I thoroughly enjoy Christmas. \u00a0I know it isn’t an easy holiday for many, and for legitimate reasons. \u00a0A number of my friends are always eager for the holidays to be over. \u00a0But it’s always my intent to bring a bit of joy into the lives of the many I touch. \u00a0I have discovered that’s the easiest way to insure that I have a joyful Christmas, in fact. \u00a0And just possibly my “touch” will lighten the holiday for some one else too, even some one who doesn’t want to enjoy the holiday.<\/p>\n
It heightens my inner joy every time I offer the hand of kindness or make a joyful comment to some one else. \u00a0And this is true whether the day is Christmas or simply an ordinary day. \u00a0(Actually, there are no ordinary days. \u00a0Every one of them is special and God-filled.) \u00a0But I digress. . . \u00a0 I am sure most of you have heard the wonderful stories that have hit the news these last few days about individual, anonymous “Santas” paying off the lay-away bills for many unsuspecting people this particular Christmas. \u00a0I have loved these stories. \u00a0They represent the true meaning of Christmas. \u00a0I do believe that every person who was helped, in turn, helped some one else too. \u00a0That’s the real hidden quality of paying it forward<\/em>. \u00a0The numbers of people helped quickly multiply.<\/p>\n It occurs to me that we can turn every day into “christmas” for others if we emphasize the concept of giving loving kindness. \u00a0 And there are so many simple ways to do that, ways that cost nothing but a little willingness. \u00a0For instance, we can look very intently at the people we pass in the grocery or elsewhere and offer them a smile or the nod of one’s head. \u00a0We can listen very attentively to the conversation that has engaged us with loved ones or even strangers. \u00a0We can make the decision to do one kind thing, anonymously, every day for a month. \u00a0If we choose to do this, we will discover by mid-month that we have changed a great deal. \u00a0Our own perspective on life will have benefitted in a profound way by our commitment to making a difference in some one else’s life every day for a month.<\/p>\n It would be a marvelous way to usher in the new year if every one who reads this post made a commitment to doing some thing kind and unexpected for a stranger every day for a week or longer. \u00a0I am thinking a random act such as this might travel throughout the world if people actually took the suggestion to heart. \u00a0Might you give it a try?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I thoroughly enjoy Christmas. \u00a0I know it isn’t an easy holiday for many, and for legitimate reasons. \u00a0A number of my friends are always eager for the holidays to be over. \u00a0But it’s always my intent to bring a bit of joy into the lives of the many I touch. \u00a0I have discovered that’s the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-karens-musings"],"yoast_head":"\n