It’s that time of the year again! Time to celebrate. Time when we eat too much, spend too much and expect too much. We share gifts with those we love. Some of us do our yearly good deeds. But, if we stop and look around the world, there is much despair and poverty. Sure we cannot help them all. But, what if each person helped just one other person and continued this year round? What if we concentrated on making it real this holiday season: bringing Santa Claus to life by giving to others we do not know?
This time of the year it is cold outside. Many of us just feel it getting in and out of our cars rushing around to our jobs and holiday preparations. Some of us live in the streets with no heat, no marble fireplace and maybe even no winter jacket. How many jackets do you own? How many blankets do you have stored away in case of visitors? Surely, we can part with one and make someone warm.
Checking out in the grocery store, the racks are full of magazines showing holiday recipes. They all look so good and so pretty. Some people would love just a piece of bread. Soup kitchens always need donations. Surely, we can all part with some of our holiday feast to feed those who are hungry. Most people have so much food they rarely experience hunger.
No holiday is complete without time spent with loved ones. Imagine you didn’t have any. Loved ones that is. Imagine being all alone and watching others love one another. How lonely must that be? People are lonely on the streets, in nursing homes, in hospitals, in prisons. If we look, we can find many such people. And we should look. Smile at someone who needs a smile. No need to be nasty to the check-out clerk at Wal-Mart as I’ve witnessed many times. Your holiday will not be broken if you do not find the perfect gift.
Every child dreams of Santa. They imagine him coming with his sack of toys and leaving some for them. But, for some kids, Santa does not come. It has nothing to do with them being good or bad. It is simply a result of poverty. It seems that kids who own less, appreciate more. Surely, we can all give 1 toy to a child in need. It is indeed a small task but can make a world of difference to one child. We can do it without even climbing down a chimney of flying around with reindeer. There are many organizations collecting toys.
This holiday, let’s all step outside our own world for a moment and remember those who do not share our joy because they have been beaten down by life. Take a moment and help just one other person. Everyone deserves a piece of happiness. It doesn’t matter how they reached their point of homelessness or poverty. Help just one this holiday season and keep doing it throughout the year. Let’s make the holiday spirit real.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2015 Linda Girgis, MD, FAAFP
