Too Commercial?

The Christmas Season, regardless of your religious beliefs, used to focus on spreading joy to your fellow man; I personally believe that is still the focus.  However, some might argue there are clear indicators that life as we know it is in a spiral dive because of selfishness and greed; "Christmas has gone commercial" they say.  They might continue the debate and say society as a whole has taken a turn for the worse and we have gone from a "giving of ourselves" nation to a "what you gonna give me today" nation.  The nightly news is an endless display of self-centeredness, but only because the self-centered are the only ones making the news.

I believe the selfless and caring individual outnumbers the selfish by leaps and bounds.  It only appears otherwise because the selfless are seldom seen.  Why?  Because the selfless are usually humble as well and have no desire to be in the spotlight.

While surrounded by the mayhem and all the self-centered people we deal with, it is hard to maintain what is referred to as, "The Christmas Spirit."   A perfect example is that guy that rings the bell outside the shopping mall.  It's nothing personal, but that guy really gets on my nerves sometimes; it seems they start earlier each year.  As a child it was a novelty to see them a few days before Christmas; now they hit the streets before Thanksgiving.  I'd give them more money if they would just stop ringing that bell.  OK, I'm being a little sarcastic here as I know they serve a purpose; they collect money for… actually, who do they collect money for?

The trick is to, regardless of outside pressures and problems, maintain a level of compassion for our fellow man.  We might think mankind needs to be fixed, and maybe it does, but fixing mankind is not our responsibility; that responsibility rests with a much higher power (not to be confused with the government).

Our responsibility is to care for and protect our family, our friends and our neighbors.  We may not be able to fix mankind or stop the perceived spiral dive, but we can help our neighbor and we can help our family.  Take time this Christmas Season to extend a helping hand and spread a little joy in your neighborhood.

And, if you want to eliminate the stress of the "Nightly Christmas Crowd Shopping Mall Fights" I have the perfect solution; don't shop at the shopping mall.  Buy your stuff on-line.  You can start by going to the Hoka Hey On-Line Store and buy special gifts for those special people; or maybe even those not so special people.

Hoka Hey On-Line Store

Special Gifts  for those special people

If you do go to the shopping mall and come up to that guy ringing that very irritating bell... drop a few coins in the bucket, look him in the eye and wish him a Merry Christmas; he's just trying to get by; just like you.

Merry Christmas to the Hoka Hey Family