The True Spirit of Christmas

Greetings!

It is December.  Wherever we go, we hear merry holiday songs and music.  They warm our hearts, and lift our spirit.  We smile easily, and feel goodwill towards all.

However, to some people, it can be a month of great stress because they feel the need to buy gifts for their families and friends.  Meanwhile, they may not have the money for the gifts they want to buy.  Sometimes we need to examine our desires, and see if they are the desires of our ego.  For instance, when we want to buy lavish gifts for others that we cannot afford, whose desires are we really fulfilling but our ego's!  It is the heart that counts, and not the material value of the gift.

In this modern age of electronic technology, some families have lost touch with the simple joy of life such as the whole family taking a walk in the park, or talking and laughing after dinner time.  Many people, children as well as adults, spend more time on their computers and iphones than real interactions with their families.  A friend, who is a teacher, tells me many of her students when ask who and what they are thankful for say the name of a toy or a game.  Another friend asks her students what they want to be when they grow up.  Quite a few of them want to be doctors.  All of them, except one***, say that it is because doctors can earn lots of money.  Then they can buy whatever they want.  It is no wonder Christmas has become mainly a day of opening gifts to some people.

Fortunately, it is never too late to make some adjustments to the way we live.  We can begin by spending more time with our loved ones and friends.  It is important that we teach our children the true values of life such as loving one another, honesty, and integrity; instill in them the sense of gratitude, the joy of sharing and giving, and the feeling of compassion towards others.  

Christmas is a season of giving, sharing, and expanding our goodwill towards all.   When we teach our children the true spirit of Christmas, we are passing onto them a lifelong spirit of joy.

Love,
Q of D

***She is a girl who wants to be a doctor so that she can go to Africa and help the children there.