Sharing Life’s Blessings

In this season of hope and celebration it’s important to remind ourselves that others are not so fortunate as we. When you are planning your holiday giving this year please remember those who have less. Remember the soldier who fights in the desert sands with no family at home to encourage him or her or say everything will be alright. Remember the homeless family out on the street because the breadwinner in the family lost their job and can’t find a new one. Remember the kids who are poor, cold and hungry while others dine on feasts far larger than they need.

As you prepare to celebrate this season try to find a way to share your prosperity with someone who has less. You don’t have to do a lot to really help someone in need. From Halloween to Thanksgiving I organized a coat and warm clothing drive in my office for kids in need. It didn’t take much and people were happy to give. We brought in old clothes we had in good condition and bought inexpensive coats from the Wal-Mart across from our office for the kids. About twenty people who saw a need came together to help and in the end we delivered almost fifty items of warm clothing to the school district to give out to the kids in need. Nobody had to spend a lot of money and now many kids that would have been cold this winter ended up getting warm coats and clothing to wear. Even after Thanksgiving we have been getting donations and the school district is happy to take them so we will keep the drive going even after the holidays. It was not hard to do. We just needed to take the initiative to do it.

Anyone can do something like that for the people in need in their community. If not in your office then in your shop or church or home kitchen, it can be anywhere. This year when you make your holiday dinner, put aside a couple meals for some people you don’t know and find someone on the street to give them to. When you get ready to toss out those old sheets or blankets because they feel kind of scratchy now from wear, take them to a local shelter to use. You will find that the joy you receive is immeasurable. Simply giving a warm blanket or meal to a homeless person can change their world for a little while. For just that brief moment in time they feel like a person that somebody cares about. That is the spirit of the holidays. That is what it’s all about.

We all care about this world we live in. You would not be visiting political websites if you didn’t care somewhat about the world you live in. It’s ok to show that you care and give back. It doesn’t make you a chump to buy a homeless guy a burger or stop to help someone whose car has broken down on the side of the road. We celebrate the holidays because we want to embrace the best of humanity. To truly embrace it we need to give without thought of reward. We need to love without shame and smile without fear. To be that to which we all aspire on some level we need to put aside the fear and prejudice we shield ourselves with every day and embrace the idea that we are one nation, one world, one people and despite our many differences we are also all the same. One event can take any of us and put us in the same position as those who are currently less fortunate than us. One day the helping hand could be theirs lifting us up.

In closing I would like to offer my heartfelt wishes for a happy holiday season. I am looking forward to spending time with my family and friends and look forward to another year of digging into the issues in 2010.

This will be the last update of the site for 2009. We’ll be back the first week in January.

Happy Holidays!

Troy Wilson-Ripsom - Staff Writer | Give your feedback on this article. | Click icon to Digg this article

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