We did this as a congregation in 2021 and I'm doing it myself this year. My life feels different now than it did 365 days ago, and I hope this will keep me grounded and help me live my faith.
Inspiring Compassion: The 30 Day Compassion Challenge. 30 days to explore the topic of compassion: Mindfulness, Compassion for Friends & Family, Self-Compassion, Compassion for All, Compassion for Our Planet.
Today would be Compassion for All, because I don't know exactly who I was extending myself for. It doesn't really matter.
Sunday I walked about a half mile to Dollar Tree. It was a lovely Sunday afternoon -- about 65ยบ and sunny. I wanted to buy their canned pumpkin. It's $1.25/can vs. $2.99 at Target and my cat Connie gets a few spoonsful every day. Anyway, after I paid and was on the way out of the store, I saw a big bin. Mostly empty. The store is collecting toys for underprivileged children at Christmas.
If there's anything I'm a sucker for, it's kids at Christmas. Maybe it's because I worked in advertising for more than 40 years and did my bit to commercialize Christmas. I even wrote toys for the Sears Wish Book (I was the Care Bear lady in the 1980s).
So instead of leaving the store, I went back to the toy aisle and picked up two things. One was a plush Berenstein Bear (the pink one). The other was a heavy cardboard Frozen movie tie-in book. I purposely went with brands kids would recognize. My second purchase came to less than $3. I suppose it was, quite literally, the least I could do. But I did not know the organization Dollar Tree was collecting for, and I try to be smart with my donation dollars, so I didn't want to invest more.
But that doesn't mean I'm done for the holiday season. Even though it's still unseasonably warm and sunny, Christmas will soon be on us. I will have more opportunities to do good and I shall seize them.
