Thanksgiving has come and gone and now we look forward to the Advent and Christmas season. This is a stressful time for many people because they worry about shopping for Christmas presents and are also anxious as to what they may receive. The advertisements all try to convince us that we need this or that and tell us that if we want to be happy we need to get it. The world tells us to do what makes us happy and that getting more stuff will make us happy. Let’s take a step back from the stress of the world and remember what’s really important.
Even though it’s better to give than receive, many people don’t have much money to give and feel guilty enough to go into debt to live up to perceived expectations. On the flip side, even if someone gave us a wonderful gift, the joy is finite and temporary. How many gifts that we’ve received actually made us much happier? Can we even remember what we got for Christmas a few years ago? How can we best give meaningful gifts to others?
It’s more important to be present to others and give them our time and heart. I more vividly remember when someone treated me with love and respect and seemed interested in giving me their time. It’s easier to remember when we made someone else smile or when we got to spend quality time with our loved ones. Getting physical gifts can be good, but the memories we make with others can last a lifetime.
In order to be present to those around us we should show others that we care about them. Put down the cellphone and become more physically present. Too many times we get sucked into a fake world only to ignore the beauty of the real one. There’s so much beauty in the world to discover and so many beautiful souls out there waiting to be discovered as well. There’s also so much pain in the world and many people feel like no one cares about them. Sometimes all we need to do is give someone a smile, a wave, or a few kind words to let them know that we see them. I see so many needy and homeless people in my travels and it’s very sad to see. I want to help each one of them, but I know I can’t. One of the things I’m working towards is finding a few good charities to donate to. There are so many good organizations out there that work to help the needy and bring about good in the world. It’s hard to give every individual needy person what they need, but it’s easy to support an organization that’s good at helping out a large number of people.
I went to a store many years ago in a depressed neighborhood and there was a guy without a shirt on in the store. Of course, he chose to come up to me and and he asked if I could buy him a shirt. I agreed and he picked out a t-shirt and we checked it out together. He was so excited that started shouting out loud, “Hey everyone, this guy just bought me a shirt!” I was very uncomfortable, but I enjoyed seeing him so happy. Although I have forgotten many things that I’ve received in life, I still remember that guy.
When we die, we won’t be judged on how much we received, but on how much we have given. It’s easy to do things to make ourselves happy, but it takes more time and effort to improve the lives of others. Even though more effort is required, we will get a lot more satisfaction when we help our neighbor. When we show love to others, we also show love to God who resides in each one of us.
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