Real Gift Giving While Living Off Grid
Happy Chrismahannakwanzadan! Have yourself a minimalist Christmas. It's not how much we give. Spending time with those we love is how we liveFor Christmas either my friends and family are cheapskates OR they finally realize I don’t want material things as gifts. I was very happy to see that the majority of the holiday posts from my friends on my social media was about spending time with family and all the great food instead of all the materialist presents people received.Since most of my immediate family has worked in the medical field we've never celebrated Christmas on the day of due to having to work that day and since we are Multicultural we celebrate all the holidays. Why be limited to one day and one holiday? Celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas, the 8 days of Hanukkah, but most importantly Happy Solstice as the sun comes out and the days get longer. Happy holidays!
Solar nerd alert; Axial tilt, the reason for the season I had the luck of having parents from different religious backgrounds And who worked real hard to instill in me the value of experiences over things. We celebrated and learned about all the religions and holidays.I love receiving and giving cards, letters, hand made things (even “useless” trinkets), and volunteering with the needy but don’t understand why we tend to limit our giving nature to a few weeks in winter. Have you ever experienced the joy of giving/volunteering? Very fulfilling!!
I am concerned about the lack of civility in some social media posts I see. We say "Peace on Earth" so let's start right at home and lead by example in the true (pick your religion) way. I am a Rotarian. If we all truly followed the 4-Way Test of Rotary and kept things non-political and non-sectarian as intended, we would truly be better off. This is especially true on social media where I would suggest we consider beforehand whether our post accomplishes the 4-Way Test of Rotary:• Is it the truth?• Is it fair to all concerned?• Will it build good will and better friendships?• Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
Poem By Bob Iltis
Just nuts parking at the shopping mall
Jacked up debt the bankers know
Plastic trinkets piled up on the floor
And oil displacing eskimos
Everybody knows the turkeys are all GMO
And the hams are not range free
Seems the folks all around me proclaim:
"Merry Christmas to me".
I look forward everyday to the interactions I have on my Living Off Grid, Really!?!? Facebook page and hope you will join the discussion there.Stay energized, AurThis blog post was originally posted on Mother Earth News.