Season's greetings for year round Christmas

Tis the season yet again when we join with friends and family to celebrate the year. It’s common at Christmas to recognize that giving is not only a way to share our good luck with others, but also really sparks a certain light in the core of our being that says, hey, this just feels right.

 

The good fortune of many and the gifts exchanged between people in this season also often highlights the misfortune of others. I’ve often said it would be nice to have Christmas in July. Mostly this comes up when I think of my 76-year-old parents contemplating a drive in winter conditions just to celebrate a holiday that doesn’t even mean that much to our family anymore.

 

But in other ways it would be great to see our communities buy into the spirit of Christmas year round, or even at another time of the year in addition to December.

 

The Sentinel published an article last month about the continuing crisis of poverty, yes, in Canada and even in our own backyard. Over the past few weeks leading up to Christmas many people have given generously to many community groups, including those whose tireless efforts result in our annual Community Christmas dinner hosted at the Gospel Chapel.

 

But come January, or even later in July, these same donations can be few and far between.

 

Community groups struggle to continue their services in different times of the year when their clients are most in need.

 

Isn’t this what the Occupy movement is about – changing the way that wealth is distributed across our nations? Perhaps the 99 percent need to re-evaluate their stance – maybe this is really about the 80 percent – as the group in the middle could look at themselves critically as well.

 

The Occupy movement is about more than class structure, its basis is about wealth and how to share the world’s bounty. The real question is how we can move in that direction – not an easy question to answer.

 

So as we look forward to 2012, continuing to cheer for the growing push for change with the Occupy groups, we need to help create what the future looks like if it is to be re-defined starting with the smallest scale available – our own community.