The best portion of a good man’s life: His little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love. ~ William Wordsworth
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
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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
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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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What other subjects would you like us to talk about in these posts? Please email me.
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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.
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Dear John,
The energies of my personal missions ALWAYS share correlations with your energy. We all thank You for Being.
Love,
Riley
Thanks very much, Riley. Merry Christmas!
Sending you love,
John
Thank you for your message of love, dear John. I wish for you a merry Christmas (already started here) and a happy new year of peace and kindness. I am happy to report that among the Christmas gifts from my family is their having pledged a Christmas Food Basket for a needy Native American family through the work of the Southwest Indian Foundation. With love, George
You’re most welcome, brother George! And thank you for all your love and support over many, many years now. I can’t think of a much better Christmas gift than what your family gave you! God bless you all! Merry Christmas!
Love, John
After the Christmas season, I find it difficult to get back into the humdrum of everyday life. I guess it makes me happy to buy gifts for my friends and to watch their eyes light up as they unwrap the gift. I was contemplating my feelings and decided that Christmas is the one day that we live from the heart. So, why not extend Christmas to include the other 364 days.
There are so many people that are in need. They may be in need of a smile, a kind word or a helping hand. However, one of my many talents is …. shopping. A bargain shopper by trade. I have decided to take this talent to a new level. To shop for those I don’t know. To buy stuffed toys for the Children’s Hospital, or to buy clothes for women that are living in halfway houses. Wrap up the items and give them to whoever is in charge so they can hand them out.
I believe that if I tell my friends what my intention is, they will help me find great items, plus it may also spark their act of giving.
What makes your article so timely for me is the fact that I was just talking to a friend of mine about my desire and then check my email to find your article based on the same premise.
Let’s make Christmas 365 days instead of one day out of the year. It will make our hearts glad and will expand the light to touch others that are in need.
Thank you for being you,
Cinda Miller
Thanks very much, Cinda. I’m delighted the article was timely for you — there are no coincidences! I’m all in favor of celebrating the spirit of Christmas all year round! What a great idea!
Thank you for being there,
John
With Love to All, kindness of my brother with whom loving kindness has been exchanged this Holy Night after many months of estrangement. . my Christmas miracle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KMsMdteAc4&sns=em
With thanks to the great Perry Como ~ one of God’s most beautiful angels.
XXXOOO
Thanks very much, Martha. I’m delighted to hear of your Christmas miracle. You and your brother deserve much credit for having the courage and wisdom to put the past behind you.
Thank you also for the beautiful Perry Como song. He was one of my mother’s favorite singers — partly, probably, because he was Italian, as we are. 🙂 Love, John
Thank you, John. I feel loving kindness every time I tune in here.
And so I say thank you, John, for your kind heart and generosity of Spirit you so freely offer to all who gather here. Thank you for creating a safe place for us to feel Love and share Light. I draw great nourishment from my visits here and I bless you for it.
May You Be Blessed.
Merry Christmas to All, and to All a good LIGHT !!
With Love,
Martha
Martha, I and my spirit guides are grateful to you for your lovingkindness.
God bless you on this beautiful eve of Christmas, and always.
Love, John
What more can you do to spread love and kindness?
Each day of our lives there are a multitude of opportunities for each one of us to spread love and kindness. Helping an elderly lady to find her car in a parking lot. Helping a very young couple come up with enough money to buy diapers for their new baby. Speaking to and acknowledging the the humanity of a homeless person. Smiling to anyone walking by. Telling anyone how great they look today. Offering a tool to someone who needs to complete a project. Stop on the road when you see someone on the side of the road and ask if they need help. The list is very long, and the little needs never run out.
All of this comes from our Sacred Heart. If we want to “do more”, all we need to do is ask Spirit to bring us these opportunities. Whatever comes our way, Spirit will give us whatever we need to extend the Light to others in Love and Kindness. And it feels so good.
Love and Blessings to All. May your lives be filled with Joy. And a special Big Bear Hug to you, John, my friend forever.
Thank you so much, Micki! I’ve never seen a more beautiful “to-do” list!
Big Hugs to you, my dear friend.
And much love,
Johnny
And we have just shown how when you open your heart and give Love and Kindness, it all comes back to you a thousand fold. Big Smile.
Happy loving holiday wishes!
Thank you, Micki — a thousand fold!
God Bless you and your work, John.
The story, and side stories, of that Christmas Truce never cease to amaze me.
And may there be “Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men”, this Christmas and in the years ahead to follow.
Merry Christmas, to all who visit here, and their Loved Ones.
Thank you so much, Conshana, for your kindness. We’ve known each other many years, and your kindness has always shone brightly in the darkness.
Those Christmas Truce stories have also always amazed me.
Merry Christmas, dear brother! And to all who read this.