Make it an awesome Christmas

The moment one gives close attention to any thing, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself. —Henry Miller

It’s that time of year again. The hurly-burly of preparation going full throttle, boxes upon boxes of ornaments moving from the little bodega in the garage to the living room, a decade-old tree adorned with recycled little Santa and angel figurines, shimmering balls and Tivoli lights taking center stage again, shopping and gift lists getting longer and longer, office parties and reunions clogging your otherwise light schedule, and dawn Masses waking you up for nine straight days.  That the Christmas holiday is stressful is an understatement. It can be devastating, especially if you allow yourself to be sucked in by the commercial whirlwind. But it can also be rewarding spiritually as you engage yourself in acts of charity and random kindness.

Christmas gives you a grand retreat and a grand moment in time, filled with bonding with family and friends but with little opportunities to really chill out — from the Christmas carols at the start of the “ber” months to the fun, flash and noise at the end of the year. Under such circumstances, allow your mind to go with the flow to first-rate recollections, take pleasure from the past, and move into the humbling zone as you lighten up and let everything go.

To help you ease up from all the hustle and bustle, turn the pages of Neil Pasricha’s The Book of (Holiday) Awesome for a modest break between the shopping rush, office demands and volunteer work, between holiday cooking, dressing up and karaoke nights.  It is part of the author’s series of “awesomeness” that includes The Book of Awesome and The Book of (even more) Awesome.

The tome is a collection of awesome morsels befitting the season of joy. From putting up the Christmas tree (for most Filipino homes it starts on first day of September) to having kilometric strands of white or orange lights brighten the place (just like what you see on the whole stretch of Ayala Avenue and the towers in the Rockwell community) to finding an excuse to bring out those comfortably warm woolen shirts suited to cooler weather (although it looks like that, too, is affected by global warming) to discovering occasions, big or small, that make your heart happier and your soul richer.

Awesome is something that motivates. It is any tiny triumph worth celebrating. It can be a small delight that provides personal bliss. It is something diminutive that demands you to slow down to recognize it. It can be an undersized, un-sappy pleasure that sustains your positive outlook on life. An awesome thing is simple and usually a free daily experience you love. It’s sometimes touching, sometimes funny, and usually rings pretty true for you.

Pasricha began counting down 1,000 awesome things in June of 2008, as he shared his amusement at learning about “broccoflower,” the bizarre misfit child of two of nature’s most hideous vegetables. From his start-up attempt, Pasricha identified nearly 900 awesome things and experiences that inspire laughter, smiles, and maybe even happy tears. He’s extolled the ordinary and made them extraordinary. As one fan blogs, “Reading the ever-evolving list of awesome is like watching one of those feel-good movie montages full of poignant, magical moments that remind us it truly is a wonderful world.”

Pasricha has a number of awesome things on his holiday bucket list. The inventory can vary from culture to culture or from tradition to tradition, but let me share some of my personal choices:

• Getting a Christmas card from someone you thought you lost touch with.

• Plugging in your Christmas lights from last year and having them all work.

• When that kid crying in the mall isn’t your kid.

• When strangers wish you happy holidays.

• The smell of a fresh Christmas tree.

• Finally finding the start of a stupid roll of tape.

• When wrapping paper lines up perfectly when you go to tape it.

• Driving around town to see all the Christmas lights.

• When the Christmas tree gives the only light in the room.

• Trying on your new clothes as soon as you unwrap them.

• When your guests do the dishes even after you told them not to.

• Successfully re-gifting a present to someone who wants it.

• Eating anything with oil in it.

• The sound of a cork popping.

• The last 10 seconds of the year.

• Being single and just enjoying it.

• Big crowds enjoying big fireworks together.

• Lighting firecrackers and eating greasy foods with your family.

• Getting through it.

Again, “Commonness” has made its own random inventory of awesome things and events — some may appear inconsequential, others righteous and spiritual. But one thing is sure: these are easy to do, if you deliberately become aware of them and put them into action.

• Listening to Hark the Herald Angels Sing at one minute past midnight on the first day of September.

• A richly ornamented Christmas tree standing tall in your building lobby as you launch a Christmas campaign earlier than everyone else.

• Getting a heads-up on who will be visiting you during the holidays

• Planning where to shop and eat, what to buy, who to put on your gift list, how to share your good fortune, and when to schedule the family get-together.

• Giving double your first contribution in the second collection at Sunday Mass.

• A holiday greeting from a supermarket cashier, a doorman in a hotel, a security officer in a bank, and other people you hardly know.

• An OFW coming home after five or more years as an absentee member of the family.

• A nurse, a policeman and all those in the service industry who have to work on Christmas day.

• Bonuses generously shared by employers; blessings bigheartedly donated by employees.

• Forgiveness, renewal of friendships and strengthening of relationships

• Wearing something red throughout December.

• Weaving your way to find the best finds in a midnight sale at your favorite bazaar.

• A clean bill of health so you can indulge in your favorite holiday.

• The smell of sweet ham, puto bumbong and danggit.

• A red, red, red parol on the balcony

Completing nine days of simbang gabi (or its anticipated schedule equivalent).

• When the nativity scene or the belen gives the only light in the room.

• Waking up on Christmas day and everyday thereafter.

• Whatever you say, these awesome moments can put a smile on your face, lightness in your heart, peace in your mind and affluence in your soul. You can end up laughing uncontrollably or reminiscing emotionally. Indeed, you should appreciate the smaller things in life that are sometimes taken for granted — the awesome things that make a difference in your and other people’s lives. As wrestler Hulk Hogan muses, “I woke up and realized life is great and people are awesome and life is worth living.” Have an awesome holiday.

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E-mail bongosorio@yahoo.com or bong_osorio@abs-cbn.com for comments, questions or suggestions. Thank you for communicating.