A Christmas Wish-Keeping the Christmas Spirit Alive Year-Round

[00:00:00] Well, it's about that time of year again where we celebrate December 25th. For those of you that call it Christmas or just the holidays, we gather with family and friends. Most of us are a lot nicer and more patient and cordial to each other. I want to talk to you about people's attitudes around the holidays and year-round for that matter, this time on Wyce Thoughts.

[00:00:30] It's time for a virtual campfire sit-down with Terry Wyce. Welcome to Wyce Thoughts.

[00:00:43] Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the podcast. Welcome to Wyce Thoughts. I am Terry Wyce, your humbled and honored host to be speaking with you yet again for another episode of the podcast today.

[00:00:54] And I truly appreciate each and every one of you that listens to the show, just so you're aware. I want you to know that. I do truly appreciate each and every one of you out there listening.

[00:01:05] Those of you that take the time to email me as well, you can reach me at terry at wycethoughts.com. Just make sure you spell my name right, W-Y-C-E, terry at wycethoughts.com.

[00:01:19] If you have any context, comments on the show, what have you, subjects you'd like me to discuss, even if you'd like to come on the podcast.

[00:01:30] I mean, we can do that virtually nowadays, too, in this modern era, can't we? Isn't it wonderful?

[00:01:37] So thank you, one and all, again, for listening to the podcast. And again, if you want to email me, it's terry at wycethoughts.com.

[00:01:44] Like I said, we can get you on the show. In this modern era that we're living in, via many means, we can do it via Zoom, we can do it by phone, what have you, whatever you're comfortable with.

[00:01:57] And I am willing to talk to anyone virtually about any subject. I love to be a student of the universe, I guess you could say.

[00:02:09] I'd like to learn about a wide variety of things and talk with interesting people, and I have.

[00:02:13] And we're going to have some great shows coming up in the new year as well, just so you know, just to give you a little preview.

[00:02:18] We're going to talk about the music industry, we're going to talk about, you know, amateur musicians and making music and all kinds of things.

[00:02:27] We're going to talk about the state of the world, we're going to talk about community, things you can do in your community, all kinds of, you know,

[00:02:33] I don't want to give away too much right now, because this show here, by the way, before we get underway, is going to be about people and how we treat each other year-round.

[00:02:43] Since we are in the holiday season, especially spirit of giving with Christmas quickly approaching here,

[00:02:48] and you may be listening to this on Christmas, Christmas week, what have you, in the year 2024, I'll date the podcast.

[00:02:55] Or if you're listening sometime in the future, hopefully some of the things we discuss on the podcast today may take effect,

[00:03:05] and maybe we'll see a fundamental shift in humanity and how we treat each other, right?

[00:03:10] One can only help for the better.

[00:03:12] But also, if you like the program, please do us a favor, okay?

[00:03:16] Visit the website, weisethoughts.com, W-Y-C-E-T-H-O-U-G-H-T-S, weisethoughts.com.

[00:03:25] There you can listen to each and every episode of the podcast, comment on the shows, and share them with your friends and family,

[00:03:31] and leave us a rating and review, would you?

[00:03:33] And check out the blog, Weis Life, and so much more.

[00:03:36] It's all waiting for you at weisethoughts.com, all right?

[00:03:41] Great.

[00:03:42] I'm a little sniffly, so just so you're aware, if you hear a little in-between, I'm not trying to be gross.

[00:03:49] I'm just being real, folks.

[00:03:51] It's all about being real, they tell me in the podcast space.

[00:03:55] I know no other way than to just be me.

[00:03:58] I mean, I could come out here with an announcer voice and say, thank you for coming.

[00:04:02] It's just, this is the way I talk.

[00:04:04] Ask anyone who knows me.

[00:04:06] Sometimes I talk real fast, and sometimes I'm more laid back and relaxed.

[00:04:10] I guess it all depends on my mood and maybe how much rest I may have gotten or not gotten the night before.

