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What a small world! A few months ago when I was about a thousand miles away from home, I met a lady who uses my name, and we are born in the same month of the year. Our mothers have been given the same Christian name and both she and my Mum share an interest in the same exact hobby. Our relations come from the same general community in our shared homeland; our close relatives are engaged in the same career. And it seems she has similar taste in interior decor. Makes me think that those unfamiliar faces we pass by so casually on the street may just be linked to us in ways we would not have considered possible. Reminds me of the concept of the 6 degrees of separation .
"The Christmas Guest" – narrated by Grandpa Jones (Louis Marshall Jones)
The concept that we are all connected to each other by 6 degrees of separation (through links with 5 other people) was first associated with actor and singer Kevin Bacon.
"Kevin Bacon turned the Six Degrees game connecting him to other Hollywood actors into a game-changing nonprofit aimed at using everyday activities to connect people and causes" at his 6degrees.org site.
On this the 6th Day of Christmas, consider that you may be just 6 degrees away from someone who really needs exactly what you have to offer. Why not find those connections and give a helping hand?
"Give and ye shall receive." "Karma bites or karma is a biyotch!" Two polar ways of addressing the "Law of Giving and Receiving". A recurrent belief (in various religions and creed) is that what we send out into the world is the same that will be returned to us. Inherent in this line of thinking is that a certain satisfaction can be gained in the act of giving either because that good will come back (self gratifying) or that bad will not be the return (fear). The repercussions of karma aside, and especially at this time of year, I can only stress my belief that it is the act of giving itself that elicits much contentment on the part of the giver. It is simply a very good feeling to give knowing the good that giving (of positive things) brings.
Take the Pledge from 6degrees.org
01I am six degrees or less from someone or something that really needs my help.
02I challenge myself to grow in empathy towards others.
03I challenge myself to grow in compassion.
04I challenge myself to spend time on something that needs assistance.
05I will leverage my resources, abilities or voice to be an actor of change.
06I pledge to make a positive impact this year by leveraging myself in whatever way I can, big or small.
Never shy away from giving a helping hand..
My mother's special gift to me:
Bringing Mary home. Sweet Mama's homes have always been adorned with trivets and wall-hangings that declare that the food in the pot and the comforts of home are all there for one's taking; and this message is one that Mama didn't take lightly. RN Sweet Mama easily formed attachments with her patients, and during many years of working at a chronic care hospital with patients having significant, and often disfiguring, impairments the bonds were firmly in place. Holidays would come and go and often patients had no home to enjoy. I remember the night Sweet Mama brought wheel-chair bound Mary home for the holidays; the joy I experienced from Mary seemed to make the giving of a holiday place even sweeter.
There was the year when all over the U.S.A. there seemed to be an explosion of nurses from the Philippines. Our family instantly grew larger. Sweet Mama -- who transformed into "Mama" or "Grandma" -- welcomed these young ladies who were so far away from home into our home. Dinners, holidays and life changes (marriages, child-birth) were all celebrated together and the connections remained strong even after our little extended family of nurses disbanded following their life journeys to other states and places.
If one person is working, everyone is working: a strong premise in Sweet Mama's world. Never let others labour alone when you can lend a helping hand: message heard and gladly received. If one person is eating, everyone is eating. Habitual behavior is to share your meal and not eat before others alone: message happily received as were so many more that encompassed giving, compassion and caring.
"The Universal Law of Giving and Receiving has a remarkable impact on humankind in many ways. It either allows them to live in abundance or prevents them from doing so." – IntroBooks Education
My wish for you is that you found great gratification in all your wondrous giving.
Thank you for being such an amazing role model.
I experience many hours of joy because you taught me how to give.
My blueprint for life.
Discuss this article
Mama was a very sweet person and had a very kind personality. I love Mama.
Anyhoos... wanted to add a little note that the person who posted the Bing and Bowie video commented.
Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy is a Christmas song with an added counterpoint performed by David Bowie and Bing Crosby. "Little Drummer Boy" is a Christmas song written in 1957, while the "Peace on Earth" tune and lyrics were added to the song especially for Bowie and Crosby's recording. The song was recorded on 11 September for Crosby's 1977 television special, Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas. The pair exchanged dialogue about what they do for Christmas before singing "Little Drummer Boy" with a new counterpoint with original lyrics written for the special, "Peace on Earth". Bowie's appearance has been described as a "surreal" event, undertaken at a time that he was "actively trying to normalise his career" Crosby died on October 14, just over a month after recording the special. In the U.S., the show aired on 30 November 1977 on CBS.