All I WANT For Christmas!

Preface:

I don't know if it is proper to use a preface for a blog, but hopefully you will understand my intended application once you read it. 

The idea for this blog originally came to me Tuesday during my Business Ethics class (Sorry Mr. Nelms).  I quickly wrote the main points with the intention of finishing Saturday morning.  This morning when I got up to write, the tragedy that occurred in Connecticut was really sinking in.  I had a house full of 5 children, and the realization that there are no promises in life brought me to tears.  Suddenly the accusatory tone of this blog didn't feel right.  Don't all parents want to do everything they can to make their children as happy as possible.  

I told my 11 year old daughter, Marlee, I was not going to post the blog, but asked her to read it anyway.  After reading it she told me I should post it.  So after some deliberation, I have decided to post.    

My motive is never to be inconsiderate, but only to make us question the "Status Quo".  What if the greatest gift we give our children is an understanding of truly caring about other people.  What it means to make sacrifices so that other's needs are met.

All I WANT for Christmas!

If your family is like mine, you start preparing your Christmas list shortly after you take down your Halloween decorations. After all, it takes a lot of planning to spend the $854 that the average American plans to spend on Christmas this year(1). Next we have to decide how to dispose of the extra 2,000,000,000 pounds of trash we created over the holidays(2).  WHAT?????

What do we really need to have a "Merry Christmas"?  Is it the "stuff" that brings you joy.

Go look in your kid's closet.  I know if it is like ours, we struggle to find a place for all of the toys.  Look in your own closet.  Are you constantly running out of hangers for all of your clothes?  What about your desk?  Is it difficult to find a place to plug in all of your electronic toys?  Now imagine an orphan's closet.  If they even have a closet, do you think they look in it after Christmas and try to determine where all of their new stuff will go.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE the holiday season.  I just think we could feel the same amount of joy, by using all of these resources to make a much larger impact on our world.  So I ask you: "What value does the exchanging of gifts bring you?"

I challenge you to do 3 things this holiday season:

1)  Spend quality time with the people you love.  Find ways to show them how much you care without spending $854 on gifts.

2)  Look for ways to reduce a portion of the extra 2,000,000,000 pounds of trash.

3)  Consider what kind of impact you could make by taking just a portion of that $854, and donating it to someone who truly needs it.

YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD!

Peace,

Jono      

(1) http://money.cnn.com/2010/12/16/news/economy/holiday_trash/index.htm 

(2) http://americanresearchgroup.com/holiday/