Even more important than the warmth and affection we receive, is the warmth and affection we give. It is by giving warmth and affection, by having a genuine sense of concern for others, in other words through compassion, that we gain the conditions for genuine happiness. More important than being loved, therefore, is to love.Isn't that perfect for the holiday season?
The Dalai Lama
I can't decide if Buddhists or Al-Anons are the happier lot. Their philosophies are certainly dissimilar, but each seems to lead to a way of living in a confused and confusing world with peace and confidence and serenity.
The trouble with the holiday season is that we sometimes equate the depth of our love with the amount of money we spend on a gift. Advertising works (I was in the business, I know whereof I speak), and the onslaught of advertising that begins at Halloween and ends December 24 – or, if you count the after-Christmas sales, December 31 – reinforces the silly notion that money can buy happiness.
It can't, of course. West Virginia is the home of a millionaire who won the Powerball – on Christmas Day, I kid you not – several years ago, and if his story isn't proof that the love of money is the root of evil, then I don't know what is.
And if you don't believe the Dalai Lama or Jack Whittaker, then listen to the Beatles.
My husband and I love our grandchildren, all seven of them. We visited four of them yesterday. The youngest is 17 months old, and there are only half a dozen toys made for the younger-than-three set. We gave the family a museum membership, but wrapped some little things the children could play with. Her three and a half-year-old triplet brothers loved their microphones and train whistles, but she couldn't figure hers out. She didn't want to touch her knitted stuffed elephant. The tea set we gave her was already in her toy box.
Because sharing the love always is.
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