Christmas is a wonderful time for all who try to think more of others and of their happiness than what's in it for them, after all, joy is a byproduct of thinking of others, and of being grateful.  The spirit of Christmas, which is the spirit of Christ, pervades the earth for a sacred week of the year. It is then when our hearts are open to instruction from it that we feel kin to all people.

Newspapers take time off from their atheism to talk of the birth, life, death and resurrection of the Savior, and of the love of God and the influence that giving has on society.

Wherever people think of others and spend their time in pursuit of giving, the dreary cares of life dwarf themselves against the opportunity to make others smile.

People barely known but appreciated can be thanked with plates of cookies, relationships gone sour can be reopened and with a token of love that carries with it no strings.  Friendships can be strengthened as efforts are made to reach out and uplift.

Families divided by television and computers can reach out to one another without the expectation of repayment for a kindness shown.  Teens can openly appreciate their families and hug their parents without looking small and weak.

A simple 'Have a merry Christmas' that floats gently across phone lines from lips to ears leaves smiles on the faces of those on each side.

Christmas giving makes the rest of the year look pretty selfish, and comments are always made about wishing to carry the Spirit of Christ along throughout the year, but sure enough, as the days, weeks, and months pass, the spirit of the world and the love of self push away the memories of the full feeling of joy that accompanied giving.

It is a difficult thing to change one's way of life, one's outlook on life, habits and patterns.  Often people will look at another who does things in a less Christlike manner than they themselves would have, and scorn them for their selfishness or their view and actions.  But change isn't as simple as knowing one's own imperfections.  Change occurs only with constant attention to it, and then only in tiny increments, like single drops of water sent to fill an empty pond.  Often the droplets evaporate before they make it to the pond, or are soaked up by moss and leaves that lay in the path.

So it is with changing to become the Christlike giver all year, each effort is thwarted along the way, screaming children, financial woes, physical ailments all figure into the way our best efforts evaporate before ever filling the pond of change.  The desire to change has to be larger than any other influence around us in order for any success to occur.  Gaining that desire is likely as difficult as getting the droplet to the pond.

It then becomes irrational to see the faults of others, and their inability to desire to change, or their inability to carry through on the act of changing.  We are each where we are spiritually because of who we are, and what we have experienced, and where the choices in our lives have taken us. Climbing the ladder to perfection is hampered by arthritic knees and hands, fear of heights, and usually not knowing that there is a ladder, or a reason to climb it.

So in this time of uninhibited joyful giving of self, soak it up, and give it out.  But if it fades with the lights and the music,  such is the struggle of life.