Merry Stressmas

I can’t believe it. In the blink of an eye, Christmas is here. I didn’t even receive the memo, man.   It just came. Boom! Ho-ho-how did it get here so fast? It just breezed in, without any warning.

When I was younger, Christmas was the highlight of the year. As early as Sept. 1, I was already gearing up for it. I would do my gift shopping early, and I would enjoy strolling in the mall, hearing the cheerful Christmas music. And I’d look forward to the caroling and simbang gabi. It was something I looked forward to, even when I was already grown up and in my 20s.   

But when I got into my 30s I started having a different take on Christmas. As heretical as this may sound, Christmas started to become a chore. For one, you’d get all of these Christmas party invites. And somehow, you felt that you had to go to every single one — because you believed with all your heart that those who invited you would never forgive you if you missed it. Then, there are the compulsory office parties, which are, more often than not, carbon copies of past Christmas parties. There would be the usual “awards” for the year (Couple of the Year, Overtimer of the Year, etc.), the usual song and dance number for each department, the gift raffle, the Kris Kringle … and of course, the food bingeing and endless drinking.   It’s the same routine over and over again. And then, of course, there’s the last-minute shopping, the horrendous traffic, the parking nightmares, mile-long gift-wrapping lines, the endless Christmas text messages (which are, 80 percent of the time, recycled messages and not personal), the Christmas drama specials on TV.   I hate to admit it, but without me knowing it, I became a Scrooge. And frankly, the only thing I was looking forward to during Christmas was the holiday break. And, to some extent, I even resented that because I’m kind of a go-go-go guy. I can never lay still. I am a bit ADHD.   So I can’t be in “break mode” for too long. I have to be doing something all the time — something productive. And I don’t consider drinking beer, eating leftover fruitcake (which I love, by the way), and getting fat productive endeavors.

One of the reasons I began resenting Christmas is that it had become one big commercial activity. It had become a business — a secular activity that centered mainly on commerce. For many businesses, Christmas is the make-or-break season. Some companies’ annual revenue targets are hinged on the Yuletide season. In fact, I know some companies that rely on the month of December for 40 percent of their annual sales goals. And I didn’t like it. 

Until recently.

I know this sounds un-Christian, but I recently realized that there is really nothing wrong with trying to maximize your revenue during Christmas. And here are the reasons why:

• The more companies sell, the more bonuses they can give to their employees.

• More revenue means more profits, and more profits means fewer chances of people losing their jobs.

• More revenue means more resources for companies to set aside for corporate social responsibility.

• More sales means more profits for the business owners, which then makes them spend more, and spending more means other businesses would benefit, and, with many more businesses benefiting, the higher the chances that the economy gets pumped up.

• More profits means more money that can be given to churches and charitable causes.

• More commercial activity means more chances for unemployed people getting employed.

• More demand means many more entrepreneurial people putting up businesses to meet the demand

• More business means more rich people — and that’s certainly better than more poor people.

• More business activity means more people are busy, and less idle minds that the devil can work on.

• More business activity means more opportunities for many people.

Of course, there’s such a thing as overkill.   There’s nothing wrong with making money during the holidays. What makes it wrong is when you totally lose focus on what the whole season is all about. And we all know what this season is all about. It’s Christ, and it’s love. Period.

For years, I’ve been thinking of Christmas as “Stressmas.” But this year, I am making an effort to straighten out my view of the whole season.   I don’t wish to delve into the stressors anymore.   Rather, I’d like to delve into the positives that can be derived from all of the stressful situations that Christmas sometimes brings about. For the gift-giving challenges, I will try not overstress myself about finding a gift that a person will like. Rather, I focus on getting people things that will make them know that I really, truly care.   For text greetings, rather than pass on a recycled text message to a thousand people, I will try to just send 50 personal text messages to people who really mean a lot to me. And for the traffic — I will just buy an inspiring CD featuring inspirational talks or uplifting music — so that the long wait in the car becomes a positive experience of inspirational messages or uplifting tunes.

Christmas doesn’t have to be Stressmas. It’s all about changing your perspective, really. If you think Christmas is Stress Season, it will be so. But if you change your frame of thinking, it can still be the most joyous season of all.

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Thanks for your letters, folks! You may e-mail me at rodhnepo@yahoo.com. By the way, my column, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” is now a radio show! You can catch me at 9 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays at DZRJ 810 AM, the first and only all-English news and lifestyle station on the AM band. It’s all about good, positive, empowering stuff, without being sappy, cheeky, or preachy. You can also catch it via online streaming at www.rjplanet.com.