If you’ve spent any time on Facebook, you may have seen the Advent of Kindness calendar that’s making the rounds. What a wonderful idea! Here is a version of it I found that was made available:
Whatever version you use, the idea is the same. Practice random acts of kindness all month in the spirit of Christmas. It’s one way of turning away from the rampant commercialism that can often take over the season.
Neediest Families
Every time at this year I’m reminded of a ritual my family used to do. We were an upper middle class family never lacking in anything physical. (The emotional front was a bit rougher.) My dad had been brought up in dirt-floor poverty in the south and he never forgot his roots. Each year, he would take out the relevant copy of The New York Times and read about that year’s neediest families.
We would choose one as a family, and he would donate to that family. From our family to theirs. In a very real way, it taught me the true essence of this season.
The world could need a little more kindness right now, I think. The New York Times is in their 107th year of the Neediest Cases Fund, so poverty is still with us.
I wish you all the joy in the season, and may you, too, be a recipient of a random act of kindness.
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