Titan Network
Community => City of Heroes => Topic started by: TheBeatnik on December 25, 2012, 02:51:43 PM
-
They waited in darkness, many of them tired and miserable, strangers in their own lands; waited for something that had long ago become just the faintest flicker of a nearly forgotten promise. Many of those around them had long ago stopped waiting, and had moved on to other concerns. Those who remained must have wondered whether their wait was just another pointless effort, one more in the long series of cruel cosmic jokes that had plagued their people.
While they waited, others followed an impossible dream, traveling long distances following a hesitant, faint light, their "star in the east." Not knowing what to expect, they nonetheless prepared themselves as best they could, searching the skies nightly, and gathering gifts for a destination yet to be known.
And in that long dark night, some worked; trudging the dark fields, huddling against the cold, doing their best to make a living with no idea that a miracle was just about to drop into their lives.
I think that is where we are, in our own long dark night of waiting, working, and trying to get by. There is no Hallmark Moment for us just yet, and maybe not for a while still. The skies haven't opened, no trumpets have sounded, the angels are still in their wings waiting to see if their cue will be given. George Bailey is still wandering Potterstown in bleak despair, the spirits have yet to visit Scrooge, and Linus is still some ways away from telling Charlie Brown the meaning of Christmas.
But I can tell you what Christmas means to me, at least as that meaning applies to those of us here, fighting for our game. At long length, against all odds, when even the best found themselves wondering if all the waiting and working was worth it, hope entered the world. It had, actually, been there all along, kept by those who waited, made visible by those who sought for it, and now capable of transforming even those who never knew it existed.
For those of you who are waiting, I wish and hope the companionship here will bring joy and and ease the burden of the wait.
For those of you leading the struggle, in addition to my highest gratitude and respect, I wish and hope that you will see your search rewarded by success.
For all of us, I wish and hope that this coming year will be filled with the love and friendship that I so often see expressed here in these forums.
Merry Christmas, everybody! Just seeing you here each day gives me hope!
The Beatnik
-
Beautifully said....