It's a peaceful Saturday morning, I'm in my home office typing away my latest blog and I can smell the delightful aroma of chorizio sausage, hash browns and eggs being cooked up in the kitchen. As the thoughts of a soon to be enjoyed breakfast occupy my thoughts, I am also pleased that the Christmas holidays are upon us and work takes a back seat for a few short weeks.

I remember several years back hearing from some source (sorry don't recall the source) that it is the anticipation of a good thing that is actually better than the good thing itself. It made some sense so I have employed that theory many times over to great reward. When we took the kids to Disneyland in 2000, we let them know way ahead of time that we were going to take them. They were so excited at the thought of the upcoming trip that they had a few really great months savouring the thoughts. Oh no doubt, the trip was a blast (for my wife and I just as much as the kids), but the anticipation was definitely a great benefit also.

With that in mind, I always love this time of year when Christmas approaches. I get to take a few weeks off to spend with family, and just enjoy the company of my wife, children, our extended families, and our closest friends. There was an article in the Edmonton Journal last week about a study done in a facility for the terminally ill. Now we have all heard the anecdotes before, but the message was driven home in a clear, empirical manner - none of the patients wished they had spent more time at work.

By now you are probably figuring out where I am going with this. All year long as I work with clients in transactions that often reach into the millions of dollars, I watch as negotiations ensue over the myriad terms and conditions requisite to a commercial real estate sale or lease. Sometimes negotiations will go on for months on particular issues, and those issues are often of minor consequence to the overall transaction.

While misunderstandings are not that common, they do sometimes occur and can lead to many months or even years of negotiations and legal wrangling. As human creatures, we are emotional and we sometimes lose sight of the major objective. And the major objective (at least for most of us) is that our "things" serve us and that we do not end up serving them. Our possessions in this life should enrich our lives and make living a joyful experience where we can spend as much of our precious time with those we love doing the things we enjoy doing. I think that is probably most peoples' definition of a life worth living.

Well, got to go, the delightful sound of plates and silverware clinging is telling me that my anticipation is turning into reality. Merry Christmas to everyone, let's keep our priorities in order, and may your life be spent truly living.