Tuesday, December 25, 2012

not quite paradise


Sunny.  84 degrees.  A soft breeze.

I have been sitting on my patio since late morning.  Reading the newspaper and enjoying a fine Christmas day.

This Christmas may be unique for me.  My friends the Moodies invited me to dinner this evening and I attended Christmas Eve service last night. 

But this has been a day for solitude.  To enjoy the bounty that Christmas symbolizes.

My garden is in bloom.  Including my favorite blood-throated hibiscus that always reminds me of an orchid.  The perfume of reproduction fills the yard.

Well, along with Mozart's whimsical Kegelstatt Trio.  It is almost as if the Atlanta Chamber players had stopped by for a visit.  That is, if the players relied on a pair of inadequate Sony speakers.

Earlier, the Salvation Army brass band invited me to O, Come All Ye Faithful -- as if John Philip Sousa was leading a procession smartly to Bethlehem.  My music tastes run to the eclectic.
Tourists often insist on calling my little village a "paradise."  It isn't.  It has enough human-induced warts to play the witch of Endor.

But my theology informs me that we are to daily enjoy what God has given us.  Family.  Friends.  Solitude.  And an opportunity to share our lives and what we have been given with others.

It may not be paradise.  But it is certain a blessed place where we can pass blessings along. 


10 comments:

Leslie Limon said...

Merry Christmas, Steve!!! :)

Tancho said...

Occasional solitude does have refreshing qualities....
Merry Christmas, has a safe trip North!

Steve Cotton said...

And to you as well. I thought of you last night as I whipped up some hoisin turkey.

Steve Cotton said...

And I have a great mix in Melaque. Plenty of solitude -- and friends when I need them.

jennifer rose said...

What, no Chinese food and a movie? I didn't know there were so many Jewish people in Morelia, but yesterday afternoon Paseo Altozano (a shopping mall) was packed.

Steve Cotton said...

Funny you should say that. I made hoisin chicken for breakfast and lunch. I knew there was a reason.

John Calypso said...

Paradise is different than 'home is where the heart is." Paradise is very subjective we think.

What ever the case we trust you are making it work. Merry Christmas amigo. Belated. and slightly ahead - Happy New Year!

sparks said...

"garden in bloom" .... I wonder why that is. It's winter here but everything in my garden has taken off with the cooler weather. Everything very slow last summer. The only plant that knows it's winter is my star fruit that has dropped a lot of leaves. Winter in Mexico!!

Steve Cotton said...

Of course, where the two of us come from, this would be the height of summer.

Steve Cotton said...

It is working well.