such a long distance

It's crazy that in 2 hours you can be hours away from me, and that the distance between us can feel overwhelming. We live in an age when people argue that the world is smaller, but separation...is separation. Sure, technology has softened the blow through tools like Skype and FaceTime but the reality is that these tools also make the gap between us excruciating by giving us 2/3s of a relationship.   

Goodbyes lately feel more like open heart surgery. Call me melodramatic but truthfully I never thought that long distance could hurt so much.  So as you fly farther away from me, back to reality as you call it, I sit here, where we sat and feel a growing vacancy, and the amount that I miss you, surpasses my expectation.   

Give a little

What is it about twinkle lights, old christmas carols, and green garlands that invite a sense of peace and comfort.  Is it just nostalgia?   Or do these things together equate a magical reaction within our subconscious?
This time of year, as exams approach, final projects come to a close, the end of semester is anticipated with a sense of desperate intensity.  The magic of Christmas is imagined as, sitting beside a fire, knowing the ones you love are near by.  It is a time of year that seems to move in slow motion, at least in my memories.   The memories of laughing by a lit fire in the glow of the christmas tree, singing songs and visiting with those dearest to my heart makes the wait almost painful.   With provinces separating me from my loved ones, the autonomy I feel is magnified in this barren land.

Students come together during this time of year to present their watered down offerings of christmas, the sort of filler feelings that will substitute for the real thing for another few weeks.   Despite the fact that I want to be home now, I need to remember to appreciate the little family I have here, the people that I see on a daily basis, that I have grown to care about deeply.   I suggest that this holiday season we invest in relationships and people that don't have to legally love us. The people that come into our lives might need an extra dose of compassion and care.   As our world spins and stirs and heartache seems to lurks around too many corners, let us instil in the world a love and care for one another that is so desperately needed.  To augment the trauma and trials that overwhelm our world, let's choose to bless those we meet, by giving freely an extra big smile, or a welcoming hug, or even simply holding a door.   Those are gifts that everyone is able to give, and gifts that put back into humanity a sense of brotherhood essential to our world's vitality.