Quick link to an inspirational post

I stumbled upon this post last week and can't get it out of my head, it's HERE.

Christmas can look a bit sh*t, y'all.

If you're reading that post, make sure you go through the comments as well. 

In the past year or so I started to think that it's OK not to enjoy a particular festive day. Obviously I haven't told anyone about this. (You should look at their faces when I said "food is just food, sure, I enjoy eating nice food but I don't think more than that. I won't actively seek out the nicest places to have food", I should also mention that I like cooking more than eating.) My mom would say I'm a bit of a party-pooper (is that the word?) whenever I expressed ambivalence/distaste about doing what she thinks is traditionally -and-socially appropriate and expected of certain festivals. I refused to pay extra for an everyday meal at a restaurant chain that charges more just because it's "Christmas" or "Chinese New Year", I refuse to pay a hundred bucks more for a hotel buffet just because it's "festival season" and the hotels are charging more for the same thing. For the past few years I've gone the complete opposite way - to eat at places that people would never think of going during that time period. One, I get my peace of mind; second, anything to avoid the crowds and the madness; third, I don't have to feel coerced to paying more for the same thing.

Honestly, Christmas or other festive occasions is just another day in the year. To some, it may mean gifts and dinners; but to some, to the elderly / homeless it may mean loneliness and helpless, or to an average person it may mean too much kitchen prep work for zero appreciation, or don't-know-what-to-do with disagreeing relatives/cousins. This year, the last meaning is spot on.

This post resonated with me most in the part where it talks about feeling inadequate. Now that I don't come from a very well-off family, but I think we have more than enough to live by, and YET I still do feel incomplete/inadequate at times like these. I feel ashamed. There are the constant "wants" that disguises as "needs" under the bells and charms of the festive season. There are tons of other needy people out there to be thought of, even if we don't live under the same roof.  

For a start, I'll be looking at Christmas (or other festivities for that matter) a bit differently this year.