You know what I’m talking about. Every family has one. The sister or cousin or grand-nephew who has it all.

“Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! This has been another blessed year for our family. We moved into our 50,000 square foot home located in a picturesque setting amidst virgin timber with full access to a pristine lake and walking distance to the ocean! And we’re only 10 minutes from the city! What a find. We also bought two new SUVs which were sorely needed.

Our eldest daughter, Princess, won the Miss America pageant and our eldest son, Champ, was accepted into not one, but three ivy league schools with full scholarships! Our middle daughter, Providence, won the robotic championship in the US and is a favored competitor for the world championship next year. Our youngest son Chip, at four-years-old, is well on his way to being a world champion chess player. I could go on, but of course, humility prevents me from bragging.”

Yeah. Where’s the waste basket? I’m either going to puke or put this letter where it belongs. Maybe both. And you know which one will come first.

If I were to write a Christmas letter to family and friends, it would more likely read like this:

“Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I’m still living in my 19-year-old mobile home and was not able to do the repairs and maintenance I was hoping to do this year. My only vehicle, a 23-years-old truck, is chugging away. In between expensive repairs, that is.

My children seek me out regularly. When they want a babysitter. And the grand kids love me. As long as the cookie jar is full. If not I get an, “Oh, no! No cookies!” from my two-year-old grandson.

I lived to write another blog post that no one will read. Seriously. My readership is zero. My only response was a “Like” from my daughter-in-law when I posted it on Facebook. And I’m not even sure she read it.

But, hey, life is great! Wishing you and yours a wonderful year!”

This is not how I intended to begin this post. I was planning to say that I’ve noticed my writing follows the ups and downs of the circumstances of my life.

A few years ago when I worked in retail, a real “down” chapter in my life, I couldn’t type my observations fast enough. There was more to write about than I could find time. Since then I have gotten a good job that I love but ironically, I no longer have much to write about. That irony made me think of the informative yet often dreaded, Christmas letter. Over the past few years when things have been going well, what would my Christmas letter say?

“Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I’m doing well. My job is meaningful and varied enough to keep it from becoming boring and I absolutely love my coworkers. Two of them are my sons! We work well together and have become a real team in a shared goal. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

My kids are healthy and successful and my grand kids are absolutely adorable. They are the light of my life. I get to spend as much time with them as I like, and yet I am still able to send them home when I want alone time. It’s a perfect arrangement.

Of course, I have challenges like we all do, but I’m grateful for what I have and I live each day to the fullest. Here’s wishing you and yours the best in the coming year!”

Is it over yet? Oh, good. All that happiness and good cheer nauseate me.

But why is that? Why is it when things are hard, I find an endless array of life lessons? But when things are good, my well is dry.

Both of the above potential Christmas letters are true, and yet the tone is totally different. In the first one, I concentrate on the bad things, and in the second, the good things. And, isn’t that life? We have both at the same time. On any given day I can describe to you in detail all the horrible things that are going on in my life. But I can also share the good things for which I’m so very thankful.

Seriously. Who actually lives a charmed life? (I don’t use this word with any implications of witchcraft, but merely as a word indicating a life that is too good to be true.) Underneath all that perfection there have to be flaws. Money alone won’t get you where you want to be. It certainly helps, but it alone isn’t enough. How about power? Influence? Fame?

Nope. Not enough. Those are cover-ups. You know the game. We’re told if we look the part then we become the part. But that’s a lie, just like many being flaunted these days. They aren’t new lies, by the way, just old ones with a new twist. And we fall for them hook, line, and sinker.

I was thinking about this yesterday while watching, The Man From Snowy River: The McGreggor Saga. You have a nice little community in the Outbacks of Australia where you find your typical residents. You have your hero, a rancher with morals and ethics who made his riches the honest way, a fellow rancher who made his riches by cheating, stealing, and any other method he deemed necessary to reach his goals, and a corrupt banker who does his best to appear impartial when he is in fact, anything but. And then you have the heroin, a widowed mother raising her son alone while she struggles to make a success out of the ranch her late husband left her.

When gold is discovered in the mountains, the plot thickens. A tsunami of people flood the area with get-rich-quick hopes and dreams. Among them are hardworking, honest families just trying to make a living with a handful of outlaws and scrupleless scoundrels who do anything to get ahead. Everything needed for a good drama.

And so the narrative unfolds. I watch this show and get frustrated. Things get so close to working out well. You have your hero who has taken a liking to the heroin, of course, but she’s leery of him, not fully trusting him. Again, of course. It can’t be too easy or we’d lose interest in watching, right? Then you have Bad Guy #1 who has also taken a liking to the heroin. Then you have Bad Guy #2 who just stirs the pot, creating misunderstandings among the other characters.

But it’s fun to watch, right? It’s compelling. We just have to see what happens next. As it unfolds, we say we knew that would happen all along. So, why do we watch it? Because it’s exciting! It pulls out the adrenaline that would be rushing through our veins if we were the one riding horseback on a dark stormy night seeking to find and rescue the heroin who has fallen off a cliff in the outback and would then, upon her rescue, fall into our arms and proclaim her undying love.

In the same way, even though I claim not to like drama in my life, I have to admit that drama brings a certain level of uncertainty, maybe even a hint of danger, that pulls me out of the mundane and into something challenging that needs to be overcome. It pulls out my inner hero.

There’s another show I recently started watching. Fire Country is a drama depicting California firefighters doing what they do best, facing and conquering formidable forest fires that are about to engulf human life and property. Ironically, the reality show called Cal Fires narrates the real lives of the men and women firefighters defending California. Which show do you think I’m most drawn to? You got it. I like the drama more than the reality show. Why?

Because it’s more exciting. There are stories behind the events that draw me in and keep me hooked. The reality show is much more realistic. It shows real people fighting real fires. Sure, they each have their own story going on in their personal lives, but it just isn’t as exciting. It’s real life. I live real life every day. I want something that draws me out of real life and into an exciting, extraordinary story where I can picture myself being that hero. Or, the heroin being rescued.

I think that’s why I have so much to write about when my life is not going well. Things not going well presents challenges that need to be overcome and I have to dig deep to find what is needed to persevere and conquer. It’s not fun like watching a TV show, but it does pump up the adrenaline and bring me out of the mundane.

When things are going well, there isn’t as much fodder to digest and subject material gets lean.

So, where am I going with this? I’m not sure. Maybe life wasn’t meant to be easy. Maybe we’re better people when faced with challenges that draw out the best in us.

I’m reminded of an earlier post I wrote entitled, “The Law of Big Cherries.” In it, I conclude that big cherries only look big when compared to smaller cranberries and blueberries. In the same way, maybe good only looks good when compared with bad. Maybe we need both to fully see the breadth and depth of life.

Maybe the need to overcome problems makes us real people exuding real character and brimming with real potential instead of robots who go through life performing the same duties and getting the same results. Maybe uncertainty and doubt are the kindling that ignites a fire in our souls. We see a need and we rise to the occasion. And we’re proud of ourselves for it.

That’s why gangs are formed, right? Because everyone needs a crew to protect and a cause to fight.

Maybe what we’re really looking for is accomplishment and satisfaction. Without conquering, there is no victory. Without victory, there is no satisfaction. Without satisfaction, we lose the desire to try again.

Maybe this is the reason hero stories abound in our society as well as in every culture around the world.

The end take here? Be a hero today. Not so you can write a glowing Christmas letter this winter impressing your family and friends, but be a hero in your own life, fighting battles only you can fight. Experience the satisfaction that comes from putting in the work and reaping the rewards. Make life better for you and those around you.

The world still needs heroes. The world needs you.