Christmas was good for me personally (thanks for asking). It was real. Being together with our nearest and dearest in concentrated ways brings out everything that is part of our complex relationships. But it’s good to practice the disciplines of Christmas: expecting the best out of life, exercising personal generosity, and touching the lodestone of our values and beliefs.
The Elkhart Truth posted news just before Christmas of a $200,000 gift from a local family to the Elkhart County United Way. This was an expression of all that is good about Christmas, and a testimony to the generosity found in our community.
I experienced this news with a twinge of something else besides joy. Was it jealousy? Our first ECWT fundraising campaign kicked off in the weeks before Christmas. My last blog reflects the realism of our experience of being afraid to hope – afraid to hope for jobs, for a positive response to our campaign, for a good new year. Would I have wanted someone to give $200,000 to ECWT instead of the United Way?
Honestly? No. The organizations the Elkhart County United Way supports are established in our community. They have existing commitments and relationships, and deliver valuable services people depend on. They need that money. But still . . .
Then on Christmas Day, I got an email from an out of town friend, apologizing (needlessly) for not being in touch for awhile, and catching me up on her life. At the end of the email she included these paragraphs:
“For this Christmas, I asked all of my friends, family, and co-workers (instead of any gift trades of any kind) to donate just a little bit toward ECWT. They all know of the great work you are doing there, and more importantly, they all understand the IDEA of ECWT and are committed (as am I) to community-based solutions and genuine, human empathetic interactions. So, I wanted to send along our donation and wish all of you a MERRY CHRISTMAS!
In particular, please give my hello and greetings to Gerry, Kalaine, Shalon, and MJ, as well as to you and yours! I love your blogs and am so thankful and pleased that a place like the Bricolage and people like you exist.
P.S. From my friends who’ve contributed to this – none of us need OR want any recognition at all, I just want you to know that Elkhart has a team of support here in Boston as well!)
I was struck by the names. Our friend from Boston asked me to give her greetings to people at ECWT whom she had come to know and appreciate. And she gave us the name of her six friends – names I took out at their request – who had sent money to help people in Elkhart instead of exchanging gifts among themselves. These were college students, and young people just out of college, trying to make their way in a tough economy, who sent a collective gift of $250 to ECWT at Christmas.
This is relationship money. These gifts were shared, not within a family, but within a community of caring.
Maybe asking if $250 is better than $200,000 is the wrong question. Both gifts reflect the economic circumstances of the givers. Both gifts come from people who joyfully accept the opportunity to use their financial resources to build a better community.
At my best, I hold to an abundance theory of the universe. I believe there are enough resources to meet our collective needs.
When we are at our collective best, we share our resources within our communities of caring, so that everyone we care about has enough.
Maybe the challenge of this season, and of the New Year, is to enlarge our communities of caring.
May we all be blessed by the challenges, and the joy, that comes from caring and sharing more.