[00:04:19] However, that being said, let's dive in, shall we, to the topic at hand.

[00:04:25] First and foremost, for those of you that celebrate, Merry Christmas, okay?

[00:04:30] And Happy New Year, and greetings and salutations.

[00:04:35] Welcome one and all to the program.

[00:04:36] We are very happy, and I am very happy that we are here recording and broadcasting to you from the Purple Pit Studios,

[00:04:47] from whence the program cometh here in the northeastern half of the United States of America.

[00:04:53] And I hope all is well with you and your family.

[00:04:56] I wish you nothing but best.

[00:04:57] And great tidings this year of joy and happiness.

[00:05:01] And while we're on the subject of joy and happiness, have you noticed, maybe over the past five years especially,

[00:05:14] five to seven years, I would say, have you noticed a fundamental shift in the overall attitude of people in general?

[00:05:26] Now, I know some of you, well, Terry, that's a pretty wide statement.

[00:05:31] What are you talking about?

[00:05:32] A fundamental shift in, you know, people.

[00:05:37] What I'm referring to is how we treat each other.

[00:05:43] Because what I've noticed is that, and I know it's Christmas and the holiday season,

[00:05:50] I don't want to be a bummer, but sometimes I would say people just don't treat each other nice like they should.

[00:05:57] They don't treat each other well.

[00:06:01] Basic compassion.

[00:06:04] To me, I don't, and again, I'm not trying to be a Scrooge, okay?

[00:06:09] Don't get me wrong on this.

[00:06:10] It just seems like basic compassion is at an all-time low,

[00:06:17] at least from my eyes and from my vantage point.

[00:06:20] Now, I don't know if this has to do with the economic and emotional stress

[00:06:28] that we as human beings have been under for the past seven-plus years, five to seven years,

[00:06:35] the economic, social impact that the world's having on us,

[00:06:40] especially here in the United States of America.

[00:06:43] America, I'm not sure if it's the political climate.

[00:06:46] I mean, you know, we've talked about this many times in the show,

[00:06:49] and I don't want to make this show all about politics,

[00:06:51] but God Almighty, politics has gotten so divisive and dirty,

[00:06:57] and it really, it bewilders me.

[00:07:01] That's the word I'm looking for.

[00:07:02] I don't want to say it makes me sad or angry.

[00:07:04] It just bewilders me that certain factions of our population

[00:07:12] would alienate family members and friends based on their political beliefs.

[00:07:18] I mean, you can go on YouTube and, you know, Facebook and TikTok and X,

[00:07:26] formerly known as Twitter, and I keep saying that, and I probably always will.

[00:07:29] I wish you would, Elon.

[00:07:30] Elon, if you're listening, change the name of X back to just Twitter, please.

[00:07:35] You know, I just think it's more fitting.

[00:07:39] But anyhow, you know, anywhere you go out in, you know, social media land,

[00:07:45] virtual land, internet, you see these countless stories, okay?

[00:07:50] These countless stories of people alienating their families.

[00:07:55] I mean, people and longtime friends, you know, people that have been friends for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 years or more in some cases,

[00:08:04] because this one voted for that one and that one voted for this one.

[00:08:08] Really?

[00:08:11] Are you that shallow intellectually that you would just totally throw away a longtime friendship?

[00:08:22] You know, let me give you a little piece of advice, okay?

[00:08:27] And I want you to lean in and listen to what I'm about to tell you.

[00:08:34] Everyone doesn't have to agree with you and think the way you do.

[00:08:39] Let me say that again.

[00:08:43] Everyone doesn't have to think the way you do and agree with you.

[00:08:46] So I know that may be a hard pill for some of you out there to swallow.

[00:08:54] And believe me, when I was in my younger days, my youth, I had an attitude about myself and an aura that,

[00:09:03] well, if you don't think like me, you're an asshole.

[00:09:07] And I don't want nothing to do with you.

