Light, Love, Hope

I have been thinking about this quite a bit after seeing the movie Bohemian Rhapsody. For those of you that may not know about this movie, it is a loose biographical story of Freddie Mercury and the band Queen through their performance at the Live Aid concert in 1985 and to the untimely death of Freddie due to Aids. If you have never heard of Queen, I can guarantee you have heard at least one of their songs.

The part that stood out for me was the Live Aid concert sequence. I admit that I had never seen it before though I have been a fan of Queen from their early days. Queen was not in the original line-up of bands scheduled to play. When they were added to the show, tickets had already sold out. The crowd was there for groups like U2, David Bowie, Dire Straits and so on; not for Queen. I was so taken in with this part of the movie that I have watched the real performance on YouTube several times.

This is where you see the magic of music. During their performance the crowd of 80,000 at Wembley Stadium comes together and sings along to several of Queen’s songs. Music touches that hearts of all of us; even though some of us may not admit it. This was a perfect example of that. All those things that divide us in life were gone. There was only the music. Music unifying the diversity of the crowd.

Music can be a great healer to us when our hearts are troubled. Music can help to ease those times in our lives when things seem impossible to handle. Yet, using music like this is not something we think about and we should.

In the coming weeks and months, I will be relying on music more to help get through some very difficult times. I don’t have anyone that I can call anytime to help talk me through things any more. I will be relying on music to get me through. Just as it can for you too. When you are feeling down and lost; listen to some of your favorite songs that have brought joy into your heart.

As it is New Year’s Eve, that time we say good-bye to the current year and welcome in the new year. It can be a time of reflection of things happening not only in the past year, but in years long past.

For some, it is a time for making resolutions. Those things we wish to make happen in our lives in the coming year. I have heard that people will resolve to do the diet they have been thinking about or save up for that special item they have always wanted. I have never really considered making resolutions because for me I have always felt I would have no ability to stick to them.

However, sitting here this evening and thinking about all that has and is happening in my life, I have found one thing that I resolve to do this coming year. I think a little background would be helpful before I disclose my “New Year’s Resolution.” I am the kind of person that gives of themselves for others. It is something that brings me joy and happiness. It is done with no expectation of anything in return except for a thank you. That is truly all that I need.

At times, I give of myself to the point of placing myself in rather precarious situations. It is always of my choice to do this and I have never regretted it. However, of late, I have been questioning myself as to whether I should be much more cautious in stepping up to offer help to others. I have run into certain situations where it feels that my generosity and caring for others is being taken advantage of. I could be wrong as I can only see one side of this, my side; but that doesn’t help to push that feeling away.

So, in 2019, I resolve to think before offering my help. As I write that, it sounds like of selfish. But we really need to take care of ourselves as well as taking care of others. I will still do what I have done over the years; just not as much anymore. I need to do a lot of things for myself that have been pushed to the wayside because of how much I help others.

As you go into this new year, I wish you love, health and happiness.

Happy New Year.

We had our last family Christmas today. It was a nice gathering; good food, good fellowship. It is hard to accept that there won’t be a Christmas like this again. You see, my aunt, who has always brought us together each year won’t be here next year. She was diagnosed with cancer in multiple areas last Thursday.

We didn’t dwell on that today. We just enjoyed having everyone around the dinner table chatting about this and that. Then we played games as we always do every holiday; laughing and carrying on as if what we know is inevitable wasn’t going to happen. But deep inside we know it is. We just enjoyed the moment and made more memories for us to have in our hearts for the years to come.

As you celebrate with your families the birth of Jesus, I hope that you had a joyous and wonderful day filled with love and memories for you to treasure in the years to come as we did today. Those that have passed on are never gone; they are always in our hearts each and every day whether we realize it or not.

Merry Christmas.