I admit, I am a terrible person. I got all caught up trying to do a good thing yesterday, and forgot to post for the Giftmas Blog Tour. (Yesterday was “What I Celebrate”. Here’s a link to Rhonda’s site, so you can see what everyone else on the tour celebrates. Even me, because Rhonda is organized, and I’m not!)
However, I’ve decided not to feel TOO bad about it, because what I was doing yesterday absolutely feeds the theme for today, which is “Shining a Light.”
You see, I was putting together an information package for a local politician so he could better understand a situation in my lovely little city that must be changed. In other words, I was “Shining a Light” on some ugliness, in order to bring about change. (Ha! See how I did that?)
It took a long time to make that information packet, because politicians are busy people. They don’t have time for anything but the facts, and that was what I was trying to give him. Just the facts. It was hard, because I’m an emotional person and this is an emotional issue, to me. (And to a lot of other people in the city, if you go through the comments sections of any news article written about this particular situation.) But I dug through everything that I had read, or seen, so that I could give him the facts that would give him what he’d asked for–the unvarnished truth.
It wasn’t pretty, because I was not dealing with a pretty situation. But at the end of it, after a very long day, I had finished, and now this local politician will have the information he needs to (hopefully) begin the process that will finally put an end to what I see as a terrible miscarriage of justice.
This is how I shine a little light at my house!
Ha! Yeah, Merry Christmas!
I guess that’s the point, though. The ugliness and pain doesn’t stop, even at this time of year. In fact, for me, this time of year shines a beacon on the pain of others. And there’s so much pain all over the world, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. It could make you want to just close the door, pull the covers over your head and say, “To heck with it all.”
I’ve wanted to do that–and some days, I have. But then, I remember. All I have to do is one thing.
Putting the information together for that politician was one thing I could do, so I did it. Tomorrow, I will find one more thing I can do. And the next day and the next. After all, it’s just one thing. I can handle doing one thing–one good thing–every day.
We can all do it, you know. Do one thing to try to stop the hurt, even for a minute. To bring kindness to even one person. And you never know. That kindness can bring change. That attempt to stop the hurt just might work this time.
Because here’s the deal. There are billions of us. If we all do one good thing a day, this world can’t help but be a better place. For us, and for every other creature who lives on this planet with us.
And that would be fantastic. Wouldn’t it?
(Movie clips from “Scrooged,” 1988, Paramount Pictures. If you haven’t watched it yet, do! It’s delightful!)
If you want to do one good thing today, donate to the Edmonton Food Bank. It’s easy! Just follow the link, and then pat yourself on the back. For every dollar you donate, you will have given someone three meals.
And don’t forget to be good to yourself! So, do the Rafflecopter thing, and enjoy! The prizes are fantastic! After all, you did that one good thing. You deserve it.
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