Tis’ the season…for ungratefulness, entitlement, selfishness
and receiving. Oh wait, wait, wait…let
me try that again…tis’ the season for overconsumption, credit card debt and pedestrians
run over in the Walmart crosswalk. Hmm
that’s not quite right either…tis’ the season for stress, high blood pressure
and panic attacks.
I know, I know…I sound so pessimistic. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas…BUT (you
know whatever comes after the “but” is not going to be good) I have heard a
theme coming from many people this year. The theme is around gratitude or the lack
thereof.
In the days leading up to Christmas my boys asked me, “Did
you bring us a present today?” In the
days following Christmas my boys asked me, “Did you bring us a present today?” The more they got the more than wanted. I heard a mother say that her daughter
counted her gifts and said, “6 gifts, you can do better than that.” I heard a father say that his son was
ungrateful because the gift wasn’t exactly what he had asked for. I heard a coworker say that her children feel
entitled.
Part of me says, “kids will be kids”, the other part of me
says, “it is my mission to teach my children gratitude.” So often we hear about focusing on the “reason
for the season” and taking the emphasis off of presents. It is so much easier said than done. I think most of us are guilty of material gluttony
at some point or another.
The older my boys get, the more I would like to open their
eyes to the lives of people less fortunate than ourselves. How eye opening would it be to go to a soup
kitchen on Christmas eve or Christmas morning and see people with no family, no
presents, no Christmas smorgasbord; some with simply the clothes on their back
and their next meal in a bowl in front of them.
If any of you have heartwarming stories of thankfulness and
gratitude expressed by your kids, please share.
If any of you have “heartcooling” (yeah I just made it up) stories of
ungratefulness or entitlement, please share.
If any of you have ideas on how to nurture gratitude please share.
Counting My Blessings,
Meg
No comments:
Post a Comment