Look Past Hustle And Bustle For True Holiday Gifts

Lights flashing, bells ringing, carolers singing. All this hustle and bustle. You guessed it, the holiday season. So much to do, so little time. Time to hurry to find the perfect gifts for friends and family, make plans for the long winter break, prepare to spend an entire weekend with relatives and somehow weasel out of eating a piece of Great-Aunt Gurdies fruitcake.

Maybe more appropriate hallmark sounds for the season would be cash registers ringing, horns honking and small children whining. Sometimes we get so caught up in the wrapping on the holidays, we forget about the real present. It seems as though we’re just tossing around an empty box, that the holidays are just a time to play and give our teachers a break.

There should be more meaning to the holidays than just an empty wrapper. With all the commercialization that comes with the holidays, it is easy to be fooled. By the time you get through the first week of December, you feel like a rubber ball bounced from one thing to the next.

Before you bounce off the deep end into the abyss of holiday void, take a closer look. Just under the tissue paper, you’ll catch glimpses of the true gift. People bringing out the best in others. Look there, a young boy helps shovel a driveway. Rosy-cheeked strangers exchange smiles. High school students host food drives and others sing at nursing homes. Neighbors gather to decorate a giant pine tree on the corner. A family gathers for a meal, maybe for the only time in the entire year.

Under all the hurriedness of the season there is a current of peace and love that is celebrated throughout the world. When we go out into the noise to find that perfect gift for a loved one, remember that’s just what everyone else is up to. Sit back and take time to enjoy the holidays. For this season is truly a time to reflect, love and maybe even have a very tiny taste of Great-Aunt Gertie’s fruitcake.