Skies Out Fries Out

I'm not sure if you noticed or not, but the weather outside today was absolutely amazing. The sun was out, it was warm and there wasn't any wind. For Oklahoma in the middle of January, that's pretty stinkin' good. I'd forgotten just how much of a blessing warm days in the middle of winter are, not just because it makes for a beautiful day, but because it provides a lot of relief for a lot of people who need a break for the cold.

Anyway, during today's beautiful sunshine, I met a man; let's call him 'Dave.' Dave was sitting on the sidewalk, up against a restaurant here in Tulsa called McNellie's soaking up the sun. He was wearing some black shoes to go with his black sweat pants and Chicago Bulls jacket, and he had a hat on to keep the brightness out of his face. I had just finished up eating at McNellie's when I caught sight of him as I swung out the door and headed down the sidewalk with a group of co-workers. We had just finished up at an employee's farewell lunch.

Dave was sitting by himself, not talking to anyone or doing anything, just sitting there smiling. He looked happy, so I stopped by him to say hello. He returned the greeting with a smile and asked if I had a couple of bucks to spare so he could go buy some french fries. Being a lover of french fries myself, I had to oblige. We talked about fries, what he was up to for the afternoon and sunshine for just a minute or so, but I don't think I've ever met anyone so content with simply sunshine and french fries.

Dave talked about how happy he was that he was getting a break from the cold weather and how he was ready for spring, and I couldn't help but realize just how big of a deal it was that he was getting a dose a spring time early. It was a small thing, but at the same time, a really big thing. It was a reminder that all cold seasons come to an end and have their moments of relief, just like all 'cold' seasons in life have their end and their moments of relief, and we should enjoy those moments and be thankful for them, basking in their sunlight.

It's easy to go through life enjoying the sunshine and not being thankful for it, just as it's easy to go through life not enjoying the cold and complaining about it; however, take some advice from Dave: "Take shelter when it gets cold and be extraordinary grateful when it's sunny. Life's gunna have its cold, and it's going to have its hot, so enjoy what ya got."

Dave was a cool guy; I hope to run into him again soon. Maybe we'll get fries.

-Cliff

Dave's Note: "Take shelter when it gets cold and be extraordinary grateful when it's sunny. Life's gunna have its cold, and it's going to have its hot, so enjoy what ya got."

When Joys Start to Feel Like Jobs

I'm really tired.

You know that feeling you get when you just don't want to do anything? That feeling that that makes you feel useless, uncreative and flat out lazy? Well, that's me lately, and let me tell  you; it's a struggle. 

I don't want to work.
I don't want to be intentional with people.
And I definitely don't want to write.

It's not really a sleepy tired; it's more of a mindless tiredness that makes me feel all used up. It's like I need a burst of something new and a refresher, but I'm just not sure what of.

Lately, life feels like it's just been wearing on me. I'm having a hard time finding the motivation and creative sparks I need to do what I love to do both at work and in my free time. This is extremely frustrating because, at times, it takes away the joy I have from creating the things I love to create: community and writing. These things feel more like jobs lately, rather than joys.

When joys start to feel like jobs, it might be a symbol of tiredness. Joys should be just that, joyful. Granted, not every day is going to be easy and not everything you love is always going to come without any effort, but sometimes life just begins to wear on you and the things that should be making you happy just seem to become something you 'have to do.' (Yes, I'm subliminally speaking of blogging right now, which is my example).

I'm not sure, but I believe that just like being tired and overly sleepy isn't healthy, neither is being creatively tired and sleepy. Lately, that's how I've felt. I've felt like I'm on my last drops of creativity, and I'm in need of a refill.

So, I'm asking for one. If anyone has any creativity overflowing from them and wants to lend some my way or help me refill my own, I'm bone dry and I'd love you're help. My joys have started to feel like jobs.

Thanks in advance.

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: Don't overflow so much that you forget to get refilled. 

The Secret Behind 'Happy Holidays'

You don't need me to tell you that Christmas time is a special time of year. There's so much going on, so many parties and so much joy, it's no wonder that it's every other person's favorite holiday. Why is it so special though? There are other holidays out there like St. Patrick's Day, Labor Day and Thanksgiving, so what is it about Christmas that makes it so special?

Today was my company's 'Holiday Party.' Yes, like most of the culture around us, we have to be 'careful' and 'politically correct' when it comes to Christmas terminology. We have to be careful to say 'Happy Holidays' in our signage, our media and most of our content, but still, there's something about 'Happy Holidays' that has a lot more joy behind it than 'Happy Columbus Day,' and I think it's because we all know that 'Happy Holidays' really means 'Merry Christmas.'

At work, we may have had a holiday party, but, secretly, I really think it was a Christmas party. There was too much joy for it to just be a holiday party. Everyone was stoked. It didn't really matter what dirty Santa gift they got (minus the girl who got the $10 pizza I wrapped from Pizza Hut), if they won a raffle prize or not or how much vacation time they would be getting over the next couple of weeks. Honestly, everyone was just really happy, and that made me happy. It was a kind of special, unnatural happy that you only see around this time of year. It was a Christmas happy.  

Christmas is funny, what it does to people. It shows us something: for one day we can all come together, and somehow, someway, we show the whole world that we all know how to love one another. Every year on Christmas, that special day, the world shows that it knows how to love. People smile at one another, wave at one another and care for one another. There's this other-wordly joy, and I think it's because at the center of all this other-wordly, Christmas joy is Christ.

-Cliff

Cliff's Note: Christmas has it's miracles, but the biggest one may be the joy and love the whole world seems to experience.