Kilted Dad Going to School
All of the Fariabult readers, I am lacking in most peoples phone numbers, but if you email me at kiltederic@gmail.com I can get in touch with you.
All ready lost our ditigal camera. Left it on the plane. That was dumb.
I came across this tonight while waiting for the washing machine to stop.http://kilted.myminicity.com/ this is my online city of Kilted Falls. Help out the population by clicking the link. If you make your own city, tell me and I will click away as well!
Question: Will wearing a Kilt and having a Beard get me flagged by the TSA? Answer: Will find out on Friday!
We are off to Minnesota for Christmas will my Family. It will be my boy’s first time to the land of his father. I wonder if he will start baby talking with a minnesotian accent?
We will take loads of pics, and if I am on the ball I will post them up for everybody to see!
Have a good Christmas and I hope Santa brings you everything you want! Remember, Santa believes in you, even if you don’t believe in him! My wife got me coal! Well sorta coal. She bought me a brick of Irish Peat! Good smelling stuff, it reminds me of our honeymoon to Ireland everytime I smell it.
Cheers!
KE
For the 3 people I know with iPhones, and anyone who finds my sites and uses an iPhone, will be happy to know that I have updated the site so that it will format nicly with your iPhone or iPod Touch. Also, I added a cleaner print feature to the posts. This all goes for thiskiltedlife.com as well.
I get forwarded emails from family reminding me that it is Christmas time and all you other religions that are wrong, can go screw off. I see billboards telling me the same thing. These things don’t give me that “Holiday Cheer” inside.
I see Malls opening at Midnight on Thanksgiving to make the big sales, the earliest jump on Black Friday. This too does not give me that “Holiday Cheer” inside.
Watching my son look at a nicely trimmed Christmas tree does.
So, I started thinking about why I celebrate Christmas. I am not a “practicing” Christian, but yet I feel I believe in the Bible. I really don’t like the over commercialization of any holidays, while on the flip side I go gaga for the Christmas lights, the holiday music (yes I said holiday music, Hanukah songs are great!), basically the whole Christmas nine yards. I do dislike the use of Xmas, but thats because shortening names can be stupid to me, I mean would you say Xster, or Xtines Day?
Lets turn on the way back machine and see where I come from (somebody should tell Mr. President that you can learn about the Present and the Future by learning from the past.)
Growing up in a Lutheran based family gave my the understanding that Jesus is my savior and that God is well god. Then I went to Trinity Lutheran School in Faribault Minnesota and I learned that Man is imperfect and that those who preach the gospel cannot always be trusted. Thus I started growing mistrust of Organized Religion and of what I was taught about Jesus and God.
I then went on to study Pagan (Wiccan mostly) religions, and it felt right to me at the time. The energy of life, the ebb and flow. I like feeling connected to all things, and that we have a power in us to effect things that we could not otherwise do (i.e.: magic spells, astral travel, communication with the “other side”)
When I was 18, I attempted suicide by running my car into a bridge pillar in the “hopes” that it would explode action movie style. It didn’t’, but I knew from that moment that something is out there, god, jesus, energy, Buddha, etc..
Now a days I am married to a wonderful wife, and have a brilliant child, and a happy life. I feel that what ever the Higher Power is out there, it wanted me to be here. It guided me to this place in time.
Now lets look at when Christmas comes. Winter, at least where I have ever lived its been winter-like, and the Winter Solstice is very close to when Christmas time happens. Some folks say that the Church of old “stole” the solstice to try to convert the pagans. Some Christians point out the lambs in the stable, and say “lambs, in winter? Lambs come is spring right?”
I started feeling a few years ago, that winter is not the end of the year, but the the beginning. The snow (or the gray rain in my case living in Seattle) brings a clean slate to everybody’s life. The “nothingness” right before the “everything”. During this cold and dreary time what is better and being with friends and loved ones, by a warm glow of a fire, or singing cheerfully songs, or hanging bright colored lights on trees. Not much.
Ok, heres a load of background information to build on. How to wrap it up? I believe that Jesus would not be happy with us shoving our (or anybody else doing the same to us) our religion down their throats. If you shout Merry Christmas at a Jewish person, are you doing it out of love or hate? If you push a Mall Santa to the ground cause he is blocking the spiritual view of Jesus birth, is that a Christ like thing to do? On the same token I would not want someone telling me I couldn’t sing Frosty the Snowman, or hum the Dreydl song.
Jesus want us to love our fellow man, christian or otherwise, black, white, rainbow. I feel that Jesus would want to light a menorah candle with one of my good friends, or put festive decorations on a winter solstice tree. Jesus came because he loved us, and wants us to know love, and to give love to others. I don’t think Jesus is the kinda guy how wants a birthday cake, or us to shove people around in the mall to buy a video game (I am not saying I wouldn’t love to see a iPod Touch in my stocking this year!).
Christmas time is holding the hand of the Winter Solstice, and together they walk giving new life, joy and love to those around them, but if your to hung up on “Put the Christ back in Christmas” OR “Don’t bring that Christmas Tree into my City Hall” you’ll miss it.
You may call this style of spirituality “Buffet Style”, well you may be right. I do love a good buffet. I am happy wishing you a Merry Christmas, Happy Winter Solstice, Happy Hanukah, and Happy Kwanzaa.
I’m even happy to wish you a Happy Holidays and Auld Lang Syne.
May Jesus, Jehovah, Buddha, The Flying Spaghetti Monster, JR Bob Dobbs, bring you many blessings, and allow you to feel love. We all need a little love, even Tiny Tim knew it.
Happy Holidays to all, and to all a good night
Kilted Eric
Oh, and to you atheists who believe in nothing out there, Bah Humbug! 