Wow—the holidays are here again! I know we all say this every year, but 12 months flew by way too fast. Here we are, on the day after Thanksgiving, and pretty soon the pumpkins will be replaced with snowmen (if they haven’t been already).
While we are out enjoying the last days of 2013, let’s make them count. There are so many fantastic things to do and see, and more importantly, people to spend time with.
Make this December one to be remembered. But, okay, don’t forget to Instagram the photos while you’re at it. 😉
I know we’ll all soon be swept up in the twinkling lights of December. And the annual making our lists and checking them twice routine will commence. But before that sets in and you rush off to a Black Friday sale, please take time to really be thankful. Count your blessings. Make that the list you check twice.
It’s so easy to bypass Thanksgiving on our way to more merry and bright holidays, but it’s a great time to pause and reflect. Whatever you’re doing, I hope you are spending today with people who make you more grateful. Whether your Thanksgiving is with family, friends, or even strangers, we all have something to be grateful for. Let’s all do a better job reminding each other of that, instead of worrying about our wants or stressing about our stuff. Let’s be good stewards of what we have, both possessions and relationships.
A few months ago I read Pursuing Justice by Ken Wytsma. I wasn’t expecting the book that it turned out to be, but it was still very good. It sort of turned out to be a Bible study on justice. I would definitely recommend it, and not just for those passionate about the issue like me, but even for the mildly curious. I learned a lot and will be marinating on it for a long time to come.
There were a few things mentioned in the book that stuck with me, but none more than what I wanted to share with you now. Did you know that it costs approximately $21 billion to get clean, safe drinking water to everyone in the world? If you weren’t aware, almost 1 in 7 of the world’s population doesn’t have access to this most basic need. $21 billion. I know, right, it sounds like a lot—like a whole lot! It sounds like scratching our heads and calling summits and raising money and finally reconciling ourselves to the fact that $21 billion is impossible to find in a world drowning in debt. Sometimes it sounds like giving up.
And then I found out…
The National Retail Federation estimates that over $600 BILLION will be spent in November and December this year. I’m sorry, what? That’s just this season. When I think about it, that makes me sick. In fact, the contrast in those two numbers has literally haunted me since I’ve read the book.
I think about people I know that rush around trying to buy gifts, any kind of gifts, for the people on their Christmas list. Mostly those are close family and friends, but usually there’s at least one obligatory gift on there as well. I think of gifts that aren’t bought out of need, but out of courtesy. I think of the stress so many people feel when it comes to the holidays. It seems to be more about putting anything under the tree that caring about what it is, as long as you’ve checked that box.
Something. Has. To. Change.
I love the holidays. I love the chill in the air, and the warm drinks. I love watching Christmas movies. I love decorating my apartment. I love seeing twinkle lights go up everywhere. And I love buying gifts. Gift giving is one of my love languages. It makes me happy to see the look on people’s face when I give them a gift. In fact, the anticipation of seeing their faces when I give them the gift makes me happy! I have always tried very hard, whether it’s a birthday or Christmas, to find the perfect gift that will make the recipient smile. It’s a challenge that I relish.
And, if I do say so myself, I’m pretty good at it. But the last few years, ever since pursing justice myself and learning more about supply chain and slave labor, I’ve tried to challenge myself in a new way. I try very hard to find not only gifts of meaning, but gifts that do good or do not perpetuate slave labor. I’m also an environmentalist, so I try to cut down on packaging and reuse when possible. So, really, I thought I could pat myself on the back from up on my high horse—until I read those statistics.
Now I’m trying to figure out how to do more. I can’t completely give up gift-giving, because I love it so much, but there is more I can do. For one thing, I can help educate you. What if we all started buying differently? What if we started contributing more and consuming less? What if we took a hard look at the real difference between shopping and giving? What if the presents had real meaning, not just for the recipient you know, but those who created it or will benefit from the purchase? What if?
Here is an awesome video by Advent Conspiracy to help illustrate. In fact, they have a lot of great personal and church resources to help you explore this idea. I’m looking forward to reading their book this season.
As I said, I don’t have this all figured out, but I’m trying. I want to contribute, not just consume. I want buy better and think better and live better. And even more, I want that for everyone else. I want it for you, and those you know, and those around the world who don’t have clean water or adequate shelter or who live in fear. We all share this world.
