If I could have anything for Christmas...

The eternal question: If I could have anything at all for Xmas, what would I want? This is a question pondered ad nauseum this time of year. We're trained from the cradle to want, to list, to cajole and badger. And we teach our kids to do the same. Mind-numbingly preposterous commercials flood the airwaves and whip us into a fever. Most egregious are the "Lexus December to remember" ads (see above), that advise us to go out and buy a luxury car for our nearest and dearest during the holiday season. This year they state, "Let's face it, no one ever said they wanted a smaller holiday gift" or something. And that might be true, but I think if I went out and bought the wife any car, let alone a Lexus, for Xmas, that would be a good way to get myself divorced. Does anyone actually heed the advice of these ads? And if so, what is the divorce rate amongst this group?

Yeah, 'tis the season of giving and getting and I have to admit that I'm probably one of the worst (or best, depending on how you look at it) at showing restraint, at this time of year or any other. So when I posed this question to myself, I found myself strangely stymied. Surely I could spend a few minutes perusing the Internet and find dozens of things I wanted, but if I could have anything, what would that be?

And the answer surprised me even more: it's complicated. I searched my mind for a reason for this answer and I found two. One: I want to "earn" the stuff I buy for myself. That's not to say I want to "deserve" the stuff, but that this whole hobby of buying stuff, trading up to other stuff, is a process. Each new purchase, each new bauble offer its own small clue toward the next step in the journey. If I just got whatever I wanted, no consideration to price, that would be like cheating.

Two: Even I can get overwhelmed by the sheer consumerism of this season. I know, it's hard to believe. Today I had a day at home with my wife and daughter and I realized that over the next week and a half I'll have several more days with them. And that is a blessing. Now, I use the word blessing in the purest secular sense. I am not a religious guy, at least not in the organized religion sense. I do have faith in my life, but it's more of the "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me" variety than the benevolent old guy in the sky kind. And so being here with them got me thinking, maybe because I recently started this blog that's all about the ephemeral, maybe because some other things in my life are changing right now as well, that I'm a pretty blessed guy. I have a wonderful family that supports and surprises me. I am almost 40 and I'm still making art and I have a job, a job that seems pretty well suited to me to boot. And that's a lot to be grateful for.

So, what would I want most if I could have anything for Xmas? The foresight and calm necessary to slow down, look around me and enjoy and appreciate the two special girls in my life, to appreciate what I have and the good that's all around me, both self-realized and by the grace of others. Everything else will come.

Happy holidays, all.

PS: Couldn't resist putting this video in either. Even a two dimensional Edward is soooo dreamy.