Merry Christmas! This post hits pretty close to home, particularly the bit about how ephemeral life is. My father passed earlier this year after a long battle with COPD (encourage your friends/family to stop smoking if they do!), but because it was expected I was blessed to have the opportunity to prepare and have many conversations I will remember until my last day.
The material can come and go. Family and friendships, relationships, and what blessings you can bestow upon others are ultimately what matters most.
If you know someone who will be alone this Christmas, and you have the means, please consider ensuring they won't spend it by themselves.
We greatly (grossly?) underestimate the power of relying on external help, also. That's why ANY resource you can get a hold of is important.
In my dad's case he had many false starts toward quitting. He did, eventually, in 2017 but after 45 years the toll on his health was irreversible. I remember a conversation with his pulmonologist just a month or two before he was admitted to hospice: His general health was so deteriorated that he was no longer a candidate for any treatment—including lung transplant. Not that I think he would have gone along with it in the first place.
To underscore Gavan's point, one of my dad's extra duties when he was in the USAF (as an electrical engineer) was health and safety. He used to lecture, ironically, on the dangers of smoking. He knew what it would do, but addiction is powerful.
The material can come and go. Family and friendships, relationships, and what blessings you can bestow upon others are ultimately what matters most.
If you know someone who will be alone this Christmas, and you have the means, please consider ensuring they won't spend it by themselves.