I remember receiving quite a few snow globes as a child. Seems like they’ve been a holiday staple for years. Many movies and television shows have used snow globes as props. Both Citizen Kane and It’s a Wonderful Life had snow globes in the beginning of their stories. I also recall the medical show St. Elsewhere using a snow globe. This time, it was one of the last scenes of the series and left the viewer to believe every episode of the seven year run was really just in the mind of an autistic young boy named Tommy. It was creative, controversial and poignant.
When the cold winds begin to blow and flurries fill the air, I often reminisce about the snow globe. Lately, those thoughts have taken me down another path. I’ve been thinking a great deal about what’s outside of the snow globe. Seems to me we often get hung up, bogged down, or trapped in our own little snow globe. It’s a vital, important and secure place to be….so we think. I mean, after all, there are bills to pay, and work to be done, and the kids need new shoes. The Elf on the Shelf isn’t going to go buy packages, or address and mail Christmas cards.
At the same time it is SO refreshing, exhilarating, and sometimes scary, when I dare to step out of my own safe world.
I am and always will be a dreamer. It’s fun for me to lay in bed and dream of all kinds of things. Imagining what might and could be in another place or time. Not second guessing – just dreaming. The same is true for those of us who stay in our own snow globe world. What would happen if we broke free, took a calculated risk or chance and saw what was beyond our usual horizon?
I was talking to a co-worker the other day. He’s 92. He was telling me a story that happened in April, 1962. He was recalling in vivid detail, the people and places as if it were last week, not 52+ years ago. I kept asking more questions and was both captivated and fascinated with this adventure and his life. It became obvious to me he has never been one to stick around in his snow globe for very long.
That night, as I drifted off to sleep, I couldn’t help but wonder if that zest and zeal for adventure has been a catalyst for his long life. And I had to ask myself, if I had that same enthusiasm and attitude would I too enjoy a wonderful life outside my own little world. Maybe we all need to pause as the flurries swirl around our heads and think what life would be like outside our snow globes.
Wishing you all a safe, magical and joyous holiday in whatever way you chose to celebrate the season.