December thoughts!

So the season of Advent has started, despite all the commercial trappings and merry making it is also a good time of preparation. Many Christian homes are painted and cleaned in time and the decorations are pulled out from the attic. The star goes up along with the tree and Christmas music starts playing regularly. The ladies get busy with the sweet preparation which used to be an event in itself, preparing the ingredients and making the sweets, storing them away in dry containers for Christmas day.

As a child I remember wandering around when mum used to make murukkus, achappams, adhirasams among others sneaking in a bite or two and taking the broken pieces for snack time. The smells will be divine and then the baking will start, which will make the house smell like pastry heaven. Back then buying from stores was not even an option unlike today when a lot of the sweets are outsourced. Christmas Day usually was all about waking up early despite the late night service and taking the trays to give family and friends. We used to stay in a largely Christian area and so the Christmas morning would see kids criss-crossing with closed trays in and out of neighbouring homes. Today I wonder if it still happens or people are using Dunzo.

There is something special about preparation; well prepared usually leads to better results, be it studies or any other activity. Christmas is all about giving and sharing, next it will be New Year and time for resolutions, changes and new starts; at this moment I wonder if we can prepare to be a little better for us and for others. 

We often think that charity and making a difference is simply giving others something, usually something that we do not care for or something that will not affect us when we give but in this we overlook that we can make a big difference even by not giving but by simply not denying others their rightful due.

Social inequality is all about the privileged few holding on to disproportional amounts of wealth and resources that should rightfully go to the deprived. Maybe this year we take only what we need and let the rest go to others? We can only consume so much and whatever is perishable will lose its value if not used. This is actually not difficult nor is it painful, for instance we take and eat till we are satisfied and leave the rest of the food in the bowl for another instead of dumping it in the trash. Food is just one example, there is so much more that we can do by simply taking as much as we need and leave the rest for someone else. This calls for preparation, especially for those for whom it may be something new, the good news is it is the easiest thing to do. All it needs is self- awareness, how much do we really need before we harm ourselves (those who suffer from indigestion after over eating will understand this) and simply stopping in time.

• Can we prepare ourselves to say enough?
• Can we prepare ourselves to be gracious when more than what we need goes to another needy neighbor?
• Can we prepare ourselves to avoid taking what rightfully belongs to others?
• Can we prepare ourselves to make the world a better place by making a change just to ourselves?

It can be easier than we think.

Have great December everyone!

P.S. Adding a video I made that may make some sense to this post.