Today and Tomorrow's Deals

Have you ever had a day so special that you hated to see it end? Maybe you’ve wished for two back-to-back Saturdays. Who wouldn’t enjoy that a few times per year? Someone’s getting that kind of wish this week. Based on the TV commercials, it sounds like we’re having at least two Black Fridays. It’s a retailer’s dream.  Hope your Thanksgiving meal wasn’t derailed by guests leaving to catch the store sales. We’re not likely to see two days repeated, but this is close:

                                         http://youtu.be/ndlQNicOeso

On certain days during the Arctic summer, sunlight can last for twenty-four hours. Over time the sun bobs just above the horizon, floats up and down in the sky, but never allows night to settle in. Think about all the shopping that could be finished during that time—if there were places to shop in the Arctic. 

Some people say twenty-four hours in a day should be enough time to accomplish our to-do lists, but no one mentions how half of those hours are at nighttime. If you could transport the Arctic’s midnight sun phenomenon to your neighborhood, how and where would you spend your extra daylight hours?    

           

The Christmas List

Trapped! We’re caught between wanting to hear Christmas carols and not wanting to dive into the shopping season this early. It may be too late. Decorations grace the mall’s halls and traffic’s already building. On Thanksgiving Day some of us will have one eye on the pumpkin pie and the other eye on the clock, counting down the hours to the first pre-Black Friday purchase. Let’s pace ourselves. Celebrate Thanksgiving and savor the turkey without peeking at your Christmas shopping list. We’ll be inside the stores soon enough. Will your Christmas shopping experience resemble this one?

                                          http://youtu.be/kXh8-aiPjxA

You don’t shop like the first guy, do you? He shopped for a charity, which explains the haphazard gift decisions, huge quantities, and lo-o-o-n-n-g-g receipt. Hopefully, your Christmas shopping list is much shorter. Before the shopping frenzy goes full tilt, what suggestions would you offer for creating a meaningful holiday? 

      

Shop, Drop and Stop

On your mark, get set—go! It’s Black Friday! There’s no stopping us now—shop, shop, shop ‘til we drop—not literally, of course. We’re on autopilot. We can’t stop shopping, moving, talking, doing. There is at least one thing that’ll stop us—a funeral. Do you groan at the sight of blinking hazards, orange “funeral” signs and the lengthy line of cars snaking past you even after your light turns green?

At a funeral l attended last week, I heard that it’s state law to stop for a funeral procession. Later that same day, I came across a second funeral. As the mourners crawled through traffic, headed to the cemetery or to the family meal/repast, their light changed from green to red. Wouldn’t you know that when they kept moving, one of the drivers outside the procession starting beeping? If I had questioned the beeper, I’m certain the driver would come clean and admit to wanting to get home for an “important” TV show.   

In our zippy, fast-paced lives it’s difficult to slow down to acknowledge someone else’s grief or to simply savor a moment. In earlier posts, I‘ve suggested ways to question, examine and modify our behavior. Well, I’m offering another challenge: sit. Yep, that’s it. I think this guy is on board. Have a listen:

It’s easy, or is it? Try sitting and doing nothing for a full five minutes—no listening to music, no texting or tweeting, no watching TV. Don’t let the silence stress you out, believe me, it won’t last forever.

Let us know how you feel after tuning out the distractions that compete for your attention, we’d love to hear what you discover.

Fa-La-La-La-I’m beat!

Let me officially announce the start of the Christmas shopping season. I know—I’m too late.! Sooner than necessary, the music plays, the decorations sparkle and Santa sits on his throne. Traffic snarls make us late and the never-ending stream of stores catalogs fill our mailboxes. Newspapers bulge with coupon offers and the frenzy to get your dollars will continue unabated until well past the last gift-wrapping party. The shopping season flows well into January with the long lines for Christmas gift returns, New Year’s Day sales and opportunities to purchase a little something nice for yourself.

Thanks goodness online shopping allows us to shop at two a.m. in our pajamas, if we want. That’s efficiency.  Of course, it also makes more time for hosting and decorating, creating an even more frenzied holiday season. I’m tired just thinking of it all. Shouldn’t we slow down? A night spent camping out in front of a store doesn’t count. Watch this:

It’s time to stop and smell the poinsettias, admire the sun glinting off the snow (it’ll be here again soon) and enjoy a warm beverage by the fire.  This year let’s break the Christmas shopping insanity cycle.  How will you modify your holiday season to grab a few more moments of peace?