My mom used to say, "we remember a friend with a flower."  In 
other words, it's the intention and not the size of the gift that 
counts.  But in a materialistic-driven society, where everything 
has a price tag even friendships and holidays, that's considered 
"uncool" and politically incorrect.

Remember the famous line from the hit movie "Harry Potter" which 
best captures today's mentality of excessive self-indulgence and 
a sense of entitlement,  "But Mum, how could you get me only 22 
presents for X-mass this year...?"

The unholy power and the negative effects of commercialism of 
the holiday season, which is perpetuated by the media (driven by 
profits), simply can no longer be ignored.  We spend a lot of 
time and energy in a trance-like manner trying to survive the 
jungles of shopping malls while getting into further debt just 
to meet expectations that not only don't bring us joy at all but 
also create a sense of resentment as well.  We feel darn too 
drained to even enjoy the holiday spirit and the fruit of our 
labor. To ease our conscious some of us resort to sending checks 
but avoiding any personal contact or having any meaningful 
spiritual connection with others. When the intent behind the 
act of gift giving is diluted with other reasons such as giving 
out of a sense of obligation with resentments attached to it, 
or when it's for PR purposes with strings attached, it defeats 
the whole purpose of the true spirit of the holidays.     

What once used to be an experience we eagerly looked forward to, 
had become a major source of stress and even dreadful in some 
cases.  That's because whether we realize it or not, in the 
rush to satisfy our insatiable desire to consume and "keep up 
with the Jones's" and because we were brainwashed to believe 
that "He with the most toys lives," rather then "He with the 
most joys lives," we neglect our spiritual roots and the fact 
that we are spiritual beings experiencing the human experience 
and not the other way around.  As such we were meant to live a 
life of meaning and purpose by connecting with others with 
kindness and compassion through the act of giving with no 
strings attached.  When we lose our spiritual foundation, we 
lose the biggest part of our existence that enables us not only 
to prosper with dignity and pride but also we experience an 
artificial type of joy and life itself becomes an empty 
experience devoid of true meaning and purpose or real joy.  

Nowadays the holiday season is not talked about in terms of 
celebrating the miracle of life, faith sharing, giving and 
connecting with the community, but rather in terms of dollars 
and accumulating lots of toys that produce artificial joy.  The 
holiday season is simply a geniuses marketing concept.  In fact 
it has become so commercialized that the holiday season is the 
biggest marketing season. Businesses rise up or fall just based 
on that season alone.

But when we ignore the true beauty of a rainbow, we miss out on 
a great experience and limit our joy. Perhaps when we reflect on 
what really matters in life, we can once again discover the true 
spirit of the holiday season which has no price tag, and realize 
that indeed the best things in life are free, and great things 
still come in small packages.  That's when we can once again 
find joy in simple pleasures that comes from connecting with 
real people which creates real joyful experiences in the face 
of any adversity or perceived lack. 

The holiday spirit is all about faith and miracles too.  But 
when it comes to faith and miracles, it's shocking to discover 
how faith in achieving a piece of the American Dream is 
increasingly fading away. The American Dream is becoming more 
and more like the Impossible Dream.  So much so that most 
Americans today believe that their chances of winning the 
lottery are probably better than achieving the American Dream.  
With the current Enron type of economy, the huge debts and 
budget deficits (which are really a reflection of our deficit 
in integrity), most Americans believe that nothing short of a 
true miracle will restore an economy that was once the envy of 
the world.  

And yes, we could certainly use a miracle to deliver us from 
environmental and spiritual pollutions (characterized by a lack 
of integrity and an erosion in morality) and restore failing 
systems and institutions from our lagging behind the world 
education, failing family systems, social ills (senseless 
violence in our schools, higher crime rates on our streets, 
substance abuse, increased youth suicide, perversion and more) 
to corrupted politicians who are more concerned with getting 
elected thus exhibiting love of power rather than power of love 
and fraud in businesses that has become an accepted practice in 
our society.   

Many Americans believe that America has seen its finest hour, 
unless we adopt a new attitude. It would take a miracle to 
restore the greatness of this nation who was once a source of 
great inspiration and earned the respect of the world, but now 
we find ourselves going dangerously from a nation of innovative 
producers into a nation of insatiable consumers willing to get 
into debt just to support a lifestyle we can no longer afford 
because we feel compelled to keep up with the Jones's.  This is 
a by product of the newly evolved American Dream which is based 
on materialistic values system and drives people to greed and 
corruption and the erosion of morality and integrity. 
 
Since the holiday season is also about sharing the good news, so 
here it is.  America who is now in a desperate need for healing, 
hope and transformation, can be revived by restoring integrity 
and wholesome values system and the true spirit of the American 
Dream, which was based on perspiration, innovation, risk and 
reward, creating total prosperity, joy and peace. Now that's 
something to get excited about and even sing Hallelujah!  



Copyright © 2004, Geela
Author of "The American Dream"
http://www.Geela.com