‘Tis the season to make top ten Christmas gift lists. I’ve heard or seen top ten technology gift lists, top ten music gift lists, top ten video gift lists, even top ten sports gift lists.
This list is sort of a top ten Bahá’í gifts to give for Christmas, but actually it’s a top ten from-anybody, to-anybody gift list. That makes it exceedingly practical, because this will literally work no matter who you are and no matter who is on your gift list. In fact, you can even give these gifts to people who are not on your gift list! And the best part of all, everything here is totally free and can be found without going to the mall. With only a few shopping days left, I’m sure you’ll appreciate that.
So, without further ado, here is a Christmas wish list from the Baha’i point of view:
10. Forbearance: As my friend Kathy is fond of saying, Christmas makes people nuts. The pressure of being expected to give gifts, throw parties, make pilgrimages to visit friends and family, and somehow still work for a living and keep the homestead running smoothly puts a lot of pressure on people. Moreover, although Christmas is supposed to be a religious celebration, its secular aspects have often overwhelmed its spiritual aspects. Crowds, noise, and strained nerves lead to a lot of unChristlike behavior at this time of year. But you can understand why people are going nuts, overlook their nuttiness, and forgive them for it.
9. Patience: With so many people going nuts all at once, lines are much longer, crowds much thicker, traffic much more congested. As a result, those who serve are going nuts, too. The cashier at the toy store is busier than ever, the people in the stock room are having a hard time keeping the product moving from loading dock to store shelf, and the manager is overwhelmed with gripes, complaints, and threats from all those nutty people. So why not cut them all some slack? Understand that everything will take longer, even if you’re just driving past the mall and not going in, and don’t allow yourself to become one of the nuts.
8. Courtesy: Bahá’u'lláh calls courtesy “the prince of virtues.” It has a contagious effect. People notice courtesy, especially in nutty times like the Christmas season. It will not only make you feel better, it will help others feel better and just might help reduce the nuttiness around you. In the often cold rush of the Christmas shopping season, courtesy is like a warm breeze. And speaking of that…
7. Praise: Nothing will brighten a harried sales clerk’s day like a bit of praise for a job well-done. They don’t get very much of it at this time of year. Of course, one doesn’t have to perform great feats of procurement to warrant praise. Anyone who does something well or special can be rewarded with praise, be they your children, your parents, teachers, employees, employers…anybody.
6. Gratitude: Chances are, no matter how harried you feel or how nutty things appear to be around you, you still have a lot to be grateful for. Try to avoid dwelling on the unpleasant things in life, and focus more on the good things in your life. Look for the good in all people, no matter how hard it may be to find sometimes. Notice the good things that people do, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem, and be thankful when your fellow human beings bring good things to your door. Gratitude can often be as contagious as courtesy, or even as contagious as…
5. A Smile: Sometimes a smile is all it takes to brighten up someone’s day. A smile is an outward reflection of an inward state of being called happiness, and as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, if we can’t be happy in this day, for what day should we wait? But in the nuttiness of the Christmas shopping season, happiness is often hard to find. This makes a smile a perfect gift for everyone, because it’s indicative of something that is in rather short supply just now!
4. Kindness: Now we’re getting into the really good stuff. Between the traffic congestion, the crowds, the battles over the last copy of the hot new toy, the frustration and the irritation, kindness is often in even shorter supply than happiness. You’ll really make a splash with this gift, because so few people are really giving it. Also, it’s a sort of a package deal that bundles an attitude with all manner of small but meaningful acts that will restore some of that holiday cheer you’ve heard tell about.
3. A helping hand: See that lady in front of you pushing the stroller while a dozen bags are dangling from the stroller handles, her forearms, her wrists, and maybe even her ears? Maybe you should open the door for her and see if she needs help getting all that stuff to the car. See that young fellow whose car is stalled in the cold? Maybe you have jumper cables and could help him out. The guy who just blundered into the display of talking My Little Sasquatch dolls could use a hand picking them all up again. Or…well, you get the idea.
2. Friendship: All joking aside, this really is a time when a lot of people really need a friend. What I’ve been calling nuttiness here can have a major impact on people’s outlook, emotional stability, and even on their mental health. Friends ground us in reality and help us realize what is really important about life and about the Christmas season. It’s not about ribbons or tags, boxes or bags (to paraphrase Dr. Seuss). Friends bring that truth home to us. So of all gifts you can give, friendship is one of the most precious and the most needed.
Indeed, there is only one greater that I can think of, so without further ado, here is the number one Christmas gift for this year and every year:
1. Love: After all, that’s what the season is all about, isn’t it? So let us in turn love each other, no matter what our color or class, no matter what our nationality or religion, no matter how nutty or sane we may appear to be. Because love conquers all. And that, some say, is the reason for the season.