Hard Candy

'May you be surrounded by friends and family, and if this is not your lot, may the blessings find you in your solitude.'

Leonard Cohen

I always found the Leonard Cohen quot above incredibly meaningful.  Leonard sent his audience off with those parting words at the end of many of his concerts during his 2012 Old Ideas tour.  What struck me at the time was that it was one of the first times I'd so beautifully heard blessings sent so complete and all inclusive.

So many people struggle, especially at Christmas. We're almost encouraged to feel less than, especially if our lives don't mirror those lives society deems worthy of receiving blessing.  Those people we see on television, in commercials or on holiday cards.  They;re always surrounded by friends and family. Those shiny happy people, laughing, toasting, playing games and dining and celebrating together.

We all know that's not the reality.  Sometimes, due to circumstance, other times, it's by choice.  Christmas is the one time of year we're encouraged to let go, even temporarily, or our struggles.  It's also the time of year those struggles grip harder, requiring more energy to hold them at bay.

So many of the incredible hot men FH viewers visually enjoy, struggled to get to the point where you see them.  The point of being comfortable being physically and emotionally bare in front of a camera.   I have always found these stories of struggles oddly comforting.  Like Cohen's parting words to his audiences, there's something beautifully inclusive, and incredibly powerful about a struggle shared, a struggle seen and a struggle acknowledged.

Cohen voiced his awareness that not everyone driving home from his concerts was returning to a picture perfect life. Some were returning to solitude, many others arrived home to face pain, disease, financial burden, social obstacles or heartbreak.  Regardless of circumstance, Cohen believed that we deserve the blessings to find us.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy Hanukkah to everyone checking out FH today.  My wish is that the blessing find you and that an image seen or a story shared, provides a break from your struggle, even if just for a moment.