[00:09:11] And I'll admit it, okay?

[00:09:12] I'll admit it on the program today.

[00:09:14] I used to many, many years ago think like that.

[00:09:17] Now, as I've, I don't know, I guess I'm going to use the word matured.

[00:09:26] Some people would argue with that statement I made on, especially about me,

[00:09:31] especially those that know me real well.

[00:09:34] As I've gained in years, what I've found in my experiences, in my knowledge, in my journey on this thing that we call life,

[00:09:43] is that it's okay to disagree with someone.

[00:09:49] It is.

[00:09:52] And this hyperbolic chamber that I think and I feel that the mass media has been doing on us,

[00:10:02] this number that the mass media has been doing on us over the past decade or two,

[00:10:10] of divide and conquer, divide and conquer, divide and conquer.

[00:10:14] If this group of people doesn't agree with your candidate, they're evil.

[00:10:18] Well, if this group of people doesn't agree with you, they're Nazis.

[00:10:22] Well, if this group of people don't agree with you, they're communists.

[00:10:26] They're evil.

[00:10:27] They must be stopped politically at all costs.

[00:10:30] Don't talk to them.

[00:10:31] Don't look at them.

[00:10:35] And the media, folks, think about this.

[00:10:37] I want you to really think about this.

[00:10:40] The media jumps in and they pounce on it.

[00:10:44] They drink it up like the sweet nectar of life.

[00:10:48] And what do they do?

[00:10:49] Stories in the news, stories in the news.

[00:10:51] And divide this group and divide that group.

[00:10:54] You know, black versus white.

[00:10:55] White versus brown.

[00:10:56] And brown versus black.

[00:10:58] And gay versus straight.

[00:11:02] And man versus woman.

[00:11:03] And people in middle income versus the poor people.

[00:11:07] And the rich people versus the poor people.

[00:11:09] And et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

[00:11:12] And the hyperbolic chamber that the world seems to be.

[00:11:18] And again, these are just my opinions and my observations.

[00:11:21] Living in is poison.

[00:11:25] It's absolute poison.

[00:11:31] And the, dare I say, charade that some of us put on around the holidays.

[00:11:39] Oh, I'm going to be nice now because it's the holidays.

[00:11:44] I'm not going to be the big ass clown that I am year round.

[00:11:47] Or the, you know, egotistical, narcissistic jerk that I am year round.

[00:11:53] I'm going to be nice now because it's, you know, it's the holidays.

[00:11:56] So, you know, I can, you know, get a little cleansing on my soul and feel a little better about myself.

[00:12:03] Now, I know a lot of you out there don't, aren't like this.

[00:12:06] But there are certain groups of people that think that way, my friends.

[00:12:09] Believe me, I've run into them.

[00:12:13] And that being said, it's, it makes me really wonder about the future of humanity.

[00:12:19] I mean, where are we, folks?

[00:12:21] I mean, if history, if history does not teach us anything, look at the Romans, the Greeks, for example.

[00:12:31] The Romans had the same thing.

[00:12:33] They had masses of people.

[00:12:35] They conquered a lot of the earth back in the day and had, you know, subjects, dare I say.

[00:12:41] They had subjects, okay.

[00:12:45] And they hired ups in Roman society.

[00:12:52] The, I guess, let's call them the wealthy elite in Roman society.

[00:12:56] Kept the masses placated and pitted against each other.

[00:13:00] And then they threw them, you know, little tidbits of joy and pleasure here and there with the, you know, the Colosseum with the games and the gladiators and all that kind of thing there.

[00:13:10] In the end, what happened to Rome?

[00:13:13] It fell.

[00:13:15] It, yeah.

[00:13:16] The Roman Empire just, it's gone.

[00:13:20] Same thing with the Greeks.

[00:13:26] Most empires across the world like that.

[00:13:31] Now, some of you out there are probably sitting there saying, well, yeah, Terry, that's all well and good.

