There is a certain sense of nostalgia that comes with the holiday season. From Thanksgiving to Christmas and the new year, countless people across the country often reminisce about childhood memories and reincarnate their family traditions year after year, whether holiday recipes, annual parties or even rituals like making certain all laundry is clean before the new year rolls in, or ensuring a man is the first person to enter your home on Jan. 1.
The holidays bring about a sense of happiness for most of us that is a refreshing end to one year and a hopeful beginning for another. Christmas in particular is a time when millions of Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. This time of year is also full of reflection; it’s a time to not only count our blessings, but also to think of those less fortunate and hopefully help them in one capacity or another.
Oftentimes, that help can be as simple as having respect and compassion for another person. I have often said that if more people exhibited compassion on a regular basis, this world would be a heck of a lot better than its current state.
When we exercise compassion, we are less likely to pass judgment or make certain generalizations. In other words, compassion helps us to be fair and open-minded.
Many Hoosiers are very fortunate. They have the resources to live relatively comfortable lives, pay their bills and even engage in certain pleasures that others might only dream about. And while such individuals shouldn’t apologize for their good fortune, I hope they realize how truly blessed they are. I also hope they realize many people throughout the state are not so privileged.
In understanding the plight of those who are less fortunate, we must first be educated about why select individuals are in such dire situations. To do that, we must constantly remind ourselves to denounce the stereotypes and instead cling to the facts. That can be a hard task to accomplish.
I remember a dialogue I had with a group of IUPUI students a few years ago. It was a very substantive discussion that truly intrigued me — and them, too.
A few of the students were journalism majors, a few more were civic leadership majors, but the vast majority were policy majors. As we conversed, the subject of race and socio-economic status arose. While the students were all very engaged, polite students, it didn’t take long for me to realize that growing up, many of them were not exposed to diversity — be it from an ethnicity or socio-economic perspective. While the students were educated, some of them made comments revealing opinions based on stereotypes or misperceptions rather than fact. I sincerely do not think they were intentionally trying to be mean-spirited or judgmental; rather, they stated their opinions based on what they were exposed to or had been taught.
The great thing about most youth and young adults today is many of them have the ability and willingness to be open-minded. Once I equipped the students with specific data relative to race and the socio-economic status of Americans and Hoosiers, they were receptive to their newfound knowledge, and they began to think differently. The type of questions they asked changed, and most importantly, the solutions they suggested changed.
When those IUPUI students began to think differently, their compassionate and rational perspectives became more evident, and their proposed solutions to some of the challenges the general community is facing became more balanced.
The students separated their personal experiences in life and even their previously held stereotypes, considered the facts and offered insight based on their findings. They had data-based information that shaped the way they viewed problems and potential solutions for the community. It was incredibly refreshing to see them absorb such info in real time.
We can learn a lot from the free and open-minded spirit of those IUPUI students, especially during this time of year.
If more of us did away with stereotypes and negative perceptions about certain types of people, and we actually helped them or prayed for them instead, this world would have far less violence, poverty and social injustice.
I am incredibly blessed, and I am thankful for my lord and savior who has been such a motivating and constant force in my life. While I celebrate all that is good this time of the year, I also choose to focus on doing more positive things and helping and praying for people who need an extra boost — people like those incarcerated, in homeless shelters or suffering from health challenges. I encourage you to do the same. Receiving things is good, but giving — materially or intangible things — is great. Do your part to be great this holiday season.
Merry Christmas. I pray God’s blessing over everyone reading these words.
