Christmas Direct

Every year at Christmas time the whole world seems just a little bit brighter. A certain excitement fills the air and seems to transform even unwitting strangers into neighborly well wishers. People who normally appear smug and disconnected suddenly seem a little lighter on their feet and a just tad bit more accessible.
This is what Christmas does. It allows each of us to reflect on how fortunate we have been to make it through another year. No matter how challenging our own circumstances may be, Christmas allows us to visit physically or in our minds with other people who are far less fortunate.
It is a time of caring and sharing and giving abundantly of ourselves.
On Christmas Eve my wife and I are taking our five year old daughter to help serve food at the local shelter. Afterwards, we’ll journey downtown to pass out blankets and gift packs to the homeless.
The first couple years our little girl, (Ania), was very uncomfortable and unhappy. No matter how much we explained to her that it was better to give than to receive she just could not yet grasp the concept.
A funny thing happened on Halloween this year. We were preparing candy bags for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. We had gathered several pounds of candy. Ania had tricked and treated her way to a bag full of goodies all her own. Suddenly she came up with a plan that floored her mother and I. She suggested that we send all the candy we had, including her own sweet stash to the troops. When I asked if she was sure, and explained that once the candy was gone that was it, she replied, “I want them to have my candy too daddy”.
I was so proud of her in that moment and in that moment I saw a transformation in the way Ania was thinking. I could see her little sensitive, compassionate mind hard at work behind those pretty little brown eyes. She had realized how important it was to give, and it had made her feel good!
This year as Christmas approaches I’m truly excited and supremely optimistic about how she will respond again to the awesome opportunity to give. I think that my family is in store for the best Christmas yet! A Holiday Season filled with caring, sharing and the true spirit of self-less giving.