[00:13:35] And, you know, hey, man, I'm picking up what you're putting down.

[00:13:38] I dig it, man.

[00:13:40] But what are you trying to say?

[00:13:42] Socialism's the answer?

[00:13:43] You know.

[00:13:44] No.

[00:13:45] I mean, any form of socialism, honestly, doesn't work.

[00:13:51] And history has proven that.

[00:13:52] Look at any place that tries to practice socialism.

[00:13:55] Venezuela.

[00:13:57] You know, any place.

[00:14:00] Venezuela is the one that just, you know, jumps into my mind here as I'm sitting at the desk.

[00:14:06] But what I'm saying is fundamentally at our core, I think it starts with each and every one of us that look back at each other in the mirror.

[00:14:15] You know, when we look at ourselves in the mirror every morning and think, I can be a better person.

[00:14:20] I can make this a better place.

[00:14:21] I can make those around me and my world, my immediate world.

[00:14:25] I can start with my immediate world around me and move to make it a better place.

[00:14:31] That's what I'm saying.

[00:14:32] That's all I'm saying.

[00:14:34] Okay.

[00:14:35] But this pluralistic mind think that the mass media would have you believe is that, you know, these group of people are evil.

[00:14:50] Now, some things are inherently, and again, my opinion and in my mind and my thought process, some things are inherently evil.

[00:14:59] Murdering people.

[00:15:01] Inherently evil.

[00:15:02] Okay.

[00:15:02] Violence against people that just because they have a difference of opinion with you and you're going to use violence to further your cause.

[00:15:11] No.

[00:15:12] 100% against that.

[00:15:14] Okay.

[00:15:15] Those things are absolutely wrong.

[00:15:18] You know, persecuting against people.

[00:15:22] Discriminating against people based on the color of their skin, etc.

[00:15:27] Or their sexual orientation, discrimination, and things of that nature.

[00:15:33] Absolutely 100% wrong.

[00:15:35] 200% wrong.

[00:15:36] You know, go as far as that.

[00:15:39] Everyone should have an equal shot at a happy life.

[00:15:43] I mean, it's just an inherent God, you want to call it God-given, universal essence right.

[00:15:50] We all deserve to have a happy, fulfilling life.

[00:15:53] And stepping over people or conquering people or subjugating people to obtain that, in my mind, is in no way acceptable at all.

[00:16:05] No way acceptable.

[00:16:06] And I guess the point I'm trying to get at and work towards here on the podcast today on Weiss Thoughts is that can't we take that spirit around the holidays and just try and maintain some of that throughout the year, every day in our lives, forever?

[00:16:30] I mean, there's plenty of holiday movies about it, but it seems like New Year's resolutions for a lot of us.

[00:16:40] Once the holidays are behind us in the rearview mirror after a few weeks, we go kind of back to our usual bitter, self-absorbed, narcissistic selves.

[00:16:52] A lot of us do.

[00:16:53] And there's, believe me, there's nothing wrong with being ambitious and wanting to get ahead and be the best person you can be.

[00:17:01] And show injustice where it is.

[00:17:05] Absolutely nothing wrong with that.

[00:17:07] But if you take that to a egotistical, narcissistic level, and that becomes your God, okay, that becomes your point of worship,

[00:17:20] then it's fundamentally, and I think ethically and morally, just wrong.

[00:17:27] That's what I feel.

[00:17:29] So I could be wrong.

[00:17:31] And if you disagree with me, by all means, you know, feel free to leave comments on the show or email me at terry at weissthoughts.com.

[00:17:41] I'd be more than happy to read your opinions or if you want to, on the social media platforms, on X and wherever the podcast is posted here.

[00:17:51] And by the way, speaking of social things, I've had a couple of you reach out and say, hey, Terry, I can't find your podcast on YouTube any longer.

[00:18:02] Well, unfortunately, the provider that we're using here for Weissthoughts, I don't know if they broke the algorithm, lost the algorithm to post to YouTube.

