Gettingthrough Christmas season is always an adventure. It’s that time of year whentime just flows a bit differently. Some years I get this crazy itch to go home. Many years I take some kind of exotictrip. On rare occasions I just stayhome.

This year I decided to see what my own city of Sydney had to offer.


I spent three days walking the city, seeing the sites, visiting my favorite pubfor a sing-a-long, and reflecting on my life, the state of the world, and wherethings were going.


Like many people I suspect, sometimes I get a song stuck in my head that followsme around for a few days or even weeks. Often this song becomes part of the “soundtrack”for whatever experiences I’m having at the time.


I recently learned that the most popular Christmas song in the Uk is “The Fairytaleof New York” by The Pogues. For those that might not be familiar with thissong, it’s about a couple of drunks looking back on their lives and their lostdreams while also remembering when things were good. It’s not exactly the most “feelgood” song, and it’s a little surprising it’s become such a popular Christmassong. Maybe people recognize it as being a little closer to real life than other Christmas songs. Whoknows? But I must admit I became a fan this year and have sort of had the songon repeat these last couple of weeks.


A sad footnote to the story was that the lead singer of The Pogues, Shane MacGowan,died this year not long before Christmas. Much like the hero of his Christmassong, Shane lived life hard and fast. His death kind of seemed like the end ofsomething to me. I got the same feeling when Kurt Cobain died in 1994. Like anage was coming to an end. The Pogues were dirty, gritty, and cool. And at therisk of sounding like an old man shaking his rake in the air, they don’t reallymake music like that anymore. A lot of history’s most influential musicianshave died in the last few years or are on their last laps. Like I say, it feltlike the end of something to me.


But as for this the song, one particular lyric stood out to me.



‘It was Christmas Eve babe
In the drunk tank
An old man said to me, won't see another one’


Now look, I’m not trying to get morbid here, but when I heard that lyric, Ithought back on the past year and all of the friends I had lost since lastChristmas. Many likely had no idea they “wouldn’t see another one” at the time,I’m quite certain of that.


I couldn’t stop thinking about this. For those of us that have lost friends,particularly at a young age, it all seems kind of surreal when it happens.Freud once said the two biggest mistakes people make are thinking illness anddisease won’t happen to them and thinking they have an unlimited amount of time.


So as I was walking around Christmas night, I was thinking about all of thisand the fact that for some of us, this WILL be our last Christmas. It was asobering thought and as I was walking the streets I reflected about what thatmeant. If we know this to be true, I mean we REALLY know it to be true, whatshould we do with this information? Call our friends and family and tell themwe love them? Take a trip to some exotic place we’ve always wanted to go? Focusmore on our health? Quit our jobs and hit the road?


As I was thinking these thoughts, I heard music and followed the sound. Irealized I was at Martin Place, where Sydney’s biggest and brightest Christmastree stood proudly. It was Christmas night around 9 PM and I assumed mostpeople’s Christmas was over by now.


But I assumed wrong.




There was a huge crowd of people around the tree. There was a singer beltingout Christmas songs, and people were loudly singing along. Others were takingpictures in front of the tree and laughing and dancing.


But all I heard in MY head was the Fairytale of New York,

'You were handsome
You were pretty
Queen of New York City
When the band finished playing
They howled out for more
Sinatra was swinging
All the drunks they were singing
We kissed on a corner
Then danced through the night

The boys of the NYPD choir
Were singing Galway Bay
And the bells were ringing out
For Christmas day’

It was the happy part of the song when things were good. That was the vibe atthe tree that night. These people were joyful and happy and completely in themoment.


It was a lovely place to be. Some of these people were probably having the bestChristmas of their lives. Making memories that they would rememberforever.


And man was that feeling contagious. It made me realize that, although myearlier thoughts were that it would be the last Christmas for some people, thatdidn’t mean life stopped happening.


And more than that, it made me realize that not only was that a pleasantalternative, it was actually the point. We need to live as much as possible, because time was fleeting.

 As Emily Dickenson said,


That it will never come again
Is what makes life so sweet.


And after that, I bought myself some Hot Chocolate and joined in with thesinging. I might have 50 Christmases’ left or I might have one. I didn’t havemuch control over that.


But I sure as hell could enjoy this Christmas. This moment.


That was in my control.


So in the end, I had my little “Fairytale of Sydney.”


And to all the people I’ve lost this year, thank you for sharing some of yourtime with me. I won’t forget the gift. You’ve helped me realize that we don’tget unlimited time and I need to use mine as richly and authentically and as passionatelyas I possibly can.


Happy New Year everyone.