After a beautiful day-after-Thanksgiving, my family and I turned on the television in my son’s apartment and settled in to relax together. The news was on and we watched in horror as clips of Black Friday shopping craziness blared into the room. At two different Walmarts’, folks were shot or pepper sprayed by fellow customers looking to grab holiday specials. At a Target, a man was dying on the ground after collapsing with a heart attack. Instead of helping him, people literally walked over him in search of a discounted coffee maker or some other such item. Is this what this holiday is all about?
I was brought up in a time when Black Friday started at a normal hour. People who worked retail could spend Thanksgiving WITH their families. They would then be rested and ready for the official start of the holiday shopping season. Stores would advertise items that they had ENOUGH of, not crazy deals for the first 3 lunatics in line. Shopping was fun then, and you didn’t have to wear a bulletproof vest, maybe just a pair of snow boots!
This holiday season with its beautiful decorations, a theme of “Peace on Earth”, “Good Will Toward Men”, will we choose to celebrate it injuring our fellow man over a toy?
Disheartened, we turned off the news and switched to the Travel Channel. With relief, we watched Anthony Bourdain in Sardinia. He was celebrating food and family in a magnificent part of the world where his wife was born. It was calming and reassuring to see that sanity does still exist.
I returned to work a few days later. I work in a retail store so I was a bit leery of what I would encounter. As I stood behind the register, I watched carefully as our store filled with holiday shoppers. Happily, they filled their shopping carts with toys, scarves, books and blankets. I focused on their faces and was heartened to see so many smiles, a few people were actually singing along to the music playing in the store! As each person approached the check out line, they looked excited about their choices! Their happiness made me happy!
I originally assumed that most customers with large orders were buying for their own families, friends, and neighbors. However, although many were, there was a huge contingent that was actually shopping for strangers, neighbors in need! I can’t tell you mathematically the exact percentage of shoppers who were there purchasing gifts for others, people who otherwise would not be able to give and receive gifts, but I can tell you it wasn’t small.
I love to speak to our customers as I am ringing up their purchases. I enjoy learning what people think and feel about our store and life in general. I was so very impressed this week when I heard story after story of people buying gifts to bring to the Children’s Hospital, to a family who lost everything in a fire, to a gentleman who lost his wife and who had children that were handicapped and needed so much, story after story filled the air.
The holiday spirit IS alive. Perhaps if the media carried more stories like the ones I hear each and every day instead of the horrors that occasionally happen but are truly small in number, maybe people would feel better about themselves and the world. Maybe if we concentrated more on all the goodness that is around us, instead of the incidents of ugliness, maybe our hearts would be lighter, we would be more optimistic and smile more.
Honestly, being out among the shoppers, hearing their stories, seeing them willing to give with huge smiles on their faces, I know the Holiday Spirit IS alive! I am writing this to be sure everyone hears THIS news ~ most people are good, caring, loving, and generous. It feels great to give, and it is certainly a blessing to be in a position to do so.
Happy Holidays everyone! Let your heart be happy and please know that when we are good to one another, good happens for all!
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