Happy New Year!

I used to make resolutions for the new year but haven’t for a while.  It is probably because they were too lofty or took too long to achieve like becoming ripped (hey, I’m an optimist!). 

Calling upon my many unsuccessful attempts to quit smoking, I realized it was too daunting to imagine quitting for life. And each time I started after having stopped for weeks and sometimes months, it was because I thought I had it licked and could only smoke occasionally.  Once in college, I quit and then started back up with the resolution that I would only smoke when I drank.  I finally gave up on this when I found myself going to class drunk. The last time I tried quitting I decided that I had to only quit for the next five minutes and if I smoked one, I would be right back where I started.  This has worked for the last 30 years. So far.

So this year I have decided to not to make resolutions for the entire year.  Instead I will make them for just today.  Here they are:

Today I will:

1.    Not complain

2.    Smile when I enter a room of people or greet someone.

3.    Thank somebody for something specific

4.    Help someone

5.    Do something I am proud of

6.    Not to go to bed angry

7.    Make sure my wife and children know that I love them.

8.    Read this list everyday.

Wish me luck.  And Happy New Year!!

And good will toward all!

If there is a unifying theme of the season, I think most would agree that “Peace on Earth, good will toward all” is a good one regardless of faith or belief.  In the rush of all the hustle and bustle, it gives me pause to consider our world around us. I realize that the only things that distinguish the life I lead from ANYONE else’s in this world are the circumstances of my birth (when, where and my parents) and a few key decisions I have made (and most of those I didn’t think that much about at the time). For these, I am both grateful and fortunate.

Can I appreciate that no matter how different we seem to be, we share so much more? Can I suspend my selfish judgment to see a part of me in that impatient customer, the panhandler on the street, the mother in the barrio, the family in a hut in a distant land and that person who just cut me off in traffic?

“Good will to all” reminds me to open my eyes to those around me and to those far away and to recognize that we all seek happiness and avoidance of pain. Am I moved to respond?  Will I share my time or treasure? 

Hopefully, “good will” is more than the warm feeling brought to mind when a cup of eggnog is lifted in a seasonal toast. It is our ACTIONS that bring it to life.  It is what puts the “good” into “good will toward all”.  It is what every parent is reminded of as they watch their children’s delight on Christmas morning: there is more joy in the giving than in the receiving.

May the season bring you joy and hope.

The best $20 I ever spent

Once about this time of year, my wife and I were driving through the a “rough” part of town when we stopped to get some gas and add some air to our tires. Kay got out of the car first and was starting to check the tires when a skinny man in his 20s came over to her and asked if he could help her. Then I got out and the man said to me, “Can I do that for you?”  I said “No thanks, I got it” as I bent down with tire gauge.

Rather than leave, he squatted down in place and watched me go about my business.  After a moment he quietly said “Will you help me get something to eat?”

I rose and looked at him and asked, “What did you have in mind?”

“Where would you be comfortable driving me?” he said.

“Well, there’s a McDonald’s across the street,” I said, and pulled out my wallet.

I figured I’d give him $5 and send him on his way. But when I opened my wallet, I saw that all I had was a $20. I thought I sure wouldn’t want to be out on a cold night hanging around a gas station asking for money. So I handed over the $20 expecting nothing in return except maybe a mumbled  “Thank you”.

As he took the bill from my hand, his whole face lit up in pure joy. He grabbed me and hugged me.  Although I was a little taken back by the hug, I was struck by how something so small could mean so much. You’d have thought he’d won the lottery. The saying about a crumb from one person’s table is often the feast for another is true.