All That Glitters : Standing On The Edge of “More”

This week’s blog topic came to me while visiting some wonderful friends and sitting beside their beautiful fireplace on a cold winter night. It was just like a scene from a commercial: the lovely ladies relaxing on the sofa, sipping eggnog, engaged in intelligent and meaningful conversation, and the men hanging out, engaged in, well, men talk (whatever that is). My friend made the statement that went something like this (and I don’t think she’ll mind that I’m paraphrasing her), “Some people get restless when things don’t seem as shiny as they once were — that’s when the desire for “more” comes in.”

I nodded, smiling, in complete agreement, “You’re right. And that, my dear friend, will be the topic of this week’s blog.”

Sitting by the fire that winter evening, I was thankful for the simple things : friends who open their home to us, wonderful conversation, yummy beverages, tasty snacks, and laughing children. At that point in time, it was hard to imagine wanting anything more. But, my friend’s statement rings true, and I think we’ve all been there. The simple things in life are not what all the people seek, all the time. Shininess does wear off and people get bored with what they have and, consequently, they want more. The novelty, excitement, and newness of material things, relationships, and situations thins out. Many of us find ourselves left looking for “more” to replace them.

‘Tis the season: the season to be jolly, the season to be merry, the season to admire the tinsel and glitter, and the season to want more.

I decided to consider this realm of thought in relation to the Christmas season. In many ways, the world has lost sight of the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas has become less about Christ and more about commercialism. The season can find itself more focused on materialism instead of the birth of our Saviour. Sometimes the focus is more about gifts and receiving than it is about giving and loving others.

Gifts are wonderful, there’s no denying that. The tradition of giving gifts actually dates back to the 4th century in Turkey with Saint Nicholas, a Christian Bishop, who was known for his generousity in giving to those who were less fortunate than he was. In that time, gifts were homemade foods and sweets, oranges, handcrafted gifts (such as socks, sweaters, dresses, blankets, tables, chairs, etc.). (information courtesy of wiki.answers.com) But, even before that, the Wise Men brought gifts to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Today, gift giving isn’t usually quite so simple. Many of us stress and struggle over what to give and whether it will be enough. Standards have been set so high in relation to what we are happy with, that many of the stresses of the season are centered around whether anything we give (or receive!) will be enough. Each day we are given many blessings. It’s a shame that, for the most part, we just don’t realize and appreciate them enough. I like to believe that in our busy and bustling society today, the greatest gift that someone can give others is their time. Time is so precious, especially to those of us who have so little of it to spare!

Sometimes we want “more” in terms of being “better than” others. We might desire things for our own reasons, but our desire for those things may be that they also place us in a better social status or position in comparison to what others have. The term “keeping up with the Joneses” comes to mind. In some cases, the search for “more” lends itself to having more than someone else does and feeling more satisfied with ourselves when we do. “More” becomes less about us and more about what we have in relation to other people.

As well, “more” can also be the desire for more in terms of the people who we are with. Some of us become dissatisfied in relationships when the newness and the excitement begins to dwindle. As soon as things begin to seem less glossy and shiny, it can be tempting to move on to bigger and brighter things, including the people in our lives. And, when things get tough, it can be even more tempting to search for those things which make the heart beat faster, cause the butterflies in the stomach feeling, and give that an adrenaline rush.

The risk we take when we stand on the edge of “more” is that “more” may never be “enough”. Our quest to keep the glitter and magical feeling of the “shiny”, the brightness of things, may never be complete. We may be standing on the threshold of basking in the radiance and gleam of that something or someone new, all the while looking to set our sights on the next lustrous and sparkly thing. It could be that it is the human condition to continuously search for “more” and “better”, but perhaps the quest is much “more” than even that.

(Dear Readers, I continue to appreciate and thank you for your support. I am so blessed to have your reads, likes, shares, and comments! Writing For The Love Of It is now read in 10 countries! Blessings Always, ~ K ~)