The food is stored for left over enjoyment, the wrapping paper placed in the recycling bin, the gifts are lined up neatly and exposed under the still sweet smelling tree and the laughter of family and friends is now a memory to be mulled over on the Christmas Eves to come and most of us are now wondering what to do on New Year's Eve but for many around the world today is Boxing Day.
Boxing Day is a day set aside for local donation and sharing. Unless you're located near the Canadian border or of British descent most Americans don't celebrate this holiday, but it's a tradition I think many of us should begin to adopt.
Many of us believe we have less than most would want or need yet if we stopped and took inventory of all the things we have that we don't eat or use we would realize that we have more to share, pass along and give than we would have ever suspected. Many of us, including myself can become so distracted by opportunity and option we often forgot how a simple meal, a warm garment regardless of fashion or the promise of even $1 can help someone along the way. If we truly took a moment to consider what little it takes to comfort and support those whose lives are still, by choice or circumstance, a matter of survival, we might understand how we are all connected and how that connection sustains us on levels over and above the satisfaction of acquiring and experiencing the material. And in that realization we may each find the bit of happiness we keep seeking in those things we consume.
Click on title to find a New York food bank near you and remember that the New York Coat Drive runs until December 31st. Or ask your local place of worship if they are collecting donations for a worthy cause and remember "T'is the Season"....
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