Give a little love

Bustling from school, work, the occasional party, dinner or to family outings to home leaves no room for us to stop and really interact with those around us.

Our lives are spent traveling back and forth to these places and we rush around so much that the rest of the world becomes lost in a colorful, blurry background.

As we enter the holiday season, there is a donation center or some sort of drive everywhere we look that puts us in the mood to give back. But in times like these, it is not easy. When we spend most days scraping change out of the couch to buy lunch, carving out a little extra for charity seems counter intuitive.

Maybe, when money is hard to come by and generosity seems scarce, our problem is that we do not understand what we have. Whether we have just enough to get by or an abundance of wealth, we have something and are richer for sharing it.

Every action we make gives us the power to make a difference. Time is worth sharing, whether volunteering at a food shelter or helping wash the dishes at home. Spend an hour with a friend who needs to vent about life, or an extra ten seconds to hold the door open for someone.

If time cannot be spared, we can still give courtesy, patience and even attention to the people around us. Even if in a hurry to get somewhere always remember the pleases and thank yous we were taught as children, and that a simple smile or joke can improve anyone’s day. We are humans, capable of kindness, humor and gratitude and we need to share this humanity.

We usually wait until Thanksgiving to appreciate all that we have, but we always have something to give. Don’t just wait until the third week of November to be considerate — do it all year long.

Instead of spending the holidays devouring food and pitying life because the slumping economy has limited job opportunities and education costs more than a house, we can use that time to focus on what we do have and how we can pay it forward.