Happy Holy Days

From my family to yours!

HAPPY HOLY DAYS!!

Whatever, your belief system, this time of year is special. Everyone celebrates the season for different reasons and that’s okay. Different is good. Different is interesting. I love to read posts about how the season is celebrated by others. Whether it’s midnight mass, Chinese food and a movie, staying up at an all night bonfire, or exchanging gifts, it’s all good. Some people bake, others volunteer for a charity, still others work through the holidays so that their co-workers can be with family. Some people practice their beliefs actively and openly while others are private and seemingly don’t celebrate at all. It’s all good.

Regardless of what the celebrations are called, there are common threads that weave through each belief system. Things like gathering with family and friends, being kind and giving to the less fortunate, giving thanks for what life has brought us, remembering the previous year, looking forward with anticipation to the upcoming year.

I am 100% certain that I do not believe in or practice my beliefs the same way you do. That’s okay with me. I cherish the fact that we can believe as we please and celebrate our differences. So long as we don’t demand that others believe as we do, it’s all good.

Whatever you are celebrating and however you are celebrating it, I wish you well. Happiness, health and prosperity to you and your families in the upcoming new year.

Ho, Mitakuye Oyasin!

 

Small Winter Joys

Mini Snowman

Little gestures make the biggest impact. Helping a stranger navigate an ice-covered sidewalk. Holding an elevator for someone on crutches. Letting the person with one item step into line ahead of you when you have a cart full of groceries. These are small things that take virtually no effort but mean a great deal to those helped. When a small gesture affects many people, it becomes extra special.

I was driving through downtown Minneapolis a week ago. While waiting at a stop light, I looked to my right and saw an unusual sight. The building on the corner was built of stone and the builder had incorporated a small ledge into the wall at about waist-high. Sitting on the ledge was a miniature snowman. I couldn’t help but smile. It made my day.

I have no idea who made it. It might have been someone waiting for a bus or, perhaps, a homeless person on their way to the shelter for a hot meal and a warm place to sleep. Whoever it was, they did a very special thing. This intersection receives a lot of traffic everyday, both vehicles and pedestrians. I’m talking about several thousand people every day. I cannot believe that anyone passing the Mini Snowman would not smile and feel the joy of the winter season. Thar’s a lot of happiness spread by a small gesture that took little effort and little time. Whoever you are, thank you!