# Overrides on Christmas Eve

## The Defaults of Daily Life

Life runs on defaults. We wake to the same alarm, scroll familiar feeds, react with old habits. These are the quiet programs shaping our days—fear of change, comfort in routine, echoes of past hurts. They're not bad; they keep us safe, efficient. But on a still night like this, December 25, 2025, they can feel like a script we're outgrowing.

## Choosing to Override

An override is simple: a pause, then a different choice. Skip the late-night worry for a walk under stars. Reach out to someone overlooked. Trade perfection for presence. It's not grand rebellion, just gentle redirection. Like rewriting a line of code, it shifts the output without erasing the whole system.

These moments build:

- A call to a distant friend, overriding silence.
- Hands in dough, overriding takeout ease.
- Eyes meeting across the table, overriding screens.

## A Season for New Settings

Christmas invites overrides. Amid lights and songs, we step off autopilot—forgiving old grudges, sharing quiet stories, feeling enough as we are. It's a reminder: we hold the keys. One override at a time, life becomes ours.

*In the glow of this day, what one default will you rewrite?*