The season brings mixed blessings in the social world; a high ride on the roller coaster of joy and excitement is confused by the low ride of loneliness and depression at the lower end. But there is a determining balance that makes a difference. And this is objectivism.
Poverty is generally assessed on material factors that sustain the quality of life. But the quality of life makes better sense by the mental and spiritual maintenance of oneself. It is therefore fair to say that someone who is materially poor is not necessarily living in poverty when he/she is enjoying the quality of mental and spiritual life. However, one needs his/her material needs to sustain his/her mental and spiritual life.
And the balance of lifestyle is objectivism.
I know a quiet guy who claims to love people especially those in unfortunate circumstances. But I found it hard to take him seriously on what he says when he mistreats his immediate colleagues. Another bloke who is visibly seen to be doing good deeds, but watch out he holds a very bad temper. He has an anger problem.
And all these mixed blessings among gifts are demonstrated in the Christmas season.
Having brought up in a poor setting gives you the insight to poverty including the social behaviour. The little material things that symbolised joy and happiness are valued not on their object itself but what transcends the spirit. This is an instant hit when you capture a child smiling at a simple toy. The smile also brings tears of joy to oneself a simple Christmas present.
Now with all the loneliness and depression the material brings this Christmas, there is also the mixed blessings of gifts and presents among the best and worst of men. Listening to someone's expression of anger subjects one to a violent experience. But understanding that there is something underlying the anger can make a difference.
We are not subjecting ourselves to verbal and emotional abuse as the person with the anger problem is responsible for his own behaviour. You can say or do whatever you reasonably do but the other person is responsible for what he/she does. Not you; so the usual saying that 'you made me do this or that is old krap!
How can little children who are oblivious to parents' world transform the moment by a simple yet powerful smile?
It is generally believed the child is pure and innocent because he/she has no motives or preconceived ideas or learned experience to manipulate parents. But if we should look further into the child, are we really seeing the pure and innocent child or are we noticing ourselves in the transcending image of that child?
The experience between you and the child is quantified by the objective being. Your senses and feelings are intuitive to the pure symbol as the material symbol is transcended into being. The child is only a material entity represented by something extraordinary that incites your senses and feeing beyond the limitations of the struggles of the material world.
And the message of Christmas is found beyond the material. All we have to do is to look within ourselves to quantify and transcend the material into being of Christmas.
There are powerful moments of joy and happiness shared on this Christmas just as are powerful moments of darkness locked in the subjective world of feelings and senses of the material. But like the child who is innocent and pure, our struggles can be transformed into being.
Look for that gift within ourselves in order to connect to the objective being of the moment in transcendence of whatever material darkness are boggled up in our hearts.
So how can we simplify and purify our hearts in order to transcend the moment of Christmas Joy is simple yet hardest thing to do. How can an adult become like a child requires the purification or filtering of feelings and senses. How can you know the pure senses from their subjective aspects are realised by practice.
How can you say you love someone but your action is contrary to what you say? It is when you do reasonable things that you say is learning to achieve objectivism and bring yourself in equilibrium maintenance. Objectivism is the balance that sustains a stable quality of life.
And this Christmas message is evidential of purity that is distinguished from the material entity to its transcendence. It is not the material that is pure for the material is caught in a spiral of deterioration. Rather its transcendence into being that is pure for the material ends in the physical object but its transcendence is quantified into being.
The message of Christmas is simple, pure and transcending. Notice in particular the relation between the object of delivery is simple and imperfect. Jesus was born in a manger among the animals. A child may only see a comprehensive reality of beauty, but an adult may be corrupt in his/her feelings and senses to fully receive the message.
And the reality is the fact that the message might be delivered by the last person we expect when in our own subjective world is corrupt that the message is lost within our own selfish aspects.
In other words, even the lowest person in our expectation of status or hierarchy has something important to say if not the most important. But within our hearts are burning with envy and jealousy…
So it is by looking within ourselves that we can connect the symbol yet powerful message for Christmas.
'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' ; The Nolans -St Winifred School Choir