Caught by Gravity, It takes Levity to Break Free

Christmas is over, and I have survived. There has always been a certain melancholy flavor to the Christmas Season for me. And it has only gotten worse since the unexpected death of my brother Jeff, which will have been 8 years ago in another 3 weeks. But I did have some additional help getting through yesterday. First, was a wonderful book written by a favorite writer of mine, Graham Joyce, entitled, "How To Make Friends With Demons." There is a brief, but magnificent, story within the story, where one of the more minor (but no less important in his own way) characters recounts a tale of how he was injured in Desert Storm (the first war with Iraq). He remembers having stepped on  something in the desert that made a loud click , which he believed to be a land mine. He then did his best to contact his mates (fellow soldiers) by radio, while he stood still so as not to trigger the mine. After a good amount of time had passed, an Arab with one eye came walking towards him from out of the desert, and then proceeded to have a conversation with him. This Arab, who the soldier later believes to be a demon, tells him that gravity got him into his predicament, and what he needs to get out of it, is levity. The Arab himself, finds this rather humorous, and it is, double meaning and all. But you'll have to take my word for it, the book was just what I needed, and truly is a marvelous work of fiction.
The other unlooked for boost to my spirits came form the return of Doctor Who for his annual Christmas adventure. And it was incredibly uplifting, even considering how much I do appreciate all the adventures of the Doctor. You would have to be a fan and follower of the TV show to really appreciate the story, but the title character goes from a despair of life, back to his normal zest for life. That's putting it quite simply, but yeah, it made me glad to be alive.
And then, there was an email from a friend of mine in Spain, which made any problems of my own seem quite puny. After hearing about the economic troubles there (our's pale by comparison), the government restrictions on salaries, the media, and human rights, and the choices the people have to make between the high cost of prescription medicine and the other necessities, well...I am damn lucky to be living here. And we are extremely lucky that our president is a compassionate man like Obama, instead of some moronic, uncaring representative of the Tea Party. Or, as my friend suggested in his email, like Spain, we would be trying to solve our economic woes entirely by cuts to government programs, most especially for the poor, the disadvantaged, and the middle class. And life would be a much harder state of affairs for everyone but the rich. 
But the truly marvelous thing, is my friend still has that joy of life, and has always had a wonderful sense of humor. And loving to cook, he was preparing a large Christmas dinner for family and friends, which he does every year. Even though we have never met in person, and probably never will, I'm happy to call him a friend.