Our words are powerful. If you don’t believe this, just post something outrageous as your Facebook status. You may not always get a response when you speak out, but rest assured that people do hear you. Facebook is a good example of this because people see everything you post, even though they may not comment on it. I realized this because of the number of people that have said to me, “Yeah, I knew you were doing such and such. I saw it on your Facebook page,” even though I had no idea because they had never interacted with me on Facebook. Our words have the power to encourage or discourage others. We can build people up by the words we say, or we can tear them down with our words. Words are used by politicians to help their campaigns grow and gain influence. Words are used on television and in music. Those words are particularly powerful, which is why shows are often cancelled or words bleeped out because they are not suitable for all audiences. Radio stations often take songs off the air when they receive too many complaints about them. Words are used to summon rallies of people for good and bad causes. The news media uses words and they probably have more influence on the general population than any other medium. People base their life decisions based on what they hear or read in the news. People decide what to wear based on what they hear or read from the weather man (woman). People become fans of things they hear about on television, or they start to dislike things or people based on what they hear on television. If you are still not convinced, the next time you get into a disagreement with someone, mumble something disrespectful and you’ll see just how powerful your words truly are!

Perhaps one of the greatest things you can do to enrich your life is to be friends with people who are different from you. By stepping outside of your comfort zone and reaching out to those who are different from you, you help enlighten both parties. So many people pigeonhole themselves into one category or another. Nothing is more frustrating to me than someone who can only see their side and refuses to consider the perspectives of those with whom they disagree. There is nothing more alienating. When you only see things one way, you stop growing and learning. You become discriminatory and hate filled. If you can’t stop and consider where other people are coming from or you just don’t care, your existence will be a miserable one and your friends will steadily disappear. I like being friends with people who are different from me. I like hanging out with the richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor because I feel like it gives me a greater perspective in life. This is probably why I enjoy my job in social work so much because I never see the same situation twice. So, get outside of your box and consider someone else’s perspective. It just might change your life!

But, it seems like I did. Do you ever feel guilty for something you didn’t do? I do, all the time. I’m too conscientious or OCD or both. Perhaps this is how false confessions originated. People are in the wrong place at the wrong time and get framed for a crime they didn’t commit, but decide to confess anyway. When something out of the ordinary happens and I’m around, even though I didn’t do it, I feel guilty for it. For example, if I’m walking through the grocery store and a display with all the contents fall down to the ground and I am the only person nearby, I feel guilty as if I am the one who knocked it over, even though I didn’t. Some would say I think too much and perhaps this is true. Perhaps…

I remember as a child that Christmas was a very exciting time. I always enjoyed getting together with my family that I didn’t get to see throughout the year. I enjoyed all the magic and wonder of Christmas. Christmas never seemed stressful. Fast forward to adulthood, and Christmas seems vastly different. Everyone seems so stressed out. I just read through some of the many Facebook statuses and everyone is stressed about getting the perfect gifts and all the food prepared for Christmas. Why has a holiday that was intended to celebrate the birth of Christ turned into something so commercial and barely recognizable as Christ’s birthday? Many people who celebrate Christmas are not even celebrating Christ’s birth. They are celebrating the traditions of gift giving and family gatherings. There’s so much pressure at Christmas to buy the perfect gifts for everyone on our list often putting stress on those without the financial means to do so. Christmas has turned into so much doing without much thought or care behind the doing. You just mail the 3,000 Christmas cards out to everyone because you have to. I love sending cards to those I love, as well as purchasing gifts for those I love, but when it’s in mass quantity, it’s pretty hard to keep up with and the meaning behind it is lost. I can’t imagine that God would be to pleased with us fighting over the sales at Walmart and Best Buy while people are trampled over, even killed. How Christ like is that? I can’t imagine that God is pleased with us supporting large corporations that keep their workers living in poverty and force them to utilize programs like Medicaid while the CEO’s triple their wealth. There are many alternatives to showing people you care without oppressing others. Why can’t we just get together with friends and family without all the pressure? You don’t have to participate in the commercialism of Christmas, but you don’t have to be a Grinch about it either. Just live within your means and do what you can. After it’s all said and done, nobody will remember or know the difference anyway. So, my challenge to you this Christmas is to do your part to make it what it’s supposed to be.