The Temporary Insanity Of The Christmas Spirit
Spirit, or more specifically, the Christmas spirit
, is not just a feeling or a frame of mind. It is not just the Santa letters or the letters from Santa that moves us to joy. The spirit of the holidays is demonstrated not only in decoration and song, but in the very words speak and actions that we carry out. The Christmas spirit is like a yawn. Try this experiment to see what I mean. The next time you are watching TV with a loved one, yawn deeply and obviously but make it seem like a real yawn without over doing it. Everyone in the room will yawn within the next thirty seconds or so. It is a subconscious signal that most people do not even recognize. They will yawn without even realizing that you yawned first. This technique works with children, by the way, when they are tired but refuse to believe it and want to stay up later than they are supposed to, if you do it subtly enough.The Christmas spirit is contagious. If you have the spirit and you use it, others around you will catch on and very soon, you have a room full of the Christmas spirit. It moves among us like a ghost, touching each person and leaving an indelible mark that reaches into the soul in search of the best of us. Whether it is opening a door for someone or smiling at a stranger in the mall, the spirit moves. It is a shame that the Christmas spirit only moves during the season and not all year long. Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone were just a little bit more polite, forgiving, open, and willing to do for others, as we are a Christmas time? It would be a much nicer place in which to live, of that there is no doubt.
No one knows exactly what triggers the Christmas spirit. It begins at different times with different people. Many start the transition at Thanksgiving. It is subtle at first but it is there. It is almost as if someone reached inside of us and turned off our irritation valve and turned up our spirit of giving valve. Generosity increases at Christmas time as it touches us just a little more deeply to see the homeless man or woman who reaches out to us, who have change in our pockets that we take for granted, but that he or she could use to make their entire day just a little bit better.
At other times of the year, we look upon such a person with a small amount of disdain. We think to ourselves, sometimes justly, that all this person will do if I give them my spare change is buy booze or drugs with it. While that may very well be true sometimes, when the Christmas spirit is upon us we wonder if we might not do the same were we in his or her shoes. If a small amount of change spent in the local liquor store can help them to forget with their situation for just a little while then is not that money well spent. We also tell ourselves that it is Christmas time and they might actually use the money for food or some other type of necessity. What harm could a little spare change do for someone who has nothing left save the clothes upon their backs and the sum upon their faces?
We are more forgiving at this time of year. It is a good thing, too as traffic increases while folks are out shopping for Christmas. Many more people are on the road and if this were any other time of year, the increased traffic, and stupid things that people do while driving would irritate us to no end. We would scream at them, blast our horns, and beat upon our steering wheels in frustration. At Christmas time, we smile, wave, and allow the other person to cut in front of us and we forgive them of their stupidity much more quickly than we normally would.
With all this in mind, I challenge myself to carry the spirit with me this year as long as I can possibly remember to do so. Will you take up the banner and go spiritually into that dark night with me?
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