Reflection (on a beard)

I don’t even know if I should go through the effort to describe this picture except to say, if you’re thinking of some sort of double entendre, I’ve probably heard it/thought it/etc. already. That being said, 2016 was a year.

We’re seven years and one divorce removed from that moment with a whole lot of emotional growth and development that was still yet to come. Four years before I met Emma, three years after I left my ex, and the year my divorce actually started. Turmoil in a lot of different places with a lot of changes yet to come.

As I noted a few days ago, these moments that I’ve captured from my history are reminders and milestones. They’re placemarkers from moments in time where, one reason or another, I made decisions or others made decisions that affected my story. We don’t always appreciate those inputs in the moment (2016 was the beginning of the end for a lot of things) but in looking back, we can understand a bit better what journies we’ve been on and how far we’ve come.

Advent is a time of reflection, of digging through those emotions and buried plots in the backyards of our minds to find those things that make us human. There’s trauma and healing, laughter and tears, joy and sorrow for each all.

Christmas, for all of its forced accomodation of capitalism and family, is a experience that we can either regret or embrace for its ability to engage our souls. I’ve not always been keen on these fundamental truths but, I’m older and slightly wiser for the bruises and bumps that’ve brought me here.

So, here’s to your Advent whether it be filled with beardaments, Santa hats, and trees, or just quiet reflection in firelight. May you find yourself nestled in the memories that quiet your soul and embraced in the arms/paws of those who love you for you.

May it ever be so.