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Well, the holiday season is upon us. If you’ve read this column for awhile you know that I love Christmas: the spirit and tradition of it, the getting ready for it, the day itself. But like many, I sometimes find myself anxious and overwhelmed.
This year, I’m again going to try to get through it in good shape. I get a little better each year. As we know, it’s mostly not external situations that create our moods, but rather our reactions to them. I’m going to watch myself this season and try to react to tough moments with a spirit of generosity.
What started me on this thought was a phone call I received from a woman recently; not someone I know. She told me that she had received a call from her
pastor asking her to sing in a program for the poor. Apparently the woman hadn’t been at church for awhile and resented that he called only because he wanted something from her, not because she hadn’t been around. To me she sounded a little wistful about the idea of performing. She had called our office for another reason, and when I answered her question we hung up. I felt like I should have said something, that maybe I could have helped make her feel better.
In retrospect I would have suggested that the favor this woman’s pastor had asked of her was not for him, it was for people whose lives she could have brightened. If, as it seemed, it was something she’d have enjoyed doing, her life would have been
brightened as well. It seems to me there may have been a way for her to separate the dismay she felt at not being missed at church from offering her talent to those she had no gripe with. Maybe we can all remember to get to the heart of things this season, and give even when the circumstances are not ideal.
Something that comes up this time of year is the question of who to invite to what, or who to send a card to, or whether it would be OK if so and so joined us tonight for dinner. Sure, sometimes we’d rather spend time alone with a friend and the inclusion of someone else could be an imposition. Maybe two people don’t get along so well and there’s a question of which to invite to a party. I’d say let’s err on the side
