Phil’s Filings

Greetings from a Green Christmas in Wisconsin! There’s been only a tiny bit of snow where I live, and it’s melted away every time it’s fallen, so while it’s not a Christmasy look, our grass sure looks better than it should.

I must confess — for this fourteenth annual Christmas Eve message that I send/post/tweet/semaphore/
smoke signal, I was at a loss as to what to write. Most years, a theme or idea presents itself pretty easily. But not this year, for some reason. Maybe after almost a decade and a half of writing these, I’ve run out of ideas that I can use. I certainly could repeat the core of an idea; I’m sure most of you wouldn’t reply saying that I was repeating myself. (But I know some of you would; that’s probably why we’re friends.)

So, I started taking stock of the year. Like all years, there are bright spots that stand out. For me, it had to have been our trip to London, Cardiff, Paris and other cities. Both my wife and I fell in love with both cities, and we both desperately want to go back. One week was not nearly enough time to explore all the places we went, but it was enough to bring back memories that will last a lifetime.

As exciting as that trip was, and as beautiful the memories and pictures that we have are, there’s not really a message I can share from that, other than “Go visit London! See Paris!” Then I sound like a travel agent, and I’m not sure that’s the impression I want to leave with you this year.

But suddenly, my thoughts turn to the opening for this year’s message. It’s a Green Christmas. My mind keeps turning that word “Green” over and over, And, in a revelation that may not be surprising to you, my mind also thinks of the song “Bein Green”, as marvelously sung by Kermit the Frog. I don’t normally subscribe to deep thoughts sung by a talking amphibian — oh, who am I kidding? Of course I do. I had “Rainbow Connection” played at my wedding reception. There is a lot of wisdom that can be gleaned from the Muppets. To wit:

But green’s the color of spring
And green can be cool and friendly-like
And green can be big like a mountain
Or important like a river
Or tall like a tree
When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why
But why wonder why wonder
I am green, and it’ll do fine
It’s beautiful, and I think it’s what I want to be

True wisdom there. Kermit becomes happy with who he is when he thinks of what the color green can symbolize.

But I want to concentrate on that first line — green is the color of spring. Spring — a time for renewal, for growth, for new life. A season where dormant trees sprout leaves again, new plants are growing, the sun is shining more brightly, days are becoming longer and warmer — it just signifies newness. And that’s what I want to leave with you this year — the newness of renewal. Take a moment, a minute, an hour, a day, a week — take whatever time you have available and think about becoming green. It can mean renewing friendships, it can mean starting new and better habits, it can mean just waking up each morning with a sense of “Hey, world, I’m going to change you today!”. It can be as simple as just smiling; it can be as complex as helping families.

When someone says “I hope you’re green,” I hope that it means more than just being environmentally friendly — I hope that it means that you are taking time to renew yourself, your spirt, your mind, your soul. You may do this with religion, you may do it with meditation, you may simply do it with your morning coffee — just renew yourself.

God bless you this Christmas and holiday season.

With love,
-Phil

Are you really thankfull, or just glad? Thankfullness involves gratitude to a person. More often than not these days, when someone says they’re thankfull they just mean “I’m glad (or happy) that…” Think about it and choose your words carefully.

Thank you!

– Mike Myers, November 9, 2010

Greetings to you on this Christmas Eve, whether it is a White Christmas like it is for me, a rainy Christmas for some, or a dry, warm Christmas for others.  This is my thirteenth time sitting down at the computer and writing something to my friends as Christmas Day awaits, and while it has grown past a simple Christmas greeting to several friends into a missive for dozens of E-mail addresses as well as a blog posting and Facebook entry, I find that this doesn’t detract from the idea of it being a personal message to each and every one of you.

The quote I used for this year’s installment of my annual Christmas Eve letter comes from my friend, Mike, in what turned out to be his last post on Facebook.  Sadly, the very next day, Mike and his wife Katie died in a tragic accident while celebrating their fifteenth wedding anniversary, and the world lost two young people full of energy and life and laughter.  All of their friends and family mourn the loss of Mike and Katie.

You might think this is an extremely grim subject to be thinking about on Christmas Eve.  But I’m not going to concentrate on the loss; instead, I want to think of what he left behind, namely these, his last words.  “Are you really hankfull?”

One could see this post as nothing but a simple lesson in choosing the right word to express your emotion.  Or, one could look more deeper into what he wrote.  Obviously, it was important to Mike to make sure that people heard his thoughts on being thankful.

In fact, his spelling of the word, with two l’s, is one I’ve not seen before, but after thinking about it, I find it quite telling of his views of gratitude.  After all, the word thankful means to be full of thanks.  Was it a misspelling on his part, or was it deliberately done to make sure we grasped his thoughts?

We’ll never know.  But at times like these, I choose to be the optimist, and I want to think there was more here than just a few misplaced keystrokes.  I choose to think of Mike telling us what thankfullness is — to be full of thanks and gratitude and not simply happy.

Each of us has something to be thankful for.  Some of us have had many blessings this year; some of us might be down on our luck.  Some of us may have an abundant of friends and family with us, some of us may be away from our loved ones right now.  But each of us has something that we can truly give thanks for, even if we don’t see it right away.

Me?  I’m thankful for my wife, my home, my health, my family, my friends.  That’s right — I’m thankful for you.  Your life and mine have intertwined some how, some way in the past 365 days, whether it’s a routine E-mail, an occasional chat, or just seeing each other’s Facebook posts.  You may have brought a smile to my face when I needed it, or I might have done the same
to you.  And I hope our friendship is cause for you to give thanks as it is for me.

Mike and Katie’s passing reminds us again of how precious life is and how cruelly short it can be.  I urge each and every one of you to hold on to the people in your life and show them your love and gratitude.

Whether you’re Christan or Muslim, Jewish or atheist, Unitarian, agnostic, or something else entirely, know that on this Christmas Eve, I wish God’s blessings on you.  May 2011 shower you with good fortune, peace, health and love.  Make every day you have count.  And may you always remember that as we all go through life together, I am thankful that you are part of my world.

God bless.

-Phil