It's that time of year - malls are crowded, traffic is insane, people are EVERYWHERE. (Where do they all come from?? It's like everyone has closet families that they only let out to go shopping during the Christmas season. Actually that's not a bad idea).
Some people hate Christmas, just because of the people (ask almost anybody in retail). I can't argue - it's not like my dream trip to the store involves loud stressed mamas running over my heels with the front of their shopping cart. Trust me, you don't want to get between a Black Friday shopper and her ridiculously over-priced sale item. Apparently a few shoppers even pulled out pepper spray in multiple Walmart stores this year. 'Tis the season.
The most wonderful time of the year brings out the worst in people.
But not always.
In spite of - or because of - the extra drama, stress, and cacophony of the Christmas season - it gives us the chance to treat other human beings like real human beings. What if we started doing things like helping an enemy shopper, or treating a retail employee like you would treat your boss' wife??
It always floors me when I see somebody going against the typical self-first Christmas attitude. Like the man in the well-worn business suit, holding the door for the woman and all her crazy kids. Don't tell me he didn't have other places to be and things to do. Or the grumpy woman in the parking lot who went out of her way to help an elderly lady turn off her car alarm (it clearly was an issue of technological ignorance, not theft...). What if, every time we went to the mall, we kept our eyes open for people we could help? Looking past their unattractive attitudes and our own tight schedules, how much good could we do?
Random acts of kindness. They don't mean a whole lot if you're only nice when you're not late for work and you don't have a headache. But they can mean so much if you give a little extra in this season when - commercially - everyone is just trying to take all they can get.
To be honest, I heard the car alarm and saw the old lady today, and I didn't help. None of my business? Not a big deal if she couldn't handle her alarm? No time? Lame. Completely lame excuses.
Tomorrow's another day, and I bet you anything they'll be another test: another angry person, another stressed employee, another chance to be the selfless person. There aren't any retakes allowed on these tests. Ready?
"Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster. Your life will never be the same again." [Og Mandino]
November 27, 2011
November 23, 2011
Beginning is easy
New Year's resolutions.
A new job.
Marriage.
Starting a blog. The beginning is easy. The idea, the commitment, the initial steps are virtually effortless. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. (Arguable. Google it.) I can't give my perspective on the marriage issue, but I can definitely say that within twenty days of writing New Years resolutions or starting a new job, my original enthusiasm is pretty much history. Why would blogging be any different?
So here's the deal. I'm giving this blog a shot because there are things I want to say, to myself and to the world. There's all this stuff I'm learning about life, how it's not just about me and you, muddling through a complacent existence with a lot of other people who are equally selfish and bored. I believe we are here for a purpose, a God-given purpose, and we had better not be satisfied with anything less than the fulfillment of that purpose.
What are you here for? Just to exist - eat, sleep, work, entertain yourself - to get by with as much pleasure and as little pain as possible? Or are you here to thrive in a life that is far beyond the mediocrity that is expected of you?
I don't predict anything I post here to have a consistent theme. Other than that I want everything to connect to the idea of living - searching deeper, asking more questions, challenging yourself, learning about and doing things outside of your comfort zone, experiencing real joy and real fulfillment, and finding out what is the real reason you are on this planet.
Here's to beginning a new habit.
A new job.
Marriage.
Starting a blog. The beginning is easy. The idea, the commitment, the initial steps are virtually effortless. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. (Arguable. Google it.) I can't give my perspective on the marriage issue, but I can definitely say that within twenty days of writing New Years resolutions or starting a new job, my original enthusiasm is pretty much history. Why would blogging be any different?
So here's the deal. I'm giving this blog a shot because there are things I want to say, to myself and to the world. There's all this stuff I'm learning about life, how it's not just about me and you, muddling through a complacent existence with a lot of other people who are equally selfish and bored. I believe we are here for a purpose, a God-given purpose, and we had better not be satisfied with anything less than the fulfillment of that purpose.
What are you here for? Just to exist - eat, sleep, work, entertain yourself - to get by with as much pleasure and as little pain as possible? Or are you here to thrive in a life that is far beyond the mediocrity that is expected of you?
I don't predict anything I post here to have a consistent theme. Other than that I want everything to connect to the idea of living - searching deeper, asking more questions, challenging yourself, learning about and doing things outside of your comfort zone, experiencing real joy and real fulfillment, and finding out what is the real reason you are on this planet.
Here's to beginning a new habit.
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