Happy Friday!
As I moved through this busy week, many were buzzing about Thanksgiving. Stories were both heartwarming and, at times, heartbreaking. What I noticed was all of us, especially writers and other creatives, are deeply influenced by what unfolds around us.
Not having family, I shared with glee how I spent Thanksgiving with dear friends, and how touched I was watching their two teenage sons work seamlessly with their father in the kitchen as they prepared the meal. It was wonderful to watch. Beth shared that while she enjoyed her time with family, she also carried some guilt for not being able to see everyone she hoped to.
Then, during Tuesday’s webinar, we went deep. The holidays tend to gather momentum quickly. Events, parties, and end-of-year deadlines pile up, leaving the days feeling anything but calm. I asked the group to imagine a word or image that would make today, or any day, feel perfect. Contentment, healing, and service were mentioned. Mine was decisions. The prompt allowed us to reach an inner state of equilibrium after many busy days.
Robert, a successful screenwriter, shared that he has been searching for community and meaning this season, as both have felt harder to hold onto as he grows older. He wrote the piece below.
A Community of Strangers-Robert Lecky
Starlight faded as the sun bravely tried to find the skyline through the gray morning from my bedroom window. Stinging hot water burst from the shower head and rocked me into the morn. I threw my clothes on with unnatural speed and drove quickly to the ferry, gulping down my espresso. I chose to ride upstairs on the outside to feel the cold morning mist washing my cheek. Life loves to bathe me in extremes, and I don’t really know why. What was I searching for in Midtown on Thanksgiving Day? Was it stimulation for my numbed heart or a vindication that my spirit hadn’t left me to wander about our planet without hope? Here I was about to descend like Orpheus into an unfamiliar darkness alone but without fear. No matter what happens, I remembered, my angels will always be with me. So many times I heard the little voice in my head say turn left, not right, look up instead of down, have hope and carry on, don’t fall asleep, whispering that there is a way out of any cage and all you have to do is find it.
As I approached the corner of 8th and W31st, my heart rose up into my throat. The line stretched around the corner back towards 34th within shouting distance of the world’s greatest holiday parade. We could hear the happy onlookers, and I wondered if they could hear us. I wondered how these ragged, forgotten souls from all nationalities and walks of life could feel thankful on this gray, chilly morn. I rushed past a thousand in search of my contact Leslie for my duty assignment on the Franciscan food line. At exactly 0624 I find her. I reported in with my usual military bearing and asked, as Edith Keeler did on Star Trek, “Let me help.” My reward as the newbie is to hand out the bags, take the yellow tickets from my fellow humans, and give each a juice. I added “God Loves You” and “Peace be with you” at no extra charge. My throat started to close after the first 50 tickets, and it got harder to give my comforting message of hope.
They got sandwiches, fruit, hot coffee, juice, and oatmeal on the catering line. Each man and woman looked me in the eye unafraid, and I did my best to serve them some love and deep joy as my heart grew. My new friends gave me their courage to embrace each new dawn and push away the bad dreams of the night before as they gathered for a warm cup of hope twice a day. I thought of my sons, Alexander and Spencer, and if this act of kindness would ever ripple back to them somehow, and that they would pass it on. I almost broke down and cried a few times, but held it together. I finally understood Dickens and why two thousand years later, I was where I was on this day.
I needed to exchange love this morning and heard my Mother’s laugh of congratulations from somewhere both far and near. I needed her to enter this season of profound light, love, and giving, knowing that I would never ever be truly alone, unwanted, or unloved. I had received this and so much more from this.
My community of strangers, now friends.
Holiday Thrive Webinar-Solutions for Holiday Craziness
As we move deeper into the holiday season, I want to acknowledge something that many know but don’t say out loud: this time of year can fill us with warmth and connection, but it can also leave us depleted and overwhelmed. We’re pulled in many different directions, and although there’s joy, the season’s festivities take their toll.
If you find your creativity waning and holiday chaos has taken over, join us at the next webinar. We’ll work toward solutions to holiday craziness. Register Here.
Here’s to your personal success!
Professor Marilyn Horowitz
Join the Beyond Happiness Substack, now at no cost, for a closer examination of your creative subconscious. New articles and writing prompts are posted weekly—a powerful blend of neuroscience, storytelling, and self-compassion that helps you connect to your inner-self and find your center.
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