This is the episode that will air on Christmas Eve. Most likely it is an episode that most people will hear on another day but maybe not. Maybe someone who listens to these, needs this. Today.

There are certain days, regardless of religion, lack of religion, beliefs, history, regardless of anything, days that do not go unnoticed in this country or very many others.

And now we are on the cusp of one of those days.Whatever intentions we had for it to look any particular way, it is here now and we will either feel good about it or we won't.

Sadly, tragedy, death, loss, sorrow and trauma do not give a rats ass about what day it is. That being said, those things will visit families and homes today, tonight, and tomorrow just as they do every day. 

We can strive for the vision of our dreams to be what our day today and tomorrow look like. We can put everything in place, at least everything we have control over. And tragedy and death do not take Holidays.

Families everywhere are watching this day approach while also watching a beloved negotiate their exit. These families are juggling the dreams and hopes of one more Christmas with whoever it is that is dying, knowing that it is so out of their hands. Many prayers will be said asking for what they want. Or for what they don't want. Here's the funny thing about prayers. And I'm feeling the ice warm beneath my skates as I type but I always believe our prayers are heard. I also believe that what we focus on, grows. 

So just a side note here is that IF you are a praying person, praying for what you WANT and not what you DON'T want raises the chances of you feeling like your prayers were answered. Because you are putting energy into the thing you want. You are focusing on that thing. And what we focus on, grows.

When people are in a situation during a time of the year that is supposed to be jolly and happy and lighthearted and gay, and their situation is none of those things, what are they supposed to do? How do we balance the reality on the one hand with the demands of the world on the other? And there is no easy answer to these questions.

If you, or someone you know, is watching an expected death unfold, our prayers can be that hearts feel held; that love prevails; that laughter and music are heard through the tears. It's a unique time for developing our deeper relationship to whatever the forces are that we can not see or touch. Whatever those things are that we believe in. And sadly, many people lose any sense of anything good at work in our lives when tragedy and death occur on certain days. So if you are aware of someone in this situation on this day, if you know them well enough, send a text or an email of love, let them know you are lighting a candle for their inner circle of closest beloveds to feel moments of exquisite peace woven throughout the harder moments of sadness that they must be experiencing. 

Because people do die, and people do suffer and people do feel lonely and afraid every single day of the year. If we can do anything at all to soften that, whether it's by reaching out or reaching within, what harm has been done? None. 

It goes back to other conversations we've had about how we are all ladder angels just helping one another to the next rung.

My rose colored glasses want to see the world as a safe and peaceful place. And the reality is I know it is not always that way. So, today, on the eve of a day that holds so much power to influence how we feel about life, I will light candles and say prayers that the damage is held to a minimum and that every single person alive has at least one moment of peace.

This is SJ. Thank you for taking the time to join me and I hope you'll join me again where the veil grows thin.