Snow Melt

Holiday Stress

14 Qudrat 164 B.E. - Saturday, November 17, 2007 about 12:48 PM PST

Meditation on stress and the holiday season

How much different could this stress be from
ordinary day to day anxiety?
Life is a sampler of nervous tension!
It’s a miracle that the individual,
despite the constant hassle and worry of daily survival, remains sane
and doesn’t leap off the nearest mountain thinking she can fly.
Yuletide trauma is only an annual strain.

Spruce trees chopped off at ground level
tend to die in increments, one needle at a time
releasing their scent into the air and perfuming their own tombs.
Each tree merrily decorated
succeeds in making only twelve days of winter
stress free and memorable for a few young children.