December 19, 2006

My Christmas wish list

There’s not a whole lot that I want for Christmas, let alone need. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that I don’t really need anything for Christmas and am quite well off—especially juxtaposition to the rest of the world, much of which is wrought with poverty. I was going to make a list of all the things that I’d love for Christmas but just don’t have the cash to buy, but then I started thinking about the billions of people that have-not.

The other evening I watched a movie on HBO called “Tsunami: The Aftermath”. Normally I wouldn’t watch movies that capitalize off the horrid tragedies that have occurred within the past decade, but I was bored and there was nothing else on worth watching.

The film did a good job portraying the sheer horror and chaos that the tsunami brought upon the people of Thailand and the many visitors from around the globe. It also brought home the fact of how well we have it here in America. For even the poorest of the poor here have more available to them than the poor of developing nations. We have good social programs and charities to help the needy and there are plenty of opportunities to work your way out of poverty if you’re willing to work hard and make some sacrifices. Those opportunities aren’t as readily available elsewhere in the world.

Sometimes I find myself complaining about our tiny house, barely cresting 700 square feet and feeling boxed in with all of our belongings and little room to stretch out and breathe. But our house is warm, we have a relatively sanitary way of storing our food, we’ve got plumbing that works and a nice yard to give us green grass in the spring, flowers throughout the summer, and a blanket of golden leaves through the fall. [I don't think we'll be seeing much snow this year, though.]

We don’t have a house made of mud, scrap metal, sheets of plywood and whatever else we could find lying around. We don’t have a dirt floor. We are able to sleep in a relatively comfortable and clean bed (when the cats aren’t puking all over it).

All in all, we have it good. We’re certainly not well to do by American standards, but I guess that’s not really important now, is it?

I guess my real Christmas wish list this year has more to do with how I can use what I’ve got to help others and to find purpose and value for my life in the process of losing my selfish concerns and aspirations. I know I can be a really selfish person often times and it’s even harder to not live with the mindset that everything must revolve around me. I wish that I could be less selfish and find joy, life and peace in the pursuit of helping others and putting the interests and needs of others before my own. A near impossible task on my own, but maybe the Spirit of the Christ child may be able to help make it a bit more attainable.

It’s a lofty goal I know. But I would like to become less self-absorbed and more concerned about how others are doing and making it my ambition to do my part to help others feel more loved and fulfilled.

But if there are any well-to-do people looking to charitably donate difficult-to-afford gifts, I do have a few items on my list (wink wink). For it just wouldn’t be as fun if I didn’t list out a few of the things I’d love to have (but just can’t afford)…

The “i want these but don’t NEED these” wish list

Yeah, it’s pretty much all photography and music gear—but that’s pretty much what my interests and desires amount to—music and photography. I’ve had the photo bug lately, wanting to spend more time working on that craft and getting better at it. Some day I think it’d be great to go on some charity-related trips or expeditions with the band—like to the refuge camps outside of Darfur—and take pictures along the way, that I’d be able to help visually spread the awareness of what’s going on in the world.

Big dream, I know. Maybe it’ll happen some day, maybe not. I know though, it’d be difficult (if not near impossible) to get there on my own. Still, I like to dream. Though, I’d much prefer it be reality.

Anyway, I know that pretty much all of my wish list is too expensive for pretty much everyone I know—including myself—but you never know. There might be that one lottery winner or well-endowed person out there looking to help bless someone with the gear to help them pursue their interests and endeavors. Unlikely, sure. Still, I’d like to think that there might be someone out there that would have the means and the will to do such a kind gesture. :)

I know, I know. Dream on, Michael. Dream on.

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December 19, 2006, 2:58 pm

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