The real gifts

  I was inspired by a friends post questioning the real gifts of  the season. She feels like most of us are disconnected, and don’t enjoy things as we once did. Sadly, I think she is right.

  Where did the shoe salesman go, where is the personal service? Where are the people we once knew, and interacted with on a daily basis? We, for the most part, have become slaves to the grind. We text, or IM those closest to us, rather than take the time to visit, touch, or hug  those we love. The family unit has been replaced with the “My Circle” unit on our phones. I have a great many friends that I know only through an electronic medium, and I truly enjoy these friendships, but I do long for more.  For the last two summers, we have planned vacation trips to include meeting internet friends in person, and it has been a rewarding experience. It puts faces and voices to personas, and it has given my children the chance to go places, and be exposed to new things.

  I also try and take time for personal encounters in my everyday life, I am a “people person” I guess. While Holiday get-togethers and traveling seem frenetic, we must remember that often, we see some of these folks only once a year for whatever reason. So, take a little extra time for human touch, and warmth, rejoice that we are all humans living on the same rock, slow down, don’t take things so serious and literal, and enjoy.

I have the advantage of having two children, the youngest almost three, so I can step back, and see things through the eyes of a child. It is still a wonderful world if you know where to look.