I had to go to shopping yesterday.  Time was running out and things just had to be done.

I went to an outdoor shopping area, so it wasn’t the horrible mall yucky that I make a point to avoid every year.  As I was finishing up and walking toward my car, there was a man on a ladder trimming one of the olive trees.  He was into his work and carefully relieving the tree of the overgrown branches it no longer needed.  He was smiling and, at least to my passing eyes, he seemed at peace, content in his trimming.  A little oasis in a sea of rushing and racing for no reason.

Who knows, he may have been fretting about his Christmas list, but I don’t think so.  He was tethered, connected to a tree that was there well before November and will remain long after December 25th.  This man seemed safe to me and I took a deep breath as I continued moving toward my car.  The angst of having to be “out among ’em,” as my mother would say, drifted away and one thought came to my mind…

This will all pass.  Breathe.

Michael and the men he sails with lost one of their own this week.  He must have somehow gotten lost in the mess of life. The holidays are such an incredibly difficult time for so many.  They should be a time of peace and calm, but instead they tend to emphasize all that doesn’t work in our lives, the things that don’t quite make the grade or the Christmas picture. It’s all temporary.  We all have bruises and nothing is perfect.

If you are reading this, please find the olive tree, let the sun peaking through the clouds warm your face, breathe and hold on.  This will all pass.

My thoughts from the laundry room.  Stay In.

holidays life pain people sadness Christmas coping culture hope life love olive trees people thoughts