Holiday Gifts and Resolutions

I must admit. I don't celebrate XMas at all except for the fact that my office gives me a day off. That's pretty good in itself, because it gives me a chance to think a bit more before I blog.

Each year, I find that the way people act between Thanksgiving and New Year's gets a bit more idiotic. I'm not sure I quite understand the idea that people madly rush to buy presents to give to people they don't like or care about too much, just so that the people that get the gift can return the present they didn't like or want, anyway. I've heard so many stories from co-workers and others about how they worry about making a nice cozy meal for their families and getting everything "just right" for the annual family gathering. Then, they spend half the day when the family is together bickering over something trivial that someone (didn't) say or (didn't) do.

Then, for about a month, I hear what kids want from Santa. Games, iPods, TVs.

I think it's time to stop all this craziness and commotion and view some basics, perhaps.

The holiday season in the U.S., at least, begins with Thanksgiving. That's a noble concept if we could well understand what that all means. We should be thankful for all the small things we have in life that we take for granted. Such as our health, our healthy families, our children, and the beauty of nature such as it is. We should also be thankful even for our own imperfections and quirks, because without them, we would have no challenges in our own lives to improve upon.

Secondly, life is about giving, not getting. People spend too much time working about what they might get from Santa because they were "nice." They run around figuring out the "perfect" gift. In reality, most people want nothing more than to hear a compliment and spend some time enjoying each other's company. If it's a co-worker you want to give a gift to, besides a compliment, how about offering to teach them something about the tasks they need to know or helping them out with a project so that they don't always feel overwhelmed?

Thanks should be a daily routine, and giving should also be a daily routine. I'm not sure why people feel that being nice and helpful lasts for about one month during the year - from Thanksgiving to XMas.

Oh, and if you feel that you must ask for a gift, perhaps you can learn a lesson from Solomon when he first became king. God appears to him in a dream and asks Solomon what gift he wishes. Solomon asks God for wisdom. Hmmm ... it seems it was a good choice then; it's an even better choice now. The world sure could use a few extra wise people.