Princesses of Myth

Here we are with all manner of winter holidays nearly upon us.  I have gotten all of my gifts wrapped, I have already received a few and given a few and ordered a few to be shipped.  I really like doing this.  I especially like seeing people smile when a gift I give them hits the mark.

And I must be honest:  I like getting gifts, too.  The old cliche turns out to be true, in my case:  It is the thought that counts, because the thought is “I understand you.  I get who you are and have been able to figure out what sort of things would make you happy.  I care about such matters.  You matter to me.”

Cash value of such gifts does not matter.  I think that we each have some astonishingly expensive fantasy gift we would love to get, but that we also have more modestly priced or even free gifts that would prove the giver understands us and cares about us.  I would love to have an all-expenses-paid trip to Japan or China or Hawai’i, first class all the way, but I would also love to hear soomeone tell me, “I know how much you like cats so I volunteered at a local shelter because I thought it would make you happy.”

When we think abut the intangible things we’d like to have this holiday season–or any time of year, for that matter–we get pop-ups of “World Peace” and “Good will to all” and “Love” and “Joy.”  But we can also get the gift-tag “Well, yes, I would like that, but it’s just such a big thing, such a tall order, that it’s waaaayyyy out of my reach.  I don’t have the power to make it happen.  No one does.  So it’s a nice thought, but that’s all it can ever be:  A nice thought.”  And we give up on it before we begin.

I’d like to ask you–and myself–to make a small adjustment to our wish lists for the season.  And small is the key word here. Do something you can do that will bring the world just the tiniest bit closer to achieving those BIG intangibles.  Give a penny.  Write a letter.  Donate a toy.  Walk away from a pointless argument.  Be the first to apologize.  Take the time to say thank you for something to someone who doesn’t hear those words often enough.  Offer your time.  Offer your help.  Give your full attention, your kindness, your compassion.

It’s not a lot.  Neither is one coral polyp.  These creatures are tiny.  The smallest measures around .11 inches (please note the decimal point.  That’s 11 hundredths of an inch) and the largest measures only two inches.  Each one lives and dies and leaves behind a miniscule exoskeleton.  It’s not much.

But it helped make such places of beauty and wonder as the Great Barrier Reef.  It helped create shelter for countless creatures of the sea.  It made a positive difference in the world.

It did so because. . .well, because that’s what coral polyps do.  They don’t choose to do it.  But we can choose.

My wish list holds my hope that all of us will make some good choices this season and always, choices that will help others, choices that will add up to transform our world for the better.

And I wish you all much health and happiness for the holidays and the coming year!