THE HOLIDAY SEASON is a tough time of year for a lot of people.
We call it the most wonderful time of the year, but it presents a lot of extra expenses and extra stress, too.
If you don’t get the right gift, invite the right people or send the right greeting, it’s an all-out crisis.
Well, maybe not a crisis. That word is reserved for everything else that’s going on right now.
The entire world seems to be made up of competing crises.
There is the housing crisis that has resulted in far too many people living on the streets and sleeping in shelters.
That’s connected to the affordability crisis. Everything is so much more expensive, from small staples like groceries to major commitments like rent and mortgage payments.
If that’s less of a concern for you, you probably have to deal with the healthcare crisis. Our system doesn’t have nearly enough staff, and that makes for declining services and enormous wait times.
For the second time in two years, my family has joined the ranks of those without a family doctor. That’s a crisis for us.
Many people are caught up in the illicit drug crisis. Overdose numbers are spiking because drugs are tainted with all manner of poison.
We just got through the worst of the COVID-19 crisis, but we’re all jumpy for the next global pandemic.
Crises look much different, depending on where you had the good or poor fortune to be born. People living in the Middle East or Ukraine can attest to that.
And then, if none of those crises has a direct effect on you, there’s always the climate crisis that looms over all of us.
Is this inventory a little depressing? Sure it is.
But maybe remembering the true meaning of crisis will help us remember the true meaning of Christmas.
And maybe we won’t think of that late gift delivery, that spindly tree in the living room or that slightly overdone turkey as a crisis, after all.
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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.