[00:18:12] Hopefully that'll change.

[00:18:13] I don't know.

[00:18:14] But I'll try and get some snippets up of it on the YouTube channel at Weissthoughts for you as well in the not-too-distant future.

[00:18:21] We'll try and do that.

[00:18:23] But I just, at its core, I think we just fundamentally really need to be nicer to each other.

[00:18:30] However, I've said it on past shows in my closings that, you know, hey, you know, it all starts with you, the person looking back at you in the mirror to make the world a better place.

[00:18:39] Just, and you don't have to be a multi-billionaire and start foundations and save everyone.

[00:18:45] Just little things, little things.

[00:18:47] Think.

[00:18:48] There's little things you can do in your life.

[00:18:50] Maybe being nicer to your spouse, your kids, your pets, your neighbors, volunteering in your neighborhood.

[00:18:57] But overall, maybe when you're interacting with your coworkers, have a better mental attitude, a little nicer demeanor.

[00:19:04] You know, just spitballing ideas there.

[00:19:10] I know in my heart of hearts as human beings, we have the capacity to be generous and loving, caring, and understanding.

[00:19:20] And I think that, again, for the past five to seven years especially, it has come to a precipice, you know, with this hyperbolic bubble that we're all trying to be forced into by the media, the government, whatever.

[00:19:38] You know, social media as well.

[00:19:43] And I think it's time for us to break those chains of oppression and realize, you know what, you can disagree with someone who voted for this party or that party or this person or that person or voted for this measure or against that measure.

[00:19:56] People have different opinions.

[00:19:58] Okay?

[00:19:59] We're not all robots expected to succumb to the same opinions.

[00:20:04] I mean, I'm registered with one party and only because years and years ago I found that just makes it easier to vote in the primary on a lot of positions that I feel strongly about and want to engage in.

[00:20:21] However, excuse me, I bear no allegiance to any one man or one political party.

[00:20:29] I don't.

[00:20:30] Or woman, I should say.

[00:20:31] Or any individual, let's put it that way, or political party.

[00:20:33] I vote my conscience.

[00:20:35] I vote my soul.

[00:20:38] And I have voted for, here especially in the United States, I have voted for Democrats.

[00:20:43] I have voted for Republicans.

[00:20:44] I voted for independents.

[00:20:45] And hell, even one year I wrote my name in.

[00:20:48] Because you can do that as a legal citizen.

[00:20:52] But I think we need to get back to the basics of what it means to be a human being.

[00:20:56] And as we get ready to close the program today, I just want to leave you maybe with this thought.

[00:21:04] We only have a finite, a finite amount of time on this blue marble we call Earth.

[00:21:12] And the things we do here will echo for a few generations and then that'll be it.

[00:21:22] We'll be forgotten.

[00:21:23] Why not try and pay forward a legacy of love, understanding, compassion, and happiness?

[00:21:32] Merry Christmas, everybody.

[00:21:38] Hey, thanks for listening to the program today.

[00:21:44] I truly appreciate each and every one of you out there.

[00:21:47] And remember, to see a change in the world, you have to be the change in the world you want to see.

[00:21:53] It all starts with you.

[00:21:54] The person looking back at you in the mirror every morning.

[00:21:58] Remember to be kind to yourself.

[00:22:00] Be kind to others.

[00:22:05] If you want to tweet at me on Twitter, it's at Terry Weiss.

[00:22:09] Stop by the website, weissthoughts.com.

[00:22:11] Just make sure you spell my name right, W-Y-C-E, weissthoughts.com.

[00:22:16] And hey, leave us a positive rating and review on your favorite podcast provider, won't you?

[00:22:21] Tell your friends, tell your family, tell your pets about Weiss Thoughts.

[00:22:28] And I look forward to gathering yet again around the virtual campfire with you real soon.

[00:22:35] Take care.