Tagged: holidays
Stories from my past: Giving at christmas
When I was a kid I lived in a rural area. It was mostly blue-color families, very few well-off people. So naturally in that environment there are always “invisible poor” people. We lived close to some of those invisible people.
They lived perhaps six blocks from where I lived. Their home was in poor shape from the outside, and even worse from the inside. I discovered that when they were chosen to receive help for christmas. We delivered food and I was shocked when they opened their fridge and nothing was inside. It was amazing to me that people could exist that way. They also got clothes and everything they received was like gold to them. They started to cry with gratitude for what they received.
Giving is such a great gift, it staggers my mind why people don’t seem to appreciate it. Why don’t we see that giving is getting?
Staying warm two hours at a time
I have a friend who lives in a building that has a heating system that only works for two hours at a time. That is, he can set his temp up to 72 degrees but it will only work for two hours. After that he has to set it for another 2 hours. They don’t charge him for the heat, but he hates the system.
Sometimes I wonder if our economy could be like that. It moves in small spurts of activity. I wonder if instead of having the ability to buy things all day, it would help focus us to only be able to spend money for 2 hours a day. That is, businesses would only accept money for that period of time. They could continue to work and do everything else, but if you missed that time period, you wouldn’t get services that day.
Why should we do this? I think that having the temptation to spend money is too difficult for people. If I knew that I could only spend money from lets say, 10 to noon each day I would focus and plan for the things that I needed that day. I don’t think we would do impulse shopping like we do now. I think that often christmas is an excuse to spend money we don’t have to impress people we don’t love, for reasons that are unclear to everyone. No I’m not a grinch, I’ve just seen firsthand that the best gifts are not material but emotional, spiritual and intellectual.
Maybe what the country needs is not a good five cent cigar, but a good 95% focus on being rather than doing.
Consumer Watchdog: The 12 scams of Christmas – National – NZ Herald News – StumbleUpon
Consumer Watchdog: The 12 scams of Christmas – National – NZ Herald News – StumbleUpon. What happens when people think they can get something for nothing. I have had the romantic scam played on me numerous times. Why do women think men are so desperate?
When Your Reason Is Strong Enough
When Your Reason Is Strong Enough. This is a touching story about the love of a mother for her child.
Bdays: Apple Support Communities
Q.How can you set a day as a birthday?
A. Yes, that’s exactly how it works! iCal pulls active data from Address Book to populate the special Birthday calendar.
Jeff [Thanks!]
via Bdays: Apple Support Communities.
Free wallpaper management for Mac
Easy WallPaper Management with Wallpaper Wizard – TNW Apps. There is a free and paid version of this app. I am not sure that this is needed, but it makes easier an already easy process.