The right way to start the New Year

I hope, dear reader, that as you read this you hear the joyous laughter of loved ones and you smell the aromas of a holiday kitchen. Perhaps there are children playing or pets running about, and you are warming your hands with a warm cup of coffee or tea. But what would the holiday be like if you stripped all of that away? Would you still be able to enjoy the company? Now that the holiday season is coming to a close, let’s not forget how fortunate we are and that every little thing we do to help someone who is less fortunate only makes our lives richer as well.

I like to believe that at the heart of human nature is an instinct that helps others. I think the reason most of us won’t eat the last cookie in the jar is that there may be someone else who needs it more than us. Don’t get me wrong, I am not espousing martyrdom here, that we should starve so someone else can enjoy life, but I do believe that balance comes from compromise. Food is one of the basic elements of our lives, and sharing it is one of our basic principles. Since there are people even in this rich part of the world who don’t have enough to maintain their existence, perhaps our compromise could start with food? If everyone managed to put one more cookie in the jar when they took one out, think of how much that would offer those who had none.

If you picked up even a bargain item whenever you went grocery shopping – a can of soup or package of pasta on special – that could cost you less than a dollar a visit but it would be like inviting someone for dinner. You could even explain to your children about your gesture of “paying it forward.” (Isn’t that another name for the Christmas spirit?)

Photo: Contributed

Do you want an alternative with no cost? An app that allows you to make a difference? How about www.freerice.com It is a website run by the United Nations Food Program. Their goal is to provide free education through various games, and help to end world hunger by providing rice to needy communities. Even your kids can play, and for every answer they get right, they donate ten grains of rice to the program. Categories include word games, chemistry, math, anatomy, famous quotes and even language learning!

There are lots of ways we can help. We just have to take the time throughout the year to behave the way we do at Christmas. The brotherhood of man is not a concept that works if we apply it one week of the year. That would mean that we are likely to help out only about one time in fifty, and we are better than that, aren’t we?

Let’s show the world we can make it a better place each and every day. Let’s keep that Christmas spirit alive and well. It could be like the Olympic torch, never going out.

Happy New Year, everyone.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.