Late December usually sees a lot of inventory taking place. Many businesses that operate on a 12-month calendar year use this end of the year month to tally up their assets and close out their books. But something about the season inspires us to take inventory of our personal stock also – our soul stock, if you will.
You can see the calculations on the faces of any of the State Street shoppers. Running down lists in their heads of all their loved ones and some maybe not so loved. “I should get a gift for them,” they’re thinking, “because they got one for me last year.” Aunt Edna, check. Uncle Fred, check. A lot of these lists even get written down. They seem to occur as tasks, not acts of kindness. Can you imagine what the girl at the front desk at your work – that girl you see five days a week – would say if she saw herself on your people-I-care-about list as “front desk girl”? Some of the characters are always the same (the family you were born into) and some are ever-changing (the family you create). There is equal beauty in these two categories.
The interesting thing is that we all use this “end of the year” to reflect and name those who have been main characters in our lives over the past 12 months. Another interesting part of this mental list is that some of the characters are always the same (the family you were born into) and some are ever-changing (the family you create). There is equal beauty in these two categories. The family you are born into is beautiful because, for many of us, they are always there – it’s unconditional. We have families who watch as we are born, grow up, and pass through our awkward stages.