Young souls, in pleasant delirium, are as unsympathetic as butterflies sipping nectar; they are isolated from all appeals by a barrier of dreams. This holiday season is already starting off to be hard on a lot of people, so try to be nice to others; one has no idea what they are dealing with. One thing you may want to do to help is start off your day by thinking about things that you are happy and thankful for.

However, sometimes just listening to another person and letting you know that you support them and can relate to what they are going through means the World. People in difficulty and distress, or in any manner at odds with the Word, can endure a vast amount of harsh treatment, and perhaps be stronger for it; whereas, they give way at once before the simplest expression of what they perceive to be genuine sympathy.

When someone share something with you, they are not necessarily looking for your opinion, they are just needing someone to vent to, and if you bust out with a statement like, “Well, this is how I see it,” you are not really listening to that person and may compound the issue that they are having, especially if you are always forcing your opinions on someone.

Also, if a person is calling you to talk about something, you may be the only person that they can talk to and if you are always telling them about your life, when they are trying to express themselves, the compare and contrast model is not what they are looking for and you may not be being a very supportive source.

There are people in the World, who are single, have no friends, deal with a lot of negativity and have no one to talk to, you may be that one person they are trying to share something with before they give up, or sink into a depression. For some people, everyday life for them is like being in a foreign country because they have no one to open up to.

Now, if you cannot give them support, simply tell them that you are busy and cannot get into it at the moment, or ask them to send you an email. Sometimes, a person may just be having a simple issue at work, but that one thing can be the catalysts to a downward spiral. Some people have been getting hassled at work, and it has been going on for a decade and nothing is being done, so it seems the logical thing to do would be to find a new job.

However, life is not always that easy, and there are things one may not know about their situation. That job maybe the only one they can get and if they lose it, they will be homeless. Now, along with that, one may just barely be getting by and may have been trying for years to look for new opportunities, but they may have limitations, which preclude them from moving on, and the only thing they can do is pray that things get better.

So please be understanding this holiday, some people could be very fragile and near having a break down, and not like flipping out, but some people internally break down. I once had a friend called Heather, she was young, beautiful, and successful, and seemed to have the World going for her; she was in a new relationship, had a new job at a law firm, a new car, and a nice two story apartment. However, everything was not going well.

Her boyfriend was beating her, the other girls at work did not like her because she was too efficient, and producing more than others. Heather had developed a drinking problem; she would wake up in the morning and have a glass of Vodka, use a little coke cane and head off to work. One day, no one had heard from her for a while, and when they searched her apartment, they found her dead.

Every year there are nearly 1.8 million people, worldwide, who die from alcohol poisoning, also known as acute intoxication. Acute intoxication can shorten your life by an average of 30 years. This occurs when a large amount of alcohol is drunk, in a short time span, followed shortly afterwards by changes in mood or behavior, impaired judgment or social functioning, and one or more physical signs of drunkenness, such as slurred speech, unsteadiness, lack of co-ordination, impaired attention or loss of consciousness.

Acute intoxication is responsible for 1 in 10 deaths, among working-age adults, aged 20-64 years. People often drink and drive, causing many fatal accidents. In fact, 39 percent of all car accidents recorded in the United States of America, were caused by being under the influence of alcohol. And besides red wine, alcohol has no health benefits for your body.

The economic cost of acute intoxication is nearly $223.5 billion, or $1.90 a drink. When you are inebriated, find a sober driver or take a city car, with a driver, it may save your life and the lives of others. Excessive alcohol use also contributes violence, including homicide, suicide, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence. Along with high blood pressure, kidney failure, stroke, liver disease, cancer, social problems, and mental problems and can lead to a dependency on the drug.

More recently, in Lynchburg, Virginia, Christopher C. Rosser, age 23, was charged with driving under the influence (DUI), when his white Mitsubishi was heading west, on Wiggington Road, and crossed into the eastbound lane, and struck a gray Mercedes. To make matter worse, after the initial impact, a silver Mazda was traveling behind the Mercedes and collided with the two vehicles.

Tragically, Christopher Rosser’s passenger, Cory Lange, age 30, of Lynchburg, had to be extricated from the vehicle, by Lynchburg Fire Department and taken to the hospital. Henry B. Wilson, age 45, was the driver of the gray Mercedes. Henry Wilson has two passengers in his vehicle, Caroline Wilson, age 38, and a 15-month-old girl. All three were taken to the hospital and listed in stable condition.

The driver of the silver Mazda, Mary Raines, age 56, had minor injuries and was taken to the hospital by a family member. So far, everyone has survived, but two people are still listed as in critical condition.

The likelihood of great calamities occurring seldom obtrudes upon the minds of ignorant people; for the things which wise people know, anticipate, and guard against, the ignorant can only become acquainted with by meeting them face to face. And even when experience has them, the lesson only serves for that day.