Happy New Year - 2024

 

May this New Year that is upon us find you planning wonderful and exciting escapes to places you have never been before. This round ball of a planet has so much to offer and you have so much to offer it in return.

Happy New Year from the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada

                                 Get out and and travel in 2024!!!!

                            Traveling freely along the Amazon River in Peru - Make it yours

Happy New Year!

As always - we at J and L Research and Exploration want to express our desire for the very best New Year for you and your loved ones. Here's to an awesome 2023!

The Christmas That Almost Wasn't...

And a Happy New Year!

The greeting cards have all been sent; the Christmas rush is through, and as we settle in to enjoy the holiday with our loved ones that one time of year when hopefully, all roads truly do lead us all home, we thought back how much Christmas celebrations and traditions have morphed and changed over the years. With a smile and a nod to the Carpenters, who turned Christmas into a verb with the 1978 release of what would become a Christmas classic, Merry Christmas, Darling - (I'm Christmasing with you....) let's journey back to a time when Christmas almost wasn't.

As any good American school child knows, most early European emigrants traveled to what would later become the United States from Western European nations. For various political and religious reasons, some adherents to particular religions, especially Irish, Scottish, and some British may have kept their customs quietly at home rather than disrupt life in the new Colonies.

In what would become Virginia, Captain John Smith and company, you will remember from stories of that first Thanksgiving, were mostly followers of the Church of England and observed Christmas much as they had always done -- good food, good company.

God Bless Us, Everyone

But to the north where settlers would eventually found Massachusetts, the travelers from the Mayflower observed their first Christmas a few short weeks after arriving and had no time to celebrate -- not if they wanted to survive. They were still living aboard the the ship and not yet erected a shelter.

When we look back on history, we remember it often in general terms. We remember Pilgrims who came looking for religious freedom. True. To a certain extent...and from a certain point of view.

Mayflower- 1620

Once the Mayflower folks were able to establish themselves with shelter and other necessities of life, the 41 religious dissidents, as it were, who had fled England and the Netherlands (17 men, 10 women, 14 children) in search of freedom to worship were outnumbered by 61 other passengers - Pilgrims, servants and others. These Pilgrims were looking for a new life in a new world, a purer life, hence Puritan.

Streets of Joy!

Ah, but there was trouble in this new paradise, even at Christmas. As some in the newborn colony excused themselves from work to celebrate the day on that second Christmas in new world, the governor, William Bradford, took exception. It seemed he did have a problem with their Christmas celebrations. They could, he explained, keep Christmas at home as a matter of devotion. There was to be no visible signs of celebration -- certainly no joy, no playing of children in the streets while others went solemnly to work. It went against his conscience, his Puritan work ethic, that they should play while others worked.

It reminds us of that (terrible) saying that seems so popular today: If momma ain't happy - ain't nobody happy. Or Happy Spouse - Happy House. Perhaps I am judging the poor governor by modern eyes,  but I see him as a spoiled child who has to clean his room and he cries that it's not fair as he watches the other children run out to play.

For a country that was founded on religious freedom (not freedom from religion, we remind folks from time to time), it seems frighteningly ironic that we almost lost that very freedom within a year or so of our very establishment. And all over wanting to celebrate the birth of our Savior. Can you imagine this country, this time of year, without Christmas, without the carols, without the tree-lighting ceremonies, without all the tiny little reminders of why we are celebrating in the first place?

So, this Christmas, celebrate with all your spirit! Let the world see you love and cheer! And William Bradford, wherever you are, we're taking my celebration to the street! Unless it rains.

Silent Night

Anti-Resolutions: New Year's Resolutions You Might Actually Be Able to Keep

Since the dawn of mankind, we have looked to the Heavens. We mark the path of the sun, and note the passage of a day. We notice the phases of the moon, and gain an awareness of a month. Then, those intrepid ancients took note of the alignment of the visible universe, and created a way to measure seasons, and years.

And with all our fascination with time, we promise ourselves that THIS year will be better than the last. WE will be better, do better, try harder. We make New Year's Resolutions. And before the end of January, most of those resolutions are out the proverbial window. And right now, who can even remember the resolutions made last year at this time?

So, to evolve beyond this rather masochistic practice, and end the self-punishment, it is time for anti-resolutions. These are resolutions you not only might actually be able to keep -- but perhaps, are the ones we should have been aiming for all along.

We at J and L present our anti-resolutions, and invite you to comment below with yours.

1. Have a sense of adventure. You don't need a gym to work out. Get outside. Breathe in that fresh (well, fresher) air. Walk with someone you love -- hold hands if they are bipedal; hold leashes for the four-legged love in your life. Walk the path less-traveled. See things you haven't seen before -- across the world or across the street. But get outside. Say hello to fellow adventurers out for a walk or a hike. And don't forget to watch the sunset. Now that's our idea of exercise!
2. Get some sleep. Well, after all that outdoorsy exercise, you've earned it. No guilt. Science tells us that a good night's rest can reduce your level of stress, and thus your blood pressure. You burn calories as you snooze, and rest helps curb your appetite. So, sleep does a body good! 
3. Look up from your devices -- after you finish reading this blog, that is. Unplug. Read a book. Have a conversation. Play a board game. Enjoy spending time with friends and family. None of us are getting any younger, and no number of  'Likes' is worth missing a moment of 'Life.'
4. Love yourself. Sometimes you have to spend a little money on something unnecessary. Sometimes, you need to have an hour to do nothing all by yourself. If you spend all of your spare energy on trying to make someone else happy, you will be miserable. You can't MAKE someone happy, anyway. Love yourself and you'll find you have more love to share.
5. Use it or lose it. You know that special something that you've been saving for a special occasion. Well, today is that special occasion. Wear it, use it, play with it, drink it. Material items aren't meant to last forever. Enjoy them now instead of saving it for someday. And less truly is more. Get rid of the stuff that has been cluttering your closet and your life. All of it. If you don't have a use for it, donate it. Or, in the case of old divorce paperwork for instance, have a good ole bonfire.
6. Write. Pencil or pen and paper are best. It doesn't have to be brilliant or inspirational. Write a story, a poem, a song. Make a list counting your blessings. Write a letter or a thank-you note, and send it. When was the last time you sent or received an honest-to-goodness letter? Not email. Real, physical paper and stamps. Remember when you could go the mailbox and there was something waiting for you besides bills and advertisements? Ah, those were the days. We could start a revolution right here and now. Bring back cards and letters -- and not just at Christmastime.
7. Be creative. Make something with your hands. Plant. Rearrange. Beautify. Just don't do what everyone else is doing the way everyone else is doing it. Be yourself. Your best self. And definitely be different. 

Now, the anti-resolution purists will tell you that anti-resolutions must be stated in the negative -- to emphasize what you will STOP doing. But we believe that violates #7. A resolution is a firm decision to do, or not do, something. Therefore, anti-resolutions are more, well, guidelines. And none of these cost most than the price of a stamp -- but can be priceless. These anti-resolutions are about seeing the best in yourself and others -- rather than punishing ourselves for our bad habits. And that is our wish for you in 2018. See the best; be the best; hope and work for the best for all of us.