With the holidays approaching, there are many people out there - including myself - who are missing the physical presence of someone special in their lives. At times, a person may feel a sense of indignation and perhaps dread the upcoming Christmas holiday. This type of adversity may not always be inevitable, but I want you to know you are not the only one going through this.

It's that time of year again. The hustle and bustle of people buying heaps of groceries, planning simplistic or lavish events, or hastily browsing for items to be delicately wrapped up as a present. Even the sweet melodies of Christmas music on replay in stores are quelled amongst the familiar sounds of the approaching holidays. However, there is one sound that many individuals long to hear over the Christmas holidays. In fact, some may yearn to hear this each and every day. The sound I am referring to is the voice of a deceased family member or friend.

According to the majority of ideologies of most societies, Christmas is deemed as the 'most wonderful time of the year.' There are people gleefully smiling in television commercials, embracing one another with warm hugs, laughing at jokes, exchanging gifts. Meanwhile, there are individuals out there in this world asking for the gift of life or are wishing to bring someone back to life.

Contrary to popular belief, Christmas may not be the most wonderful time of the year for numerous individuals. For some, it may be the first Christmas without a father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, brother, sister, nephew, niece, cousin, child, or a friend. The missing physical presence of the person who has passed on may evoke various emotions that someone may try to suppress. Many may not realize how overwhelming it is to spend time in a place where that one person who has passed on is no longer there with you. You walk into your grandparents homestead where you spent incessant hours creating countless memories. You glance across the dinner table with a glimmer of hope to see them sitting in the chairs where they used to sit. They aren't there. You take a stroll in a park where you used to meet your friend to burn off those extra holiday calories, but your friend is no longer there to do that - not there to greet you, welcome you, listen to you, speak with you, and walk with you. You hear your child's favourite song playing – the song you and your child would belt out a tune to - and you instantly think of the times shared between the two of you. Your child is not there. You smell the aroma of your mother's famous turkey stuffing recipe, but she isn't there to taste it with you. As one can see, the human senses can trigger flashbacks from the past. Evidently, the intricacy of human memory is more powerful than a person may expect.

Over the holidays, remember there are people out there who are experiencing adversity. This does not only include those who have lost a family member or friend. Other hardships include making ends meet to put food on the table, facing the atrocities of war, finding out about an unexpected diagnosis, coping with an injury, and more. Even during difficult times, keep making memories with family and friends this year because life is full of unexpected turns of events. You never know when you will be re-experiencing these memories again because of the wonders of the human senses and the human brain.