Our Addictions and the Lies we tell ourselves...

Greetings good people!

As the Christmas season fast approaches we can visualize the specially spiked eggnog pursing our lips as the fireplace gently crackles under the mistletoe..At the far corner of the kitchen Grandpa is roasting some chestnuts on a big iron pan as he sings Felice Navidad..The fresh smell of pine invigorates one's senses as children play along side each other...laughing and curiously anticipating jolly St. Nick's long sleigh ride..Old man winter's howl brings on a slight chill as the windows rattle to the beat of little Drummer Boy..

Yes... this is Christmas Eve!.. all wrapped up and ready to be delivered to the world! It's as if we are addicted to what the euphoria of the senses can bring...the snow, the scent of pine, the smell of chestnuts, and people singing carols door to door...and a newly wedded couple's first Christmas drinking eggnog with rum...The senses are overstimulated this time of year and everyone enjoys the festivities with family...The screams of joy from children unwrapping their presents as well as the smell of dried cranberries strung along the fireplace mantel..Yes so in a way...We are really addicted to the beautiful sizzle of what we call Christmas...

The anxiety of shopping for presents , cooking , and entertaining the in-laws make the expression..."I wish this Christmas goes quickly"a reality for a lot of people...
The above entry Our addictions and the lies we tell ourselves rings very true especially this time of year..We put on a brave face with that father in law you really despise just to please the spouse.. She says "Oh come on John don't be like that ...it's Christmas!" Our addictions are predictable at any month of the year but a drinker in August will even be more of a drinker around Christmas..It will give him an excuse to drink even more..Christmas to some people is defined as a holiday to get drunk on..With all the commercialism on TV trying to sell the latest electronic device one can only wonder what the real meaning of Christmas is..We subconsciously believe the lies... that commercialism and the pursuit of our happiness is dependant on material things..When we equate buying a truckload of electronic toys especially at Christmas we really believe what the retail stores are trying to communicate...Any store today will tell you that Christmas is the make or break period for them financially..and to get you to buy especially for this time they will have to advertise heavily or sell by volume at the expense of more reduced prices...Christmas to any major retail store is not helping the homeless, or donating to a woman's shelter..Their only concern is their bottom line profit..

Yes one of our addictions could be materialism and the pursuit of it..Compulsive shopping has overloaded credit cards to the tune of billions..Grocery shopping is really not a fixed expense but there are many people who shop for many items they really don't need..They are addicted to junk foods like potato chips, soda pop, cookies, muffins, pastries, ice-cream and the list goes on and on..When we munch on a big bag of potato chips and guzzle it all down with soda pop we transmit a comfort food signal of satisfaction to the brain..The brain then acknowledges this by sending endorphins which match the brain's memory cells...These endorphins gently tells us that eating this type of junk food feels good..Once the code of familiarity is engrained in our psyche then it becomes much easier to repeat it the next time..This type of action may actually feel good but we believe the lie that it is good for you because of the satisfaction..When we feel satisfied we feel fulfilled temporarily..This type of addiction cycle can be applied to any bad habit..such as cigarette smoking ,excessive alcoholic consumption, prescription drugs, junk food...Yes.. and even sex!

Well there you have it! As I type the final paragraph of this entry my inner spirit tells me it's Christmas and I should be with the people I love...As my mind and fingers synchronize to it's last dance of truth I begin to realize something very magical...It will be Christmas Eve and we all can finish early!

Have a merry merry Christmas! ciaooooooooooooooooo Luv yaaaaaaaaa!