A Tribute to Joe

Christmas day has arrived and with it the sense of family and friends and what they mean, in a very difficult world, filled with many challenges. Appreciation is a word used to express genuine gratitude and thankfulness for the many things we receive, whether it is in the form of love, or gifts, or a combination of both.  Yet it is sometimes very difficult to express this feeling when we become distracted by our own selfish desires and we hurt the people that matter, by not saying openly how much we appreciate them, or make them feel especially wanted.  We tend to wake up and rip open our presents with great gusto forgetting the time and obvious effort which may have gone into buying the gift, remembering the person and making a dream come true.  We open our gifts and then move to the next one always expecting to get something that we want and occasionally need. So where does this leave us in terms of our journey of life, surely we are not to be so self absorbed and unappreciative, instead of living outwardly and in servant-hood.  I learnt a very invaluable lesson today, in that I took for granted all the work that went on behind the scenes to make a family day special and I forgot the basic rule of expressing gratitude.  We always teach our kids to be grateful, but how often we as adults can take a leaf as well.  I would say that it is rather to have no gifts, or no tree with decorations, but to be close to the people you love, is far more important. Cherish the closeness and be outward in your show of gratitude for it would seem short lived. It is important and makes people feel special and it costs very little to bestow such a blessing on others.  The key is not to stop doing it tomorrow, because it is "Boxing Day", but to embrace the true lesson from this time, which is to keep in this attitude and nature and to fix our commitment on each other, in trying to create this atmosphere in all that we do, daily.  Gratitude costs very little, but it goes a very long way to making people we have relationship with, feel special.  Be sincere and direct in your praise of others and don't be distracted by material gifts, or flattery.  I know that I will learn from today and try harder to be the Man that we celebrated today, when it comes to being purposeful, but always willing to serve; honest, but never afraid to raise difficult questions which need an answer, hopeful but never expectant and forgiving but never resentful of what others may have, or have done.  So Unchain My Heart and lets try to "get by with a little help from our friends".  Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.