Holiday Hard Times

Written By: The Rabid Rogue - MrManUSA Writer

It's No Secret that the Holiday Season can be difficult. (to say the least) The Holiday Rush for Gifts and Dinners and Holiday Special Moments devour our attention and take our focus from our daily lives. The Loss of Loved Ones during the Holidays also leaves us dealing with added unwanted stress and feelings. Sometimes life may appear to be sending us in directions that we have no control over or directions that we don't wish to go due to circumstances that are beyond our control. It is these times that we need to focus our attention on what we can control and realize that somethings we cannot change, but we can overcome them with perseverance.

I feel it is important to realize that life goes on whether it is the Holidays or the middle of July. The days are no different. It is our feelings and our collective mindset of how Special the Holidays are to us due to the pressure of commercialization of the Holiday Season that intensify all of our thoughts and feelings. Do you think about Donating to the Salvation Army all year long? No. Most of us don't. I sometimes donate old furniture and things, but I don't make monetary donations, EXCEPT during the Holidays. There is something about an individual standing in the cold ringing a bell that spurs my spirit to give. Do you rush around to find gifts for all your loved ones all year long? No.... Why? Is it because there is no reason to? No. There is always a reason to! How about LOVE? Isn't that really what the Holidays are about? Love. Powerful. Unequivocal Love. There is something to be said about the feeling you get when you give someone a Gift during the Holidays... The feeling you get when you see them open it is warm and uplifting. So why do we really only do this every December? Are Gifts really that important? Not to Me. I would rather be able to spend the Holidays with those important to me than to receive gifts.

So Life Goes On all year long. People are not starving any more in December than they are in June... Loved Ones are Lost in May as they are in December. Holiday Spirit is what amplifies our feelings about these issues. So if you are a victim of the Holiday Blues because of circumstances in your Life, remember that it can always be worse. Focus on what you CAN Control...Maybe not thoughts or feelings, but Physical Action. Spend more time with Mom...She's not always going to be there... Reconcile with someone you have not been able to forgive.... Donate your time at a Local Food Shelter or Soup Kitchen... Donate a Toy for a Child you don't know...

So no matter what your problems are...there is someone out there that needs you...maybe you just can't see it....MAYBE the reason you are going through what you are going through is a determining circumstance that leads you to make a difference in someone else's life...

Here is a list of links if you feel like making a Monetary Donation during this Holiday Season. Happy Holidays to All!

http://www.usacares.org/
Assist Our Soldiers with anything from paying the Electric Bill to Medical Bills from Combat Injury (this includes Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

http://www.redcross.org/
Assist Families in need due to Disasters

http://www.wish.org/
Make a Dream Come True!

http://www.charitywatch.org/
A Website with an Extensive List of Charities!

Once Again...Happy Holidays!!!

My Top Ten Ways To Get Through The Holidays

By: The Rabid Rogue MrManUsa Writer


While the Holidays always seem to go by waaaaay too fast, I have come up with a few ways for you to Slow it Down and beat the Holiday Rat Race! Trust me THESE Work!

Listen to Christmas Music...Listen to the WORDS and let them fill your soul. There are heaps of Songs for the Holidays...Pick a Few...Burn a CD and LISTEN! Here are a few of my Favorites:

Christmas Shoes

I'll Be Home For Christmas

White Christmas

Where Are You Christmas

Listen to all of these and more at www.GrooveShark.com

On one of your days off from work, Volunteer! There are MANY Organizations and Groups that need Volunteers for the Holidays...You will be surprised at how fulfilled you feel after! It will renew your sense of the Holiday Season!

Take Ten Minutes to just Relax and forget about the Rush and the Shopping and the Presents!

Make Cocoa for the Family and Cozy Up to a great Christmas Classic like Irving Berlin's White Christmas.

Go Caroling!

Make a Snow Angel or Snow Person with the Kids or a Loved One! If You live where there is snow....if not...get some Packing Peanuts and do it in the Yard! Neighbors will LOVE it!

Buy a few Inexpensive Items, Wrap them, and Walk Down Main Street with a Santa Hat and Beard giving the Presents to Random People or Children!

If you have Children, take them shopping and let them pick out an Item, Buy it, and take them to a place to let them Donate it! Lets Teach Our Children!

Buy some Christmas Lights and Hang them for an Elderly Neighbor!

Have your Picture Taken with Santa!


BONUS:


If All Else Fails and you REALLY need to blow off some steam......Build a Snow Person and BEAT the CRAP Outta It!!!!! Then you can Laugh at yourself for what you've just done!!!


Happy Holidays!!!

Circle of Life

By TheRabidRogue - MrManUSA Writer


Before I go any further, let me explain that the whole point of this observation is to explain this: There is No Such Thing as a BAD Decision. Decisions are Decisions. Period. The outcomes simply define the boundaries in which we live. Let me give you a somewhat brief synopsis of my Life to illustrate my point.

My Life began by being born to an Alcoholic, Schizophrenic, Mother. A wonderful combination, I know. BUT, let me explain how her Choices and Decisions, however bad they may have been, led me to be the Man I am today. At Nine Years Old, my Sister was taking better care of me than my own Mother. When I was just over a Year Old, my Sister and I were placed in Foster Care after the County was notified of the lack of care our Mother was providing. We were placed with a loving Family that Adopted both of us four years later. Now I would like to point out that a few very important decisions were made in this time. Our Mother Chose not to take her Medication. She also Chose to immerse herself in Alcoholic Binges....BUT She also CHOSE to relinquish her parental rights and allow us to be adopted. I, at only Five Years Old, was given the CHOICE of allowing the Foster Family to Adopt Me. A pretty BIG decision for a Five Year Old. But my Sister was Happy, so I figured it must be OK.

So my school years passed and I went to College where I made poor Choices which ultimately led to my leaving college after only four semesters. After college, I left my fiancé and began dating the most wonderful woman I know. That was almost Ten Years ago. While together, I still made poor choices and got shafted by employers. The Ultimate shafting was given to me by the U.S. Federal Government. I applied and was hired by U.S. Customs. I, however, was later turned away due to very small print. I have an eye condition that does not meet Federal Regulations. After that occurred, I did not even WANT to hold a job. Angry at the world for denying me my dreams. I was not even eligible to serve my country because of this “technicality” as they called it. So, more poor choices were made. My Girlfriend and I decided to move to a different state for a fresh start. Vermont here we come! After approximately 4 Months in Vermont, we were blessed with the news that she was pregnant. A shock to both of us due to a medical condition she was diagnosed with that estimated there was a 99.9% chance that the only way she could bear children would be In vitro-Fertilization. After verifying that she was indeed healthy and able to carry the baby to term, we were ecstatic to say the least. The following July, we were blessed with a Baby Girl. Vermont also opened up some new avenues for me. I became employed by a reputable Security Company that Ultimately led to my current Employment with VT Department of Corrections.

Finally, to the point of all of this. The Circle of Life just IS. There are no real wrong or right choices. There really are no consequences...only RESULTS to the things we choose to do. The Choices I made in my life paved the way for the things to come. The “poor” choices I made in college set into motion the circumstances for my choices which led to the Birth of my beautiful Daughter! I may never have MET my Girlfriend. All of the circumstances of my life...the “poor” decisions made by others and by Me ultimately culminate and shine through years later by giving me my stunning, amazing Girlfriend (whom I plan to marry) and my beautiful Daughter. So I use the words “good”, “bad” and “poor” only as references to how outcomes are viewed. What if I was never noticed as a neglected child? Would I be where I am today? Or WHO I am today?? So remember that the next time you have a decision to make...just because you go left at every fork in the road, you may really be going “Right.”