Good Ol’ Days

Merry Christmas Eve! Anticipation is a word that comes to mind on Christmas Eve, doesn’t it? Anticipation is a word full of hope, with a little impatience and exhaustion of waiting. Anticipating goes a little beyond hope. When you anticipate something happening, you firmly believe that this something will definitely happen, and also that it will happen in the near future.

The commercial above was legendary when I was a kid, especially being a kid from Pittsburgh, the home of Heinz ketchup. The idea from the commercial is that anything that takes a while to come to fruition, is worth the wait.

These days we start anticipating the holiday season right after Halloween. Christmas decorations are all over our towns and our stores for the last sixth of the year. We buy presents, we decorate our homes, we order cards and then we write them out and send them (for those of you on my Christmas card list, we are anticipating New Years Day cards this year – oops!), we wrap the presents, we prepare religious services and celebrations, and we get gobs of food in our freezers, well in advance to these last days of any year that culminate into “The Holidays.” And now they are here. The anticipation is over and the time to savor has come.

Here are the lyrics of Carly Simon’s song “Anticipation” that was featured in the Heinz ketchup commercial:

We can never know about the days to come
But we think about them anyway
And I wonder if I’m really with you now
Or just chasin’ after some finer day

Anticipation, anticipation
Is makin’ me late
Is keepin’ me waitin’

And I tell you how easy it feels to be with you
And how right your arms feel around me
But I, I rehearsed those words just late last night
When I was thinkin’ about how right tonight might be

Anticipation, anticipation
Is makin’ me late
Is keepin’ me waitin’

And tomorrow we might not be together
I’m no prophet and I don’t know nature’s ways
So I’ll try and see into your eyes right now
And stay right here ’cause these are the good old days

And stay right here ’cause these are the good old days
(These are the good old days)
(These are the good old days)
(These are the good old days)
(These are the good old days)

“And stay right here ’cause these are the good old days.” We are here now. No more Christmas to-do lists. No more Christmas bustle. No more travelling a desert, following a large star. The time is here to be still. The time is here to just notice and to be aware of our feelings, to notice the deep love we feel for those surrounding us, and also for those who aren’t with us, but who are always nestled inside of our hearts. The time is here to appreciate all of the miracles that are part living any one life. Be here now. These are the good old days.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Fierce Loyalty

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

The Wise Connector on Twitter today asked his followers to answer this “question”:

Name ONE brand you are loyal to.

It was interesting to read the responses because many answers were international, so I wasn’t familiar with some of the items listed. Many people listed particular car makers, Apple was listed a few times, there were some Coke votes, and also some Pepsi votes and many people listed their favorite toothpastes (albeit, all different brands). I did a quick inventory of my own go-to brand loyalty items and here are a few items that came to the top of my head right away:

Ford trucks, Ponds cold cream, Jif peanut butter, Advil ibuprofen (I believe that the brand is better than the generic is this case), SmartMouth mouthwash, Sensodyne toothpaste (preferably the British version that has Novamin – you can by this in bulk on Amazon), Illy coffee, Viva cloth-like paper towels, Mid’s tomato sauce, Heinz ketchup, Wet-n-Wild black liquid eyeliner, Discover credit cards, Chase bank

I am sure that there are a handful of other items that I am brand loyal to, but these items, which I listed above, are items in which I am extraordinarily particular about the brand. Bonanza-like sales and discounts could not veer me off course from these distinct brands. (and I’m a girl who likes a bargain) This little exercise got me to thinking about why we become loyal to particular brands. Most items that we like best, have a distinction about them, that is hard to duplicate. Sometimes this distinction is so subtle that it is even hard to define. But this distinction becomes our preference, which translates into our loyalty. Interestingly, our loyalty is not always created because we find the product superior. Sometimes we feel an affinity for the company and its principles. One follower of the Wise Connector mentioned that he will always be loyal to Nordstrom department stores because when he was young, and he only had $17 to spend for a dress shirt for an interview, the clerks at Nordstrom, nevertheless, treated him like he was a king. I, myself, feel fondly about Ford, because the Ford trucks which we have purchased throughout the years, in order to carry our large brood all over the place, have always been reliable, comfortable, solid, safe, roomy and relatively inexpensive to repair. In times when our family funds were low, we could always rely on our Ford Expeditions to get us to where we needed to go. We have a lot of beautiful family memories, driving these trucks to sporting events and to vacations and to colleges and to visits to our family and friends. My husband and I now can afford the luxury vehicles which we currently drive, and we certainly enjoy them, but just like now, we will probably always have a random Ford truck sitting in our driveway, reminding us of our roots, and the reliability of a solid American ingenuity that was a huge factor, in raising our family. Along these lines, Heinz ketchup is special to me because I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA. The Heinz pickle factory sign is iconic there. I do believe that Heinz ketchup tastes better than any other ketchup there is, but I am not sure if this is because I was raised with the affinity for the actual product, or because of my fondness of what Heinz means to my hometown. It’s probably a mix of both reasons, but regardless I am totally loyal to Heinz ketchup only.

What products are you loyal to in your life? Why? I wonder if this train of thought can be expanded to all sorts of loyalties. It is interesting to become conscious of our loyalties to the different people, places and things in our lives. Why are we so fiercely loyal to these particulars? Do these people, places and things deserve our loyalty? Are we loyal to ourselves?

Also, there are certain brands which we swear off for the rest our lives, in an opposite sense of loyalty, due to a negative experience with the brand. My husband will never again purchase anything from Best Buy, due to the way that they treated us unfairly, by not honoring a warranty on a computer. This isn’t exactly disloyalty, but more a loyalty to our own self-worth and to our own higher principles.

How special it is to have qualities that make others feel loyal to you. There are so many different people, and places and things in the world. The choices are endless. How truly special it is, to have a loyal following, a loyal lover, a loyal friend, a loyal pet, a loyal God. Loyalty is often earned. How wonderful that you have earned some loyalty in your life! This loyalty to you says that you have something special, that the others just don’t have. This loyalty to you, says that you have some beautiful distinctions that set you apart, and make you amazing and intrinsically different and interesting from the rest. This loyalty to you says that you have made people feel good about being with you. You have made a difference in their lives. This loyalty to you says that those who are loyal to you, want you in their lives for always. You fill something in them, that no one else can. Treasure this loyalty. It’s more rare than we think. It’s precious.

On that note, I have had loyal readers since I started this blog over three years ago. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, for your loyalty. It does not got unnoticed. I appreciate you, and I intend to continue to earn your loyalty with my steadfastness, reliability and authenticity and love.

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