Sunday, December 17, 2006

the holiday spirit

Modified from original written for the USC Triathlon Newsletter 12-16-06:

We hope you're all having fun as you head off for the winter break. We know...it may be hard. Airport lines, traffic jams, shopping chaos. Irate air travel, boiling road rage, seething mall crawls. And the obligatory stare-downs, shoulder jostles, and muttered cursing. It's enough to ruin a holiday meant for good spirits and relaxation. It's a wonder you don't spend your days wishing everyone the Hawaiian good luck sign (you know, the one known to the ancient Romans as digitus impudicus).

As tempting as it may be to show everyone your personal expression of the holiday aloha spirit, you should know that it probably won't change anything--or make anything better. Sure, it'll make you feel better NOW...up until the point the confrontation escalates and you find yourself in a fistfight for a parking spot at the Glendale Galleria (Editor's Note: this was seen between 2 women on the 2nd level off the Brand Blvd. entrance, one a driver of a Mercedes, the other the driver of a Lexus...go figure...).

Truth of the matter is, you have little ability to control the actions of strangers, particularly ones you only see in passing. The only thing you can really do is control yourself. You can control your own behavior; you can control your actions--hopefully in ways that better the lives of the people around you, particularly those closest to your life.

And in part, this is probably what this time of year is supposed to be about.
Bringing the spirit of ohana to strengthen and tie together our respective families, sharing our hearts so that we confirm the relationships that mean the most to us, and never forgetting the things that are most important in this universe. In furtherance of these goals, we take stock of things at the end of one year as we face another, take quiet time to reflect in the long darkness of the winter nights, take remembrance of the souls most dear to us, and take once more our commitment to make a better world... even if it is just our own.

In the spirit of the holiday season, check out some links:

Baby, It's Cold Outside: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyfFFxe27j4
My Best Friend: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_SonJUI8Gc
Auld Lang Syne: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muYWhLuFN14
Love Train: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEUKW99ohuw
My Heart Will Go On: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-9WPp4_IRs
Burning Love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wosRsbJFVqU
My Name is Inigo Montoya: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDvKtF_h8Fc

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