Christmas is something of a contradiction in our culture. Long having been secularized, this holiday is now primarily about three things – sightly decorations, family and friends, and gifts, gifts, gifts.
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and what I saw on TV was once more indicative that you should eschew the mainstream media. It was all about “last minute shoppers” and “beating the clock.” Sure the media will talk sometimes about the Christmas or holiday spirit but that’s only to virtue signal. Their main goal is to pressure you to buy things.
Christmas adds much to the year in terms of cheer and aesthetic value. The spirit that the holiday imparts and the atmosphere of warmth as the weather gets cold (though it hasn’t been very cold this year) serves as a kind of cheerful ether, a reminder to value the people dear to us. It’s an ether that almost miraculously manages to cut through the rampant consumerism. The decorations, especially here in New York, are uplifting.
But the way the dominant forces wish us to celebrate this holiday is only to mark the decorations, the cheer, and our close ones in passing. They are all a means to an end. If we are to get together with those close ones it’s only supposed to be for one thing – to give them the stuff we bought them.
Now, businesses certainly need to make money. Many, if not most businesses make the bulk of the money they need to make to stay in business during the Christmas shopping season. That’s good for everyone and is needed in an economy that depends on endless growth for its survival. The people that lambaste the commercialism of Christmas never seem to be fully cognizant of this fact.
What is disagreeable, shameful even, are the feelings of anxiety that these businesses, with the full cooperation of their media stooges, conjure up during the holidays. What should be a time for reflection and a foundation for future growth under the twinkling lights with the support of people close to you is instead glorified into a race to “beat the clock” and get the best offer. This commercialism is promoted so it can entirely take over your mind. Naturally, this creates an emotional state of anxiety, precisely the opposite of what should happen around this time of the year. Anxious buyers are better buyers.
I don’t frown on commercialism (losers do that). I do frown on a culture that attempts to create anxiety in an attempt to manipulate people.
Sure, get gifts to the people that matter to you and that deserve them. But always remember that a real friend will never get angry at you over failure to get a gift or the right kind of gift. If people seem to care about you and then feel slighted because you didn’t get them the right gift (or any gift), they are not your real friends.
This fact will instantly dissolve your worries over the Christmas shopping season. You’ll realize how silly you were for standing in line with the others on Black Friday, waiting to barge into the mall and stampeding like a herd of Wildebeests.
Choose to be the cool lion instead, who goes about his business calmly, free of fear – at least over something this trivial.
I’ve never felt anxious during the holidays. I’ve always just been the type to enjoy the season. When I get a present, I get a present. When I don’t, I don’t. In some years I just didn’t have the cash to get anything. I never let it worry me. I’ve never gotten any ire from anyone over gifts on Christmas, nor have I ever returned it. I think this attitude of mine has been a key component of that, as it’s kept hangers-on out of my life. I think you should do the same.
Take time to reflect, relax, and avoid the shopping hordes like the plague, who will infect you with their own anxiety. Do your own shopping, if you feel like it, on your own time. It’s always worked for me, and it’s allowed me to enjoy every holiday season I’ve been alive in, unlike many others, who don’t seem to enjoy it at all, so filled with worry are they.
Instead, soak in the festive atmosphere, think about what you’ve done and what you will do the following year. New Years’ resolutions are for panzies. Instead, focus on things you’ve already been doing, then redouble your efforts.
These will be my own efforts in 2016:
- Attempt to gain ten pounds of muscle. I’m planning on hitting Iron Arena especially hard over the winter.
- Releasing Year Zero as well as other books and publications and taking the Outskirts Battledome Wiki to the next level financially.
- Make this blog the premier place for masculine men in the New York area.
- Put more emphasis on real estate deals. I’ll be attempting to use Craig Proctor’s system.
- Stump for Trump all year long.
Merry Christmas everyone!
