The best portion of a good man’s life: His little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love. ~ William Wordsworth

the spirit of love and kindness

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness. ~ Dalai Lama

There are reminders of the holiday season all around us, no matter what we celebrate—Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, etc. Or you may not celebrate at all. Or for you it may not be “the season to be jolly,” Perhaps the opposite, for whatever reasons.

Our world is seemingly in a mess, and for personal or global reasons it can be a depressing time for many. Yet the spirit of the season—the spirit of love and kindness prevails.

Here’s the touching story of a kindhearted young boy. I think we learn as much from the little children as they learn from us adults.

All six-year-old Alex Hovater wants for Christmas is a happy holiday for the homeless in his town.

Since making that wish, he’s been handing out care packages filled with jackets and necessities to people living on the streets.

It all began with the little boy worried about a homeless man spending the winter outside and asked about helping.

His mother, Machelle, thought it would be a good chance to teach her son about empathy and how money works. So she suggested he could choose between aiding the homeless in Bakersfield, California, or receiving Christmas presents for himself.

When he asked why they couldn’t do both, Machelle told him there wasn’t enough money for both. Little Alex didn’t hesitate in his reply.

“OK, we’ll help them out,” she quoted him as saying.

Alex isn’t going through Christmas empty-handed; this has to qualify for Santa’s “nice” list. His mother figures they’ve spent 30% of their Christmas budget on the care packages, and she’s challenging her online friends to try the same with their kids—and moving them to the top of the “nice” list too.

Story copyright © 2015 by Good News Network

**************************************

Wartime tests the humanity of us all, whether we are on the front lines or at the home front. In 1914 in the trenches of World War One’s western front, the French, British, and German armies called a truce on Christmas Eve. Pope Benedict XV had asked for this truce so “that the guns may fall silent at least upon the night the angels sang.”

World War One Service Dogs

World War One Service Dogs

Christmas in the Trenches, written by John McCutcheon and sung by John McDermott, immortalized this true story. Long after the war, John McCutcheon met with some German soldiers who were there at the Christmas Truce. His song demonstrates the power of kindness and love in even the worst, most brutal conditions humans can create.

 

********

What more can you do to spread love and kindness, not only at this season, but all year long? Please share your thoughts with us below.

********

Copyright © 2015 by John Cali

If you know someone who could benefit from this post, please forward it to her or him with a personal note.

**************************************

Related posts:

Why There Is No Peace on Earth and What You Can Do About It: Snoopy and The Red Baron
Christmas Truces and Other Ironies of War
Merry Christmas! Bah, Humbug!

************************************

What other subjects would you like us to talk about in these posts? Please email me.

*************************************

Reprint Our Articles Free

You are free to publish or syndicate any of our articles. Visit our archives to view the articles. It’s quick and easy.

All we ask is that you include this statement:

This article appears courtesy of John Cali and Spirit.

Include this link to our website:

http://www.greatwesternpublishing.org/

******************************

About John Cali

Writer and publisher John Cali, author of 10 books, talks to ghosts and dead people. He writes about these adventures at his blog and website, and in his upcoming book, Conversations with Spirit: Real Answers To Life’s Pesky Questions, Book 1.

Subscribe to his newsletter and receive a free copy of The Book of Joy: How To Live Every Day of Your Life Happily Ever After.

Website: http://www.GreatWesternPublishing.org