Christmas is more than gifts

It'd be nice if there were a silent night this Christmas, or I'd settle for a silent day.

Instead of rushing about and trampling one another to spend money we don't have to support big business in the name of showing our love to others, it would be nice to just gather with those we love and spend time with them. What better gift can we mere mortals share than our love and our friendship, two things money can't buy. (Well, you can buy companionship but that's something else altogether.)

Despite all that's going on lately, from the murder of school children in the name of religious extremism to a diplomatic crisis caused by a dumb comedy (I've seen Seth Rogen movies before, and dumb comedy is an accurate description), I haven't felt quite as cynical this Christmas season as I have before. Perhaps I've just found a comfortable plateau where I can be at peace with the fact I'm not going to change anything about the way our society "celebrates" Christmas, so I'll just mind my own business and celebrate it the way I want.

For me, in this 60th year, Christmas seems different. While there are lots of things I want, there is little I need from under the tree. I'd rather see the happiness and pleasure of others receiving gifts and surprises instead. I especially enjoy watching children and their surprise at what Santa's left for them. Perhaps it's because I remember my own excitement on Christmas mornings, and it's a joy to see the excitement of others now. Well, sometimes it's later in the day since we don't have little ones at home.

Through the last few years, my feelings about Christmas have been a bit ambivalent. As much as I've enjoyed it as a time of peace — however brief — and joy, I've found fault with the crass ways we mark the season. Consumerism has overtaken the significance of the holiday, creating greed, lust and envy among folks as they scramble to get the latest this and the hottest that so they can keep up with the Joneses, the Smiths and everybody else in the neighborhood.

Maybe it's just our human nature to want more and more, and to expect more and more. It's certainly in the nature of big business and corporations, which push people to spend, spend, spend — although much of the time it's more of a nudge than a push.

What I'd like to see for Christmas is less spending of money and more spending of time. Spend more time with family and friends, enjoy them and appreciate them. The love that's shared is a far greater gifts than any we can buy. Even greater than a giant flat-screen TV or a cellphone that does everything, including phone calls.

We should spend more time listening to others. All too often we're running our mouths when they should be closed and our ears open. It's amazing what we can learn about one another when we listen. We don't have to always agree with what we hear, but the simple act of listening is quite a gift. And sometimes we may learn something new, or hear something to make us think or reconsider what we believe, or at least understand that others may not share our ideas and beliefs. That's not bad. In fact, we could spend more time being respectful of others.

We should spend more time helping one another. A lot of folk these days think if you can't make it on your own, then too bad. It's almost a Darwinian outlook; the strong survive, the weak don't. I don't think that's what he whose birth is celebrated at Christmas taught. Helping others, especially the weak and frail, is one of the best gifts we can give.

We should spend more time enjoying and appreciating what we have. Not just our toys and goodies and material things we're blessed with, but the world we have. Sure, there's a lot of bad stuff in the world today, which should make us more appreciative of what's good around us. Appreciate family and friends, appreciate good health, appreciate good fortune, appreciate the beauty around us and the beauty in others. We should be thankful and count our blessings.

And about that silent night, or silent day, spend a little time away from the hustle and noise of the season so you can reflect and think about the gifts we already have instead of the gifts we want or are giving.

In the meantime, Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Solstice, A Cool Yule, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noël, Mele Kalikimaka, Frohe Weihnachten, Sung Tan Chuk Ha, Merry Christmas!