This is my 31st Xmas and as opposed to things getting better, the whole thing seems to be getting worse!
Let me explain a bit more, now aside from the religious & commercialised factors of Xmas, something else has occured to me about this time of year.

To be honest, Ive noticed it for the past few years but now im gonna blog about it..... because I can!

One of my bugbears about this festive period is the falseness of people. Peeps you dont see or hear from for years suddenly show up and act like they are your best friends. Also somewhere in their conversations will be " stay in touch" or "lets catch up" even though both parties have no intention in fulfilling that declaration.

I am spending Xmas 2009 at home alone and I am cool with that as I hear alot about the stresses of 'family christmas's'.
Is it the right present? Who wants to sit next to smelly aunty? Is there enough cranberry sauce? Who needs that hassle?

Im a simple guy who likes a simple life. There is no turkey nor mistletoe in sight in my house, I got a pot noodle in the cupboard and im sure that that will be substantial enough for this day.

Gee, I dont want this blog to make me sound like a miserable christmas miser, I assure you im not, I just cant be doing with being the superficialness of people. Its kinda akin to a funeral.
Haha, Ive just compared Xmas to a funeral..... I think I should make that anology clearer.

We go to funerals to show our respect to the deceased.
Why do we pay our respects to the dead? Isn’t it too late by then? Should we not show more respect for the living? Specifially what about the living dead?

Not zombies, or vampires, those are “undead”, the living dead are really all of us. Anyone who is alive, and especially those who are near death are the living dead. In many cases these people are treated worse than we treat dead people. Seldom visited, until after death. Why?

Does anyone really like going to funerals? Probably not, but in some cases it is the one thing that brings people together like Christmas. Often people will make the effort to attend a funeral of a person even if it is somebody they haven’t bothered to see alive in years. Again, just like Christmas.

Consider the following scenario:
When a lady's first husband lay dying in the hospital she phones his relatives to let them know. His brother made plans and flew in right away. His aunt said “If there is a funeral, call me”. She replied “There is no point in coming then, is there?” and hung up. Her husband was conscious, but very likely aware he was not going to survive. The aunt rethought and did come.

I never understood what the point was of attending a funeral. The dead cannot show their appreciation for your turning up at a funeral. There is a pretty good chance that they do not know you are there. How can it be said that showing up at a funeral is “paying respects to the dead?”. In reality showing up at a funeral is more to show support to the loved ones left behind. If you was that woman, would yoy consider it a slap in the face, for a person to want to come to a funeral for a person they had not seen in years.

Similarly if a person actually wants to show their support to the love ones left behind, showing up at a funeral is a poor way to do so. Offering flowers to somebody long gone.  What really counts in this respect is how a person commits in the days or weeks following.

Not too long ago, I attended the funeral of my Nan, Ok, at the risk of sounded hypocrtical here, I had not seen her in years and we didnt exactly get along. I turned down the offer of attending several times but then I thought I shall go to support the ones she left behind, My father. This really got me thinking hence why I am writing this. But the point im trying to make here is although many turned up for the funeral, where were they after the event? Not many of them came back to the house to show support or respect to the living

Then there is the on going issue of not speaking ill of the dead. Why not? We all know people who have died that were not such terrific people. Imagine a child who had been severely abused by somebody. Now the abuser lay dead and the child hears only how wonderful that person was. Do you not think the child is just dying to hear one person speak honestly about their abuser? Do you not think they want to shout out the truth? Respect for the dead sometimes ignores respect for the living.

In old age homes people rot as
they await death. Some get no visitors, others are abused by their supposed care givers. The old are easy victims of crime. It is more common to see them treated disrespectfully than treated well. In some cases even their kids do nothing more than wait for them to die so they can get their inheritance. People who do not even bother visiting these folks while they wait to die are the first to show up at the funeral.

The mentally ill are also treated with disrespect, as burdens on society.  As living dead, they are all but ignored or become the butts of jokes and ridicule..... which can be funny, but wrong...

When we think of our dead, we need to remember our living. We need to respect the living before they die. We need to remember that death is unavoidable, and that the dead probably don’t even notice our respects paid to them. The living are the ones who we know will notice respect, or lack there of. Isn’t it about time we show some respect to the living?

Oooops, I kinda went off topic there...... but I hope you see the point im trying to make.
Also, what about the bulk send 'Merry Xmas' texts? Surely if you really meant it, you would take the time to personalise the message? What does the 'Merry' actually mean anyway? Am I having a 'Merry' Xmas? Im not sure. 

See ya'll next year......