I spend a lot of time around the Holidays with my family.  It’s my time to recharge the proverbial batteries, reconnect with my kids, and just stop to take a breath.  Sometimes we travel, sometimes we just hang around the house.  No matter where we end up, though, we spend a lot of time in the kitchen, at The Movies, and just doing family stuff.  By the time the holidays are over, I’m ready to change focus once again, and gear up for another productive year of Careerism.

And during this period, I try to reflect on what’s transpired in the last year for me, both good and bad, personal and professional.  I think about my life growing up in Fort Lauderdale, the times I had a child, and compare my experiences to those of my children.   I make every effort possible not to repeat the mistakes my parents made with me – rather, I try to invent brand new mistakes that will linger with my children the rest of their lives, as all loving mothers and fathers inevitably do.

Also, if you’ve been reading my blog posts for awhile, you know I have a fondness for John Lennon’s music and just his general view of the World.  He released one of my favorite Christmas songs in 1971.  The first line hits me with the same force it did when I first noticed it as a young teen:

“So this is Christmas, and what have you done?  Another year older, and a new one just begun…”

Now, I’m fairly certain I heard this song hundreds of times when I was a little boy, but I was 13 years old, the words actually sunk in.  This wasn’t your typical ‘ho ho ho, Merry Christmas’ type of song, it was a challenge.  What have you done?  What have you actually accomplished with your time on this Earth of ours.  Forget about the celebratory implications of your religion.  Fill in the blank for the holiday if you like, make it any milestone you want.  The second part of the sentence remains a question, if not the question, for all of us.  What have you done? 

Now, when you’re 13 years old, you think you know everything.  You’ve got your entire life planned out and everything is going to go your way.  No thought of failure or loss or disappointment, and precious little thought of those faceless people in the World who have far less than we do.  However, as an adult with a son who also happens to be 13, my perspective is quite different than it was all those years ago (another great song title, this one by George Harrison). 

The way I see it, you have a choice in this World.  Are you going to try to improve yourself, and as an extension of that, our society, OR, are you going to simply watch your life roll by?  Are you going to get better, or will you just settle for getting older?  Do you want to be Keith Richards, who hasn’t contributed anything of note since 1981 (co-writing ‘Waiting On A Friend’), playing the same tired guitar licks for even longer?  Or, do you want to become a virtuoso (insert your favorite guitarist here, mine being Jeff Beck), who gets better with time, aging like a fine vintage, and taking up the challenge to improve every day?

The choice is yours, and it truly is up to you.  Remember this, though:  the World isn’t going to magically improve itself.