The Christmas Spirit--Why Not All Year?

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Last night as I was on my way to the new Starbucks in Hermitage to hang out and talk with a couple of guys, as I do most every Wednesday evening, a question popped in my head that has me perplexed still. I heard on a radio station, which one I cannot recall, a request for unwrapped gifts, which is obviously a common thing this time of year. I began to think, "why do people so generously aid their fellow man/woman this time of year, while ignoring or out right kicking them the other eleven months of the year?

I dare say that few people give this time of year out of some arbitrary sense of obligation. However, even if they do, the feeling of joy and high that remains from having given and helped someone, rather than taken from them (or ignored them altogether), quickly dispels any remnant of that begrudging motivation. Having experienced those wonderful sensations in our otherwise stagnant (unfortunately) spirits, again, what leads to our selfishness the other eleven months of the year? Did the stirring of Love hidden in the recesses of our hearts actually frighten or confuse those not used to it? Perhaps. Perhaps not.

At any rate, as I slightly start to ramble, I just think there has got to be a reason that people act so selflessly this time of year, while maintaining an "I'm gonna get mine" throughout the rest of the year.

Tags: giving, generosity, Love, Christmas, selfishness, Jeffrey Davis