That friend who said that is your regular young professional who took time to enjoy life. But not of late. Much as there is a determination to grab life and have fun, work nails us down in our office.
Another friend was always busy during Christmas, but this Christmas he was worse.
There is something here that the young should learn from... really.
And that is: Your life is the best, believe me and all those who have come before you.
You may be poorer, but then you don't need much, anyway, for as long as you don't go about wishing for the branded and the latest and the most expensive. Just enjoy.
A little beer, a little gin, savor and enjoy.
And since you're at a time when you should be enjoying life to the fullest but have to do it on limited resources, then be resourceful. Climb mountains, it doesn't cost much to do so; just the slow build-up to complete your camping gear, and a few hundreds to cover transportation fare and fees. Ride bikes, that too doesn't cost much; just the bike and occasional change of parts and tires. Trek rivers, this shouldn't cost much too if you know which river you're heading too; just a few pesos in jeepney and habal-habal fare. Swing from trees, that doesn't cost anything, not unless the tree you chose is on Mt. Apo.
Just do every adventure you can embark on while you're young. (And no, doing drugs isn't an adventure, just in case you didn't know that, dodo).
Because when you've already made it and you have money to spare, your bones and joints will no longer be able to take it, and so where does that leave you? Maybe enough money to go on holiday tours. Boring...
What's all these reminiscence about then? It's all about Christmas and how it just zipped up front, center, head on, whatever, and is now staring at me right at my face and I can only go, duh? Where'd you come from?
And since work has taken over my life for one month and two weeks (I count in terms of the length that I haven't been able to dive), then I'm taking a vacation today, for just four hours so I can start my life anew after an early morning dive. I should do that before Christmas; to start a life anew just before Christ is born. That's cool.
As cool as how my friend's son feels about his hair and how his schoolmates loved it. Yeah, red hair is cool too, if you're just a teen and can't go far away from papa. That's a start. But life should go beyond just hair color, and this Christmas, with the long break normal people are taking, take time out to ponder on what really matters after you have rushed through yet another year. Chances are, it's not money but like those younger years when nobody really pounded it into our very consciousness that we were at the best time of our life, people will only hint at it but will never be able to fully explain it beyond those mushy thoughts of love and loving... aaaw... Cheeseburger! Cheeseburger!
No, it's not money. But I'm not about to teach you about life. Go, learn it yourself, but make sure to have fun. In the meantime, figure out why it has always been merry Christmas, not happy as happy birthday, happy valentine's happy new year, but merry.
