Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. In fact, at Wal-mart, it was beginning to look that way about mid September! Although it's easy to grumble about it, I'm thinking … maybe it's an opportunity to exercise my "find-the-silver-lining-in-every-cloud" muscles. In other words, I can refuse to worry about why it's coming earlier, and allow the spirit of Christmas, in all it's "early-ness" to bring what it brings. Christmas, to me, is a sort of "secret agreement" between us all. We want the world to be this way all the time: Full of love, life, celebration, spiritual devotion, good cheer, good will toward all and peace on earth. Our other agreements say that we have to be serious, studious, industrious and capitalistic, maybe even a little devious from time to time, so we've secretly made this "other" agreement to take a break from the work-a-day, dog-eat-dog mind set and soak up some spirit. Why else would anyone agree to have a dying tree in their living room for a month?! And maybe this is why we "tolerate," grudgingly, this "slow sneaking," perpetrated by the big box stores. Because with the commercials and flyers and sales comes some spirit, taking us all a little closer to that which is simply true. After all, wouldn't we open the door if God were knocking, even if it meant getting a little snow on the rug?

The stock market became unfriendly. I found this upsetting. People who are supposed to be the world's smartest people were taken by surprise. I felt some guilt over my distress-after all, despite the angst it caused my family, we're still relatively young and can recoup, but there are many souls out there that were planning to retire soon and have to postpone for several years-or worse yet-they're deep into retirement and have to come back to work. I hope you fit into neither category.

I have been a seeker of spiritual meaning for many years, and one thing I have been doing battle with recently is the illusion of "us" and "them." At some point it dawned on me that there is no "us and them"--only us. We speak of the "government," or other organizations as separate entities; but they are really just a bunch of "us's. Maybe what happened, eons ago, is that we discovered the comfort of believing that someone else was responsible for the "way things were." This, of course, is a much more comforting thought than living with the truth that we alone are responsible; That we are "at cause" for everything we see, if by no other means, than by the "sin of sitting at the sidelines". Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for the triumph (of evil) is that good men do nothing." I can understand this dilema. As I experienced the "epiphane," I had a very difficult time answering the question, "what can I do?" One answer I found was a simple one, but I missed it because of the annoying cliché it was wrapped up in; "Think globally, act locally." To take responsibility for my actions, regardless of how "small and inconsequential" I believe them to be. Picking up a piece of trash, refusing to buy stock in a cigarette company, being impeccable in the way I charge my clients, not shopping at the store that sends most of its work overseas-taking action around WHATEVER it is that I believe in. So that's one of my focal points now-making sure I contribute only toward things that I believe are good-and doing my best NOT to fuel any undesirable conditions. I may succeed or fail, but I believe it to be a worthy discipline, so I'll keep trying. It was a good year for us as a company, despite the "goings on" in the world economy. We didn't expand, but neither did we shrink. This is the end of our twentieth year in business, and Troy has been with me sixteen of those years, and we still enjoy our work--so that is sign enough that all is well. Bless You, Ken, Deb & Elissa Rose LaVoie - The LaVoie Family Troy Maddux, Lawn Maintenance

And so, with that, I thank you for doing what you do for us. You allow us to serve you. That's our highest purpose in life, I believe; to be of service. The prayer that I lovingly bundle and ship with my gratitude is that our service to you is worth more than the payment you give. I trust you to keep us aware of the answer to that question! We pray that you have a great Christmas and Holiday time and that your purest aspirations come to you in a way that you cannot possibly ignore.

Bless You,

The LaVoie Family