As the year comes to an end, it brings with it yuletide tidings, good cheer and celebration. The year never ends without a Christmas celebration, the birth of Jesus Christ. Prophet, son, brother saviour, spirit. The Christian religion which has been around for over 2,000 years is anchored on this one man, his family, followers and his disciples.
It is intriguing to see that so many years after his death, we still remember his birth at Christmas. Not only that but history has been hinged on his legacy so that many things are defined with Before Christ. BC or after the death of Christ, AD. But we seem to forget every year what we learnt from this one man whose life and death affected the world so deeply. Some of these lessons include love, charity, family, hard work, sacrifice, simplicity, humility, and loyalty among others. The world has replaced all of these legacies with strife, anger, greed, selfishness meanness and lack of charity. It has simply replaced these qualities with commercialism and commercialisation.
The worship of money has long since become our way of life and kindness and charity relegated to the background. In fact, the kinder you are and the more charitable, the more you are described as “Mumu” and taken for granted. Your best friends will become scam artists who will take advantage of you and prepare to take you to the cleaners. Do not look too far away for scam artists… they would include your maid, housekeeper, security guard, your driver, your trusted friends, your relatives and sometimes believe it or not, even your children.
As the year draws to a close and Christmas beckons, it is time to wear your charitable toga and try to be a new man or woman in tandem with the spirit of the season. I believe that part of our problem as a nation is selfishness. Very few persons consider the other person and generosity seems to have departed our souls.
Generosity is not just the physical things we give but they are also embedded in the way we speak to others, how we make people feel and our gift of listening. A lot of people have gone to their early grave either by suicide or through emotional or physical stress because they have been emotionally abused either by a family member or a spouse. Some have become ill or passed because they have no one to listen to them including their wives or husbands or even their children who seem to be in a hurry to walk past them these days and not find out how they are doing. It is painful.
Being a burden bearer is the highest form of generosity, charity… While it is true that persons with emotional baggage can weigh you down or take all your time, focus. Pick one case and listen through it. In others offer a smile, a hand, an encouragement or even point a way. It is amazing to find that sometimes the difference between someone feeling suicidal and that person feeling better are a couple of words and a smile. Hello, how are you today? It may sound random but honestly that may be what that person needs for a flood of sunshine in their lives. And as one person pulling out of depression told me, when you ask people how they are, please mean it and please stay back for 30 seconds to actually hear how they are. We seem to be so busy running between pillar and post and we cannot hear each other. We are always in such a great hurry but we arrive late at everything. How contradictory!
As the year draws to a close and Christmas beckons, it is time to wear your charitable toga and try to be a new man or woman in tandem with the spirit of the season. I believe that part of our problem as a nation is selfishness
What about your staff? Those horrible things you say to them after every mistake means they cannot grow. This one is a fool. I do not even know why I hired you. You use them and then dump them, in addition to all the invectives you bury them under. Remember, they served you even if all they did was bring you water or your bag. Be kind in your language. You cannot keep a staff who you describe as useless for over a year and continue to describe them as useless. Let them go and get someone who is not useless. When people begin to feel used, they can bring you to grievous bodily harm through their proxies. If you do not need them anymore let them go nicely. For those you have retained, have they received a Christmas bonus, a gift, some extra cash? Take a look at your spreading happiness quotient this Christmas season and amplify it.
You do not need half the clothes in your wardrobe. Give them out. You will never use that flask the driver asked you for last year, give him. Stop hoarding stuff for your kids. Be charitable to them. Let them learn to fish. Don’t give them fish.
In all of this remember that all religions of the world harp on charity for purification, penance and good neighbourliness. Do not say Oh it is for Christians at this time. No, it is also end of year. It is that time of the year when you ought to be more charitable. Buddhism for example considers generosity as the first of six perfections. Islam practices encourages its adherents to practice many acts of charity including the most well-known Zakat, which loosely translates to alms giving. The Gospel of Luke encourages us all to love our neighbour as ourselves and in Judaism Charity is equal in importance to all other commandments in the Torah combined.
It’s time to go find that man or woman begging at the street corner and give them new notes of 300 naira in pieces of N100 notes. Believe me, just a little drop of your time, your gift, your space, your ears can bring dollops of happiness this Christmas. Well, what are you waiting for, take food to an orphanage this Christmas or visit an old people’s home or that Uncle or Aunty who lives alone because all his children live abroad or all his children are too busy or they are all deceased.
May you always find those who spread happiness your way this season, AMEN
Season’s Greetings!
