I don't know about you, but I can already tell a difference in my mood and energy levels from the change in the season, daylight savings time, and beginning of the holiday shopping season. Not sure if it's the Sun going down at a very early 5 pm, the looming annual tensions in the family about holiday get-togethers, or my uncouthe experience the other night buying an I-phone at Walmart, when Black Friday began at 6 pm Thursday night. Note to self, do whatever you can to order all Black Friday stuff next year online.
But I count my blessings. Family, the love of a good wife, friends, my avocation and income, and above all else the mercy of Our Savior. He has seen me through a lot, as He does for all of us, through this Valley of Tears. But while the valley has its shadows, I am thankful for the Fall season, the beautiful foliage, weekend outings to hike, camp, and fish. This year we keep the Christmas shopping to a minimum to save for a down payment on a house. Life is hard some days, but it is good!
Challenges.
This year I have a plan to combat the seasonal affective disorder that seems to affect most if not all of us, as the daylight decreases, our skins become more pale, and our serotonin levels drop as Earth gets further away from the Sun. Cheerful music in the house, keep as many lights on as possible, but get outside in the daylight as much as possible. Eat my lunch sitting in the Sun, pray my morning prayers on the front porch.
Our bigger challenge this coming Advent/Christmas season seems to be the god-forsaken secularist version of the Season. Materialism to its max, while the light of the Manger grows more and more dim each year.
Too, as for many, my challenge is to have Peace of Mind, knowing that my extended family has for years been distant and somewhat at odds with each other. When part of the penitential spirit of Advent, in preparation for the coming of the Christ Child, is to magnify more and more our love of one another, that becomes a spiritual challenge. To not give into the turmoil that seems to subtly if not overtly affect many families at Christmas.
So my endeavor this year, as with every year, is to focus on the spiritual center of this Season, to observe the Church's customs of penance for Advent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The mission will be a deeper conversion of heart to the Mercy of God, shown to the world in the Incarnation, and therefore a deeper peace of mind.