happy holidays. May you have a Merry Christmas, a happy New Year (and whatever else it is that you all celebrate). And like I said before, not all things last forever. In this case, long distance does not always last forever. Enjoy this poem.

Long Distance

You are running through my mind,
But there is nothing I can do about
It with you so far away. I am blind
To what people say. It is like a drought,
Parched and dried up with little hope
Left for the rain. I want to shout

 

That life is not fair. This frayed rope
Is all that I have left to hang onto just
Barely. How am I supposed to cope?

How am I supposed to survive? We must
Fight for whatever is left, although I
Just want to give up. I put my full trust

Into you. I suppose that I could lie
And tell you that I do not want this
Anymore, but all we can do is still try.

We are supposed to be getting bliss
And happiness, but it is all on trial.
We are still in this endless abyss.

With all the distance and every mile
That is between us, there is audacity.
I may never want to live in denial

Ever again. This takes a lot of tenacity
And lots of hard work, but somewhere
Deep inside it takes us our full capacity.