A Gift of Sharing

With the arrival of the holiday season and the stores filled with tempting gifts to buy for friends and family, it is easy to forget the meaning of the season. From Thanksgiving to the New Year, we have an opportunity to spend extra time with family and friends. We enjoy sharing the joy of the season with those that we love and care about. We take the time to send greeting cards to people we seem to keep in touch with only at Christmas.

The holidays are a time to remember the important things in our lives-the importance of family, friends and community. Thanksgiving gives us a day to gather and give thanks for what we have. Christmas gives us a time to share with others. No matter how unfortunate you may be, there is always someone less fortunate than you. Those less fortunate may not have less money than you do-they may have less family, less education or less understanding. There are many opportunities to share and care throughout the year, but the holidays are a good time to start.

Sharing and caring can be done in so many ways. Sharing may mean a financial commitment from something as inexpensive as donating an extra canned food item from your kitchen shelf, donating a toy to a child who may not be visited by Santa or giving a money to a local charity. But sharing does not have to cost anything. Sharing can also mean visiting a sick or infirmed friend, sharing your time to listen and talk to someone who may be lonely. Sharing may mean spending time with a child, reading a book to them, or volunteering at a school.

Caring may mean giving up an hour of television each week to write a letter to some of those people who only hear from you once a year. Caring may mean replacing a bad habit with a good one, replacing a harsh word with a kind one. Care enough to smile as you pass someone on the street, care enough to compliment a family member everyday.

Since I have little money to spend on gifts this Christmas, I decided that I would like to give myself a gift instead-the gift of patience. With patience, I can take the time to listen and find out what another person wants or needs. I don't always have to respond as though I have an answer, because often I do not. I don't have to relate my experiences because they do not always apply. If I have patience, I will be able to listen, to care-and only then will I be able to share.

Take time this holiday season to make just one person's life a little bit merrier. No amount of thanks for a store-brought gift can match the feeling of warmth you receive when you share your time, patience and caring with another person.