Before the angels sing, before Santa Claus pulls into town, before you have yourself a Merry little Christmas, I have to tell you something: Every so often I have a dark moment.

A moment when I mourn the past and fear the future.

I can’t escape the thought, I’m living with a progressive, incurable disease that’s as cruel as advertised.

I think about my life before the illness. The freedom. The ability. The fearlessness.

I think about life a year from now. Five years. Ten years. I think about my kids as adults. Their weddings. Their families. Their holidays. Sometimes I’m present. Sometimes I’m not.

Charles Dickens wrote the enduring novella, “A Christmas Carol” in 1843. Obviously, a lot has changed since then. Entire nations have been born, raised, and died. Two world wars have been fought. George Baily realized it’s a wonderful life. Elvis Presley sung. Charlie Brown danced and decorated a boney Christmas tree.

Since then, “A Christmas Carol” has been remade, reimagined, retold in books, movies, cartoons, and stage plays over 100 times. From Patrick Stewart to Fozzy Bear, the characters and themes of “A Christmas Carol” have remained a golden thread of the human experience.

Dickens originally wrote the novella to expose the societal divisions in Victorian England and the dire need for social change and he used a Christmastime setting to punctuate his point.

One of the most beloved and timeless characters in “A Christmas Carol” is the Ghost of Christmas Present. No matter the version, the appearance of the GoCP is brief. Which makes sense since he represents the fleeting present moment. Always dressed in green, always jolly, and always surrounded by a food spread that rivals a Golden Corral buffet, the GoPC represents the joys and delights of this very moment.

It’s 2023 and historically easy to lose focus on the task at hand and get lost in the vastness of our modern lives.

Technology has provided us with a quick and easy way to disappear into the past or the present. We look far in the uncertain future or back in the certain–but expired–past to avoid thinking about the present.

The GoCP teaches Ebenezer Scrooge that our earthly power comes down to this moment. Right now, we can control the choices we make. You chose to read this letter now (which I’m grateful for) which I chose to write right now (which is in the past but you get the point). No matter our engagement, you and I made a conscious choice to be here. That’s power. That’s how you enjoy your life.

Like Scrooge, if we want to discover our best selves, and shine a lantern light into our dark moment, then we need to be aware of our actions in the present moment.

It was only when Scrooge met the present with an open mind and love in his heart, that he replaced “Bah Humbug!” with “Merry Christmas!”, that he learned the present alone cannot make you a miserable miser.

My Christmas wish to you (and myself)– is to wish us many present moments this holiday season.

Take a deep breath, sing Christmas carols, build a snowman, eat a sugar plum–do whatever you have to reset your mind to help you experience the present moment and take care of today.

Be well,
Jay

A Christmas Bonus (and you don’t have to kidnap your boss to get it):

Surviving Christmas: Lessons from Clark W. Griswald Jr.

Amazon Order Link!

Ordinary Hero is now available in hardback and available, upon request, in local bookstores or libraries, even if your local bookstore or library is in Peru.

Greetings to everyone who found me on the University of Pennsylvania’s Ataxia Clinic’s website! Thanks for stopping by. I have ataxia and though I’m not a doctor, I hope my words comfort, encourage, empower, and serve as good company on your journey.

December Book Promos for You:

Are looking for inspiration? Are you searching for a better version of yourself?

This month I joined literary forces with some best-selling authors in an awesome book promotions. Click the link below:

Cozy Up with these Memoirs, Biographies, Self-Help books and More!

Purchase Jay’s Debut Book,”Bedtime Stories for the Living” Exclusively at Amazon!

Recent letters you may enjoy:

Celebrating My Worst Day; Year 10

Celebrate the Little Steps

Life is Change

Adversity Also Builds This

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Jay Armstrong is a speaker and an award-winning author. Despite being diagnosed with a rare neurological disease, that impairs his movement, balance, eyesight, and speech–Jay presses on. The leader of the Philadelphia Ataxia Support Group, he hopes to help you find joy, peace, and meaning in life.