Today, I’m thankful for the knowledge that kindness is not seasonal.
As we rush around in the daily hustle & bustle of our lives, we sometimes forget the importance of maintaining civility. Our busy jobs, active family lives, and other personal responsibilities challenge us in sundry ways. During the weekdays, we might be rushing to take our ailing mother to her follow-up oncologist’s appointment, while navigating a phone call from a disgruntled, but vital customer. On the weekends, we might find ourselves carpooling our children and neighbors to their next Little League game, while visions of the missing elements of that major Company project run through our heads. All the while, the grass needs mowing, the dry cleaning needs to be picked up, and the refrigerator and the cupboards are still empty. In the spirit of getting things done, we often can be abrupt, curt, or even mean. Sometimes, in the rush, we forget to maintain collegiality with our families, friends, and work colleagues. So, with all this in mind, I applaud those who nurture civility & respect for others. These folks realize that each person matters, and we should treat our most treasured assets in life – our relationships with others – with dignity, compassion, & kindness.
The crunch leading up to the Holidays can be particularly challenging, especially with the necessary gift shopping (thank God for Amazon!), end-of-the-year work commitments, and other personal obligations. In fact, some might argue, as Thomas Paine said on this day (Dec 19) in the first line of the American Crisis, way back in 1776: “These are the times that try men’s (and women’s) souls.” More than ever, we need to be reminded that the Holidays should not be a strain on us, but rather an opportunity to showcase our better half. In fact, in the midst of this chaos, we should not lose the true meaning of the Holiday season: tenderness for humanity, peace on Earth, and goodwill for all. In many ways, these celebrations afford us a time for introspection, personal growth, and even reformation.
How fitting that the Holiday season is filled with references to novels, television specials, and movies about how this ‘most wonderful time of the year’ can lead to an epiphany, if not, rebirth of one’s soul. In lieu of jealousy, we should strive for more magnanimity in our hearts. Instead of spite for enemies, we should build our lives around respect for all our brethren. And, as opposed to anger, we should aim to express kindness in all we do.
On this day in 1843, Charles Dickens released his novella about Ebenezer Scrooge. His story is officially known as A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. Eventually, the title of the book was simplified to A Christmas Carol. In this 5-part story, we learn of a miserly London businessman, best described as “a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner.” On a cold, brisk Christmas Eve, we find this wealthy, but lonely bellyacher ‘humbugging’ in his usual ways – lambasting those seeking a donation for the poor and underprivileged, refusing an invitation to Christmas dinner from his kindhearted nephew, and disrespecting his overburdened clerk. Yet, as this curmudgeon dozes off, he surprisingly encounters the wretched ghost of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley. Entwined in heavy chains and moneyboxes as he aimlessly wanders the Earth, the despondent Marley confronts Scrooge, informing him that his afterlife is bound to be much worse than his own. Marley proceeds to take the cranky miser on a frightening journey of Christmases past, current, and future. As Scrooge partakes of these visions, each frighteningly worse than the prior, he begins to realize how his life is devoid of any true meaning, even if filled with all the financial riches and comforts of the material world. In his last vision, he sees an empty funeral and a disregarded tombstone bearing his name.
Scrooge vows to change.
As he awakes, he initiates his transformation with a renewed sense of compassion and devotion, as he graciously assists those in need around him.
“It was always said of [Ebenezer Scrooge] that he knew how to keep Christmas well…God bless us, Every One!”
The closing lines of the Christmas Story are so fitting that others would basically take this formula and rehash it in a variety of contemporary Holiday tales. Of them all, none rival the remake by Dr. Theodor Geisel, best known as the respected children’s book author, Dr. Seuss. In his 1957 Random House story, this time written in versed rhyme (not prose), we are introduced to another sourpuss – this time one who chooses to live in a frigid, glacial cave atop Mount Crumpit. Overlooking the serene town of Whoville, the Grinch suffers from a rare, yet devastating medical anomaly known as microcardia – an unusually small heart. To be anatomically precise, the Grinch’s heart is ‘two sizes too small.’ The condition leaves the Grinch as cuddly as a cactus, as charming as an eel, and as sweet as a seasick crocodile. While all the kind-tempered Whos sleep in Whoville on Christmas Eve, the Grinch devises a plan to ‘steal’ Christmas. So, with an oversized sleigh and his dog Max at the helm, he takes every last remnant of Christmas from the Whos.
Overly content with his larcenous endeavors as he arrives back atop his cragged cavern, the Grinch is frightened to find that he was not able to halt the arrival of the Holiday after all. As he ponders this perplexing turn of events, his heart undergoes a massive hypertrophy, and the Grinch begins to realizes the true meaning of the holiday season. He returns all the Christmas paraphernalia to the town. Forgiven, he becomes the top guest at the Christmas feast wherein he cuts the roast beast. The Chris Jones’ television production of this classic tale, featuring the brusque, deep voice of Boris Karloff and songs I know by heart, was first aired essentially on this date back in 1966. It ends with a kindhearted reminder:
Christmas Day will always be,
just as long as we have we.
Welcome Christmas while we stand,
Heart to heart and hand in hand.
So, as we stare down just 6 more days of Holiday shopping before the arrival of Christmas Day, I’d also ask you to remember to be gentle-spirited to those around you – not just during the Holiday season, but in every day of your life.
In the end, only kindness matters. Remember to be kind cause mean people, like the early versions of Scrooge and the Grinch, really do Stink. Stank. Stunk.
Comments