Christmas Reflections

It is 9 PM of Christmas Day and I am sipping a rye whiskey and contemplating the day.
We were up and opening gifts exchanged between me and Chris this morning and then had a video call with the kids.

My pre-seasoned cast iron Dutch oven is currently in the oven seasoning because that's what is supposed to happen with new cast iron. 
And the new battery tender is charging the battery on my motorcycle which has been sitting idle for way too long.

The dishes are done, Chris is chilling in the TV room and I thought maybe I should work my way out of this writing funk and post some thoughts on Christmas.

Christmas isn't really anything like it used to be for me. There aren't many decorations up and we didn't ride around looking at the lights that other people and businesses put on display. I did listen to some Christmas music until I got tired of it and switched back to my usual Classic Rock.
Most of the few gifts I bought this year I purchased online, so I didn't even partake in the annual ritual of Christmas shopping. 
With a few exceptions, today was pretty much a day like any other day.

The more I think about it, maybe that's the way it is supposed to be.
Well, sort of.
Really it should be that every other day should be like Christmas -- not in the gift giving, commercial, or political sense, but in the kindness and love that we show to one another. 
Let's face it -- there are many people that participate in the joyous festivities of Christmas that are not really followers of Christ. For that matter, there are many people that participate in the practice of Christianity that are also not followers of Christ. But somehow we manage to set differences aside and at least tolerate one another for a dinner or brief family gathering. We exchange gifts or greetings with people we've not spoken to in some time and we celebrate a common event that is often nothing more than a date on the calendar.

I guess tomorrow we can all go back to being jerks to one another, unless...
What if we decide we'll wait a week?
What if we decide that we will maintain this festive kindness or spirit or whatever the heck it is for one more week?
What if we decide to finish out these last few days or 2023 by -- well, by not being a jerk to anybody?
Maybe we could try that loving your neighbor thing for the next few days and see how it works out.

Hmmm...
Maybe

John