'Tis the season to be giving, and I have been dodging the flashmob of Salvation Army bellringers like a bullet. The other day, three Salvation Santas at separate mall entrances barricaded my thoughtless shopping venture with their worthy cause. Seeing triple red suits and hearing a chorus of pleading bells, I did a driveby and reaffirmed my vow to do all of my shopping online. I pride myself (mistake #1) on being giving but find myself giving out, bombarded by giving campaigns, Giving Day, the Giving Awards, and "Do you want to give a dollar?" at a dollar store, a request by the cashier holding my bargains for guilty ransom and awaiting my shameful eye contact and "No" response to helping sick children.
I grumpily retreat, defeated and depleted. This is icing on the giving cake whose ingredients include working, parenting, and volunteering mixed with high expectations and limited resources. It is overdone and lacking the sweet seasoning that could be this time of year. Scraping myself from the rock bottom of the pan, I decide to rally and recharge for a blue-eyed little girl, with sugarplums dancing in her head (and an Elf that is peering at me from the shelf!).
I change my perspective to the many ways others give to me. I am grateful for my friend who is teaching us to stir-fry while she could be cramming for her exams. I make snickerdoodles for the mailman who keeps me connected with family, friends, and all of the Lands' End catalogs (gosh, why are there so many?). I send a thank you note to a friend whose Christmas plateware gift has fed those I love year after year (most recently red and green sprinkled pancakes for the children next door who are moving!). Their gifts and TLC fill me up and allow me to give back joyfully. I give myself a break too; I am realistic in what I can do.
- Where can you be grateful for what you have been given?
- How can you replenish and give to yourself? This is a gift for others and you.
Dedicated to the Salvation Army Santas who give their time to help those in need. With a clearer perspective, I am grateful that so many Santa suits are filled by so many who care.
Next time you see a Salvation Army Santa or anyone else asking for money on behalf of a non-profit organization or other cause, consider that they/we don't enjoy begging any more than you enjoy being solicited. It's amazing to me that the people who are poor or disadvantaged are the ones who give with a smile. I sometimes find myself looking at their worn shoes or the holes in their jacket or sweater and wanting to tell them to keep the money for a new pair of shoes or coat. So, if you believe we're all connected in the circle of life, I hope that the money they gave to causes that I champion somehow finds its way back to them from the Salvation Army Santa.
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