The holidays are a season of hope. Hope, joy, peace—we see those words written on everything this time of year from cards to commercials. What if they weren’t just platitudes? What if we added those to our Christmas list? What if, when we started buying gifts, we kept those three words in mind? Will the things we buy this season promote hope or joy or peace? If not, then let’s not buy them. Find a better alternative. I bet there’s one out there.
There are so many more, though, so keep looking! And if you need to go the department store route, you could even institute your own TOMS-esque one for one model. For example, if you give someone a shirt, donate one as well. Challenge each other to be better, think creatively and give more.
Give gifts that tell stories, and write yourself a new one in the process.
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And here’s a great article from the TODAY Show about families who try to put more meaning into gifts and the holidays.
Here is another from LearnVest, a money budgeting site if you’re looking for a more frugal point-of-view.
One more from journalist/activist, Nick Kristoff, whom I greatly admire.
Well, it finally arrived—my last conference of the year. It was fun to make a Tedx event the last of my 2013 rounds. I’ve never attended one of these before, and was really looking forward to it. I’d still love to make it to the mother ship one day, but for now this will do.
TEDxPeachtree wasn’t dissimilar from other conferences I attended, which I think I was expecting it to be, but it was a lot of fun nonetheless. There were a few speakers I was familiar with, but most of them were new to me which I enjoy.
Here are a few little gems I pulled from the Atlanta TED Talks:
I’ve been a fan of Don Miller ever since a friend suggested that I read Blue Like Jazz shortly after it’s release. I immediately felt like I could be friends with this guy. Since then, I’ve read every one of his books, and consider A Million Miles in a Thousand Years one of my all-time favorite books. So when Don announced he would start hosting conferences based on this material, I was ready to sign up.
And that’s just what I did last month. Since he recently relocated to Nashville, one of the Storyline Conferences each year is now held there—a mere four hours from me. It was a really fun two days. It was a little like, and a little unlike, other conferences I attended. Don describes it as sort of group therapy and I have to agree. 😉
The basis for the time is that you are looking to develop a plan to discover and live out your God-given story. Before and after guest speakers, Don takes you through the process, much like he discovered along the way in A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. Another element of a story is added in each session. Some of his material also comes from “logotherapy,” a therapy which helps you discover meaning and purpose, hence the therapy session. The guest speakers do some instructing, but I gathered that mostly you are to see living examples of the material Don presents. There were some really awesome speakers. And then, of course, because it’s Nashville, there were local musicians who contributed to the agenda.
Honestly, I still have A LOT of thinking to do about what was said over the weekend. But I really appreciated what I heard, and am looking forward to more reflecting on it. I had already started making some baby steps in my story before arriving, but I still have a long way to go. And I have the homework from the conference to prove it! It was a very affirming time, though, and I know it will help me in the future.
Here are a few of the pearls I pulled out of the conversation:
Don Miller
Living great stories involves changing the way we approach life. To live a great story, we need to know who we are, what we want, what conflict we will need to engage and then we must take action.
If people don’t find purpose, they will pursue pleasure. – Viktor Frankel, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor (Invented “logotherapy”)
God did not create us to live in reaction, but to be co-creators of a meaningful life.
We are not our failures—or our successes.
Love your calling, not the applause of the crowd.
Your story is not about you. It’s about God using you to save many lives.
When you find a passion or purpose, you realize all the parts of your life have been leading up to it.
In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning. – Viktor Frankel
What if God created you because the world needed to feel the impact of your story?
The most powerful moments in a person’s life are the moments in which they realize what they are capable of.
Great leaders recognize and respond to the capabilities of those they lead.
Don began and ended the conference with the question, “What will the world miss if you do not tell your story?” Um, that’s a pretty powerful question. I’m not there yet, but I’m pondering it. It definitely shapes the way I see things. I spend too much of my time comparing myself to others, and I think that was one of the things this conference does best. It reminded me that God created me. He took the time to form and shape me. I’m here for a reason. I better not waste it.
So…what would the world miss if you did not tell your story?
Wow—the holidays are here again! I know we all say this every year, but 12 months flew by way too fast. Here we are, on the day after Thanksgiving, and pretty soon the pumpkins will be replaced with snowmen (if they haven’t been already).
Mental Post-Its 