Happy Holidays 2019!
Happy Holidays, Everyone!
Every year, I seek inspiration to help me craft this message, and I must admit that this year it has been a bit of a struggle. The external environment seems so divisive now, and good people can’t seem to figure out ways to respect each other’s views. Many of us are having monologues we think are dialogues with another person. It’s not enough to believe you are right; you must ram it down the other person’s throat and prove to them they are wrong (which probably will never happen, by the way). Our public leaders take advantage of this fact and divide and conquer us as it suits their purpose. Moreover, our media prioritizes ratings over unbiased reporting, taking sides and criticizing those it deems ripe for judgment. We force the complexities of life into “black-and-white” constructs with no appreciation for the “gray” that exists in most individual circumstances. Whatever happened to trying to understand where another person was coming from? What about one of our most revered historical leaders, Abraham Lincoln, reminding us to act “with malice towards none and with charity to all”? And, as the Biblical saying goes, “We are all equal before the eyes of God.” I sometimes wonder if people fully digest the teachings of those sources they revere.
All people form beliefs and act based on their personal experiences and perceptions of good intentions. Hardly anyone wakes up wanting to make the world a worse place and harm their fellow human beings. As human beings, we all desire the same fundamental things: meaning, love, friendship, security, and opportunity. When these basic needs are not met in a society or community, it leads to the emergence of cracks in its foundation. There is much more that unites us than divides us. We often take our blessings for granted and tend to feel slighted and/or victimized in every opportunity. Everyone should read Stephen Pinker (and others of his ilk) to see how much better we have it than ever before in human experience. Our societal foundation is comparatively strong. Why aren’t we more grateful instead of being so perturbed?
Then it hit me. The story of Christmas is exactly what we should be focusing on. A refugee child from a family of meager means is born in the humblest of circumstances. He was raised by a loving, unsuspecting mother and an understanding and supportive stepfather who did their best to raise him in the right way and let his spirit shine. He spends his brief time on the planet as an adult, reaching out to all types of people to help them find the best within themselves through a compelling, unifying message. His default emotion is empathy. He does his best to serve as an inspirational role model. He is especially interested in crossing socio-economic boundaries and seeing the good and shared humanity in all people. His interest in material things is minimal, but he is generous with what little he has. He relies on the kindness of strangers to help him survive and do his important work. He speaks truth to power and challenges societal conventions that are either corrupt or ineffective. He undoubtedly possesses the courage to stand by his beliefs. When confronted by enormous temptations, he finds the strength within himself to resist and stay focused on his true path and mission. When asked to put the needs of others before his own, he avoids the easy way out to benefit himself and instead pays the greatest personal price to fulfill his purpose. He is what we could be…
Regardless of your religious beliefs, this significant narrative has endured over time. Whatever your faith, the general message ought to strike a chord. Why? Because it reveals the depths of potential courage, compassion, and goodness within each of us. Of course, it sets a high standard, and we often fail to meet it. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t be inspired to do better. It’s easy to judge, but much harder to try to understand and forgive. Anger and resentment are easy emotions to embrace. We often resist what is hard to comprehend and even harder to put into practice. We crave familiarity and fear difference. Our preference is to choose the easier route when possible. Our scarcity mentality allows us to survive, but in most cases hinders our individual and collective ability to thrive. We confuse “more” with “better.” While we sympathize with those who are less fortunate, we often neglect them. We often think we’re better than others and more deserving of what we have, without realizing the advantages we had that they didn’t. We prioritize our needs over the more pressing needs of others. We elevate our own tribe while disparaging others. We often like to believe we are more courageous than we actually are. And, honestly, we won’t know until we’re tested. Until the day we leave this earthly journey, we remain human and are a work in progress.
The good news is that we have many opportunities to grow, improve, and evolve in ways that benefit one another. I am by no means a pessimist. I am very much the opposite. I see the good in people all the time. There is a light of goodness pervading the universe, which is hard to miss if one pays attention. I see regular examples of selflessness, charity, and helpfulness every day. I’ll go to my grave believing our default human behavior is to “do good unto others.” The story of Jesus shows us all what is possible when we tap into this energy. We may not be God, but we can all strive to be more “Jesus-like” in our thinking and actions. He doesn’t need to be your “Messiah” or the “Son of God” for you to get the point. The message itself has value regardless of the religious interpretation.
I hope that 2019 is a happy, healthy, successful, and enjoyable year for your family and you!
I’ll leave you with one of my favorite Christmas poems:
The House of Christmas
There fared a mother driven forth
Out of an inn to roam;
In the place where she was homeless
All men are at home.
The crazy stable close at hand,
With shaking timber and shifting sand,
Grew a stronger thing to abide and stand
Than the square stones of Rome.
For men are homesick in their homes,
And strangers under the sun,
And they lay on their heads in a foreign land
Whenever the day is done.
Here we have battle and blazing eyes,
And chance and honour and high surprise,
But our homes are under miraculous skies
Where the yule tale was begun.
A Child in a foul stable,
Where the beasts feed and foam;
Only where He was homeless
Are you and I at home;
We have hands that fashion and heads that know,
But our hearts we lost – how long ago!
In a place no chart nor ship can show
Under the sky’s dome.
This world is wild as an old wives’ tale,
And strange the plain things are,
The earth is enough and the air is enough
For our wonder and our war;
But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swings
And our peace is put in impossible things
Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings
Round an incredible star.
To an open house in the evening
Home shall men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
And all men are at home.
