In many ways, we see modern day Scrooge stories played out on political stages around the world--people who choose greed and hate over generosity and love. These are sorry tales, but like the Ebenezer Scrooge story, hopefully stories that will end with redemption.
In the meantime, as the holiday season takes root, I am thinking of the ways that 2020 can be a year of generosity as I focus on my one word for the year which is reverence. What does it mean to be a generous person, and how does one focus time in that direction.
As I think of the aim of generosity and my one word, reverence, I am thinking about how I can work to make actions over words the greater focus. As we all know, actions speak with so much more meaning than most words--hence how can I make this an action-oriented year, a year with action focused on reverence and generosity.What comes to mind are familiar sayings such as less is more, use words sparingly, take time to reflect, and love is the answer. There will undoubtedly be challenges to these goals, challenges such as self vs others, projection vs support, giving vs taking, and more.
A good way to start this year-long adventure is to look for guides from the past and present who will lead me--guides who speak of generosity and reverence. One book that I will use in this way is Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. I also work and live with many reverent and generous people who will mentor this journey. Further, I know that I can gain energy from good music, art, nature, and my students for this work as they are all muses that inspire me regularly.
I love to have a focus for living--a place to reach for, and this marks the start of the 2020 journey--a journey that will start with the 2019 Christmas holiday and New Year's celebrations. If you have any wisdom to share for this trek, please let me know.