Cogitations: 'Tis the Season

Today my parents put our white Christmas lights up on our ornamental crabapple tree. For those of you who live in Edmonton, the result of this decoration is a Whyte Ave tree wannabe; a wonderful, yet simple, ode to the prettiness of snowflakes and city lights. I love how we illuminate various plants at this time of year, whether to signify the Star of Bethlehem, or to liven up the bleak landscape of snowy white. November and December are two of my favourite months. I'm not anywhere near being weary of the cold until January, and the compulsory time spent indoors often results in compulsory time spent with loved ones. I am enamoured with Christmas music; songs that feature hand bells, pertain to Jesus’ birth, explore the hopeful side of humanity, and make pop stars sound actually pleasant make me want to dance and cry simultaneously. Whenever I am deeply saddened by something, I listen to Christmas music. Of course, this is in part because music from this season of our calendar year reminds me of such beautiful memories. Memories of silly presents bestowed upon me for my birthday, and Christmas a week later, images of family laughing heartily, and reminiscence of things God has taught me over the twenty Advent seasons I’ve lived through. I enjoy how our buzzing society slows down for a short while amidst the arctic conditions, allowing for recognition of a momentous occasion. I am encouraged by the fact that I have plentiful opportunities at this time of year to discuss my faith with friends who might not quite understand the magnitude of Jesus’ birth. Choir recitals, A Christmas Carol readings, baking Christmas cookies, Stuart McLean stories, putting radioactive raspberries in my uncle's trifle, listening to The Gift of the Magi at suppertime, drinking real apple cider, seeing rarely seen relatives, wearing layers of sweaters, watching old movies in the basement. These things make my heart brim with joy.

It's difficult to savour this season in the midst of midterms, assignments, and the plethora of other engagements we might find ourselves in. But it's so worth it to take some time out to enjoy the view from your window, or really listen to the sound of shoes crunching through the snow. Just as spring is a time of newness, so too is winter. All the ugliness of road grime and dying grass is submerged in a shroud of snow, and it always feels easier, to me at least, to renew myself in these months. I have complete anonymity when walking outside swathed in scarves and hats, and it feels easier to decide for myself who I want, and am going, to be. Winter months are sometimes months of isolation. Jaunting off to meet someone takes more planning and time, and walks outside are for more solitary. This is healthy, I think. In seclusion, truth is often more evident, or perhaps glaring.

I’m writing a paper right now for Poli Sci, which is incredibly exciting. I love papers beyond belief, but rarely have reason to write them. However, this semester, I actually have an assigned essay, and I’m currently researching it with great excitement. Canadian politics delight me a bit too much I suspect. Also, this past week my dad and my sister have been busy dreaming up ways to use our new robot Gollum which was given to my dad for his birthday. It’s basically a bunch of parts with several sensors (light sensor, colour sensor, ultrasonic sensor, sound sensor, etcetera) and motors that allow it to be a rather sophisticated robot, if you choose to put some time and energy into it. Christmas promises to be a time of much robot trial and error (their current project is teaching Gollum to get to the main floor bathroom from environmental cues). I’m additionally about to purchase some winter shoes, which I have not done in quite some time. Really, the fact that I have gone without the buying of shoes for such an extended period of time truly deserves recognition of some sort. I am only half the shoe-consumer I could be, which isn’t really saying much I suppose. But I am thinking of getting some Campers, especially after being so enchanted by the Camper store in SoHo. To conclude, dear readers, I will remind you that American midterm elections are coming up. And George Bush might have reason to blush come Wednesday morning. My sadistic pleasure in Republican struggles is quite reliable.

Noteworthy Quotes from The Little Prince

"Nothing's perfect," sighed the fox. "My life is monotonous. I hunt chickens; people hunt me. All chickens are just alike, and all men are just alike. So I'm rather bored. But if you tame me, my life will be filled with sunshine. I'll know the sound of footsteps that will be different from all the rest. Other footsteps send me back underground. Yours will call me out of my burrow like music. And then, look! You see the wheat fields over there? I don't eat bread. For me, wheat is no use whatever. Wheat fields say nothing to me. Which is sad. But you have hair the color of gold. So it will be wonderful, once you've tamed me! The wheat, which is golden, will remind me of you. And I'll love the sound of the wind in the wheat..."

"One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes."

"For millions of years flowers have been producing thorns. For millions of years sheep have been eating them all the same. And it's not serious, trying to understand why flowers go to such trouble produce thorns that are good for nothing? It's not important, the war between the sheep and the flowers?... Suppose I happen to know a unique flower, one that exists nowhere in the world except on my planet, one that a little sheep can wipe out in a single bite one morning, just like that, even without realizing what he's doing - that isn't important? If someone loves a flower of which just one example exists among all the millions and millions of stars, that's enough to make him happy when he looks at the stars. He tells himself, 'My flower's up there somewhere...' But if the sheep eats the flower, then for him it's as if, suddenly, all the stars went out. And that isn't important?'"

"That is the hardest thing of all. It is much harder to judge yourself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself, it's because you're truly a wise man."