It's almost Christmas. That little sentence has a variety of meanings depending on your point of view. Little children, of course, are full of excitement for all of the fun things that are hopefully coming their way. It's a time to stay off of the naughty list. I love the tv commercials this year showing little kids doing things to stay off of the list.

For the little kid's parents it can be a time with conflicting feelings. Hope has them wanting to fulfill the wishes of their little ones which brings a warm, fuzzy feeling to their hearts. But, it can be a time of worry that the money won't be there to make it a reality.

Families that have split up and regrouped with other split up families have emotions running amok throughout the holiday season for both parents and children. The kids seem to better able to adapt to these situations than the parents.

There are many of us without children and/or significant others. Some of them carry with them feelings from childhood. Fond recollections of family activities, the night before Christmas, the tree. But for some they harbor sad feelings that can manifest through the years into depression. We cannot tell by looking at people what feelings and memories they tote around. Some are very good at concealing them and they don't even need a permit. Imagine if you had to go through classes in order to get a Concealed Feeling Permit.

Feelings and memories can be a source of comfort and warmth or source of pain to fester over years and erupt later in life in many ways. We walk down many pathways in life and these are the winds that push us. You may be surrounded by crowds in your life or live a relatively solitary existence. Whichever situation applies you alone are responsible for the path selection. We can't turn around and walk back in order to select a different path. All we can do is move forward on our chosen path and look for a better alternative.

What we can do is look at the people in our world and try to see if they are stuck on a path carrying a burdensome load of memories and feelings and try to find a way to help them with their load. Quite often simply offering to sit and talk over a cup of coffee can have life changing consequences. So, in this Holiday season, however you define it, take time out of your path walking to share a few steps with your brothers and sisters in life. Walk out of your neighborhood and discover the diversity of life.