'Tis the Season to Connect Meaningfully With Others |
It's that time of year again—time to free ourselves from the shackles of the ego and extend beyond ourselves. Following so soon a holiday that ideally should remind us to be thankful and count our blessings, we have now entered another special time that gives us reason to turn our attention to others with acts of kindness and generosity.
With everything going on in our country and around the world, including social and (geo)political conflicts, economic hardship, and great uncertainty about the future, it may be difficult to keep the spirit of Thanksgiving in our hearts and minds, let alone consider the plight of those around us. Yet if there ever was a time to reach out to others with the kind of joy, love, and enthusiasm for other human beings like that exhibited by the “reborn” Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol, this is it.
Lest we risk being haunted in the middle of the night by the spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come, we'd better learn from Scrooge’s legacy of personal transformation and be willing to follow suit. However, I have been encountering many people lately who appear to be intent on retreating from life—at best, sitting on the sidelines—and reluctant to engage with others in meaningful ways, even during what should be a festive holiday season that, ideally, should bring people together rather than divide them.
Against the backdrop of the holidays and recent events, many also appear to be dejected and not........