The Magic of the Holiday Season?


A mural from the Cultural Center of Batahola Norte in Managua, Nicaragua —
a community-based education and arts project that directly serves over 2,500
impoverished children and adults each year (www.friendsofbatahola.org).

I’m hearing a lot about “the magic of the holiday season” this Christmas. But there’s a dissonance in all those ringing bells…and I’m struggling with it. The past year’s tune has been all economic crisis, all the time. Merriam-Webster even named “austerity” their 2010 Word of the Year.

Just like we managed to convince ourselves before the economic crisis that we were wealthier than we really were, I believe that over the last year, we’ve convinced ourselves that we are having tougher times than we actually are. Yes, I understand that there are lots of Americans in tough economic straits. It’s heartbreaking that, in the midst of such wealth, there is so much real and painful need. But everything is relative ‘ especially material need. And as a society, by any measure but our own, we are incredibly wealthy. America is as fat as Santa.

Giving with a generous heart is one of the joys of life. It’s the spirit of Christmas. From re-reading “The Gift of the Magi” to watching TV news spots celebrating modern-day good Samaritans, ’tis the season for heartwarming stories of gift-giving. It makes me want to go out and hug a hobo.

And yet, even as our society celebrates heroic gift-givers, we neglect to see crippling need in our midst. We can gift-give ourselves into a “magical holiday season”…but come out the other end still ignoring an unacceptable gap between rich and poor. Where’s Tiny Tim come February?

I could spend the holidays anywhere I like. And I’m giving myself a very special treat: Christmas in Nicaragua. Every time I spend Christmas in the poor world, I’m struck by a different “magic of the season.” I see that I live in an affluent society that operates with a mindset of scarcity, while ‘ strikingly ‘ the people I meet there operate with a mindset of abundance. Rather than focusing on what they don’t have, they appreciate what they do have.

While this year many American families are confronted with cutbacks for Christmas, imagine a Nicaraguan family living in corrugated tin shack next to a Managua garbage dump. Tidying their dirt floor and preparing their simple Christmas dinner of beans and rice, they sing songs together and feel blessed that their family has survived another year. Why, with all the trappings of our wealthy society, do we have more trouble counting our blessings than those who have virtually nothing?

This is not a holiday guilt trip; there are just different ways to wrap your love. For me, it’s a gift to gain empathy for people on the other side of the tracks. That’s why, today, I’m flying into a Managua Christmas. As Santa jingle-jangles across the sky, I plan to be in a “mi casa es su casa” home served by one dangling light bulb…yet filled with light and inspiration.

In the New Year, we’ll be hearing lots about “austerity.” A budget-crisis mentality will see many of the compassionate features of our society stripped away. The loss won’t dramatically affect people who can afford to travel to Europe. But for others, it’ll mean a miserly world and a much tougher life. It’s my New Year’s resolution to operate not with a mindset of scarcity (as the media will certainly encourage me to do), but to live my life and do my work with a mindset of abundance. In 2011, I’ll be mindful of how fortunate we still are in this great country. I’ll strive to keep the “spirit of Christmas” alive in a broader, societal way, beyond the immediate gift-giving that makes me feel so warm and cozy.

While I’m south of the border, I won’t be blogging. But I’ll fill you in on my adventures immediately upon my return. In the meantime, I’d love to read your examples of how holidays you’ve spent far away have given you a different take on “the magic of the season” or inspired creative New Year’s resolutions.

Merry Christmas ‘ or, as I’ll be saying, Feliz Navidad!

Comments

8 Replies to “The Magic of the Holiday Season?”

  1. One of my favorite professors once said “we don`t have a bad economy – we just promise ourselves unrealistic expectations.” I love this post and how travel can give you such a great perspective. Merry Christmas!

  2. Hi Rick, Thanks SO MUCH for your INSPIRATIONAL message! Exactly 30 yrs. ago I lived in Greece with a Greek family and their 6 kids…..long-time friends of my family in Canada. I was then and still am BLESSED to have experienced Christmas, New Year`s and Easter as I was there for 8 months. The BEST part of the whole experience was that I got to see Greece (some of it) NOT only as a tourist but through this family and their MANY friends! I also worked in an all-Greek-speaking office (two also spoke English) and I was challenged every day to live outside of my comfort zone……to this day it`s THE MOST LIFE-CHANGING thing I have EVER done!

  3. Hi Rick, Yes, I was with my family in Iowa for Christmas and the gifts exchanged were not extravagant but practical and useful. While it`s nice that the retail business in the US was better this Christmas I wish that the emphasis during the holidays were more about the kind of giving that really mattters — the kind you can`t hang a price tag on such as love and helping those in need. Happy New Year everybody!

  4. Rick, thank you for taking your time to visit with us and autograph a well used Germany book on your recent visit to Chicago. It did lead us to be generous in our support of Public TV. You asked to share travel stories at the Holidays and reflect on travel as a political or spiritual mission. We were fortunate to travel to Paris last year for Christmas. As we walked through central Paris on Christmas day, very few people about, we did happen to cross paths several times with a man and his family that was accompanied by the military with automatic weapons in tow. It gave pause to us that our world does have it challenges, but that should not deter us from making a difference, one person, one visit at a time. Have an abundant New Year

  5. Thank you for the great message. This year instead of gifts that are soon forgotten, we took our adult children to Rome for Thanksgiving. As we gathered round the very untraditional restaurant meal, we were filled with a since of wonder and joy. We will remember that moment forever and count ourselves blessed. We are not “rich” by any monetary measure, but the sacrifices we made to enjoy that moment were worth it.

Comments are closed.