In Hope of a Better America

I have a dream.
It is a faintly fading dream, but it is by no means dead yet.
I dream of parents patiently explaining or calmly restraining their small children in public instead of verbally abusing them through the grocery aisles.
I dream of schools where students use praise for each other and their teachers instead of profanity.
I dream of teachers who are involved with the students lives and work in tandem with parents to educate the whole child, instead of using 'homework' which masquerades as rigorous teaching to cheat the students out of a home life.
I dream of an America where it is acceptable to speak openly about your personal faith, and where judgement is directed inward, instead of  towards those who may disagree.
I dream of politicians laying down acrimonious accusations and instead taking responsibility for their actions and expenditures.
I dream of businesses honestly offering services and products made locally for a decent profit, instead of bilking the public by promising more than they actually deliver and abusing people in other countries to turn a cheap trick on their customers.
I dream of  banks and financial institutions who use George Bailey as a role model rather than Mr. Potter.
I dream of charity organizations whose CEO's aren't embarrassed to report their earnings instead of making a killing off the heartstrings of America.
I dream of consumers who live within their means instead of blaming their high personal debt on the economy.
I dream of a place where winning the lottery isn't the total sum of the American Dream.
I hope I'm still sleeping, because I haven't seen it yet.

Why We Love Christmas

There's something at work in the world that holds a  magnetic attraction for people everywhere. Children, teenagers and adults are not immune.

This 'something' leads us to create an ever increasing variety of recipes, adding, changing the ingredients to make something new. We aren't sure what it's going to taste like until it's completed. The same hunger keeps us reading a good book. We want to find out how it ends. The secretive nature of a good story, whether on the screen or told by the fireside, is irresistible.

Consider what a world it would be if each day we saw played for us the exact events of the following day. Few of us would choose this!

 A wedding between virgins promises a far more thrilling honeymoon than the other kind. Though though we have done much to make it so, the womb is not transparent.  We cannot see the child within until it is born.

The discovery of the unknown has fueled much of the amazing inventions of the past centuries, and continues to propel us into the future. Our great love affair with surprise has funded the lotteries, and boosted the economy every December.

The whole world loves surprises. Good ones, of course.  We are all like children when it comes to being surprised; it is intrinsic to our human experience.

Gifts are wonderful, but a gift, unwrapped,  is not nearly as exciting as the thrill of discovering what is under the wrapping. This is why we love Christmas. Not only are we amazed that God himself came to visit us as a baby, but our gratitude overflows in gifts, in surprises to each other.

 GK Chesterton said, "We can increase the good we do to others by adding the element of surprise."

Consider how you might insert the magic of surprise into your everyday personal and business relationships!