MoneyWatch

Athena financial & insurance services, inc.

Registered Investment Advisors
Text Box: Were the Christmas’ of my youth really so much more special, or is it just that nostalgia can be such a seductive liar? After all, the past always seems like such a work of art; free of irrelevancies and loose ends. Every year at this time the winds of my mind transport me back to the illusions of my childhood. Those days when I thought the world was free from misery and sadness and my only concern was what might be waiting for me under the Christmas tree on December 25th. Time opens our eyes, robs us of our innocence and makes us wiser than we care to be. Still, it has taken me most of my life to understand that is not really necessary to understand everything—just that I understand the importance of tending to those who are less fortunate. The tragedy of life is not so much that men suffer—but that they suffer needlessly. It’s easy for us to ignore the disadvantaged and suggest their misery might be of their own making, while conveniently forgetting the advantages and blessings God sent our way which allowed us to achieve a comfortable station. The convenient way out is to open your checkbook and endow your favorite church or charity with an unexpected donation. Lord knows, there are plenty of worthy causes and most of them couldn’t exist without such generosity. But what about those who are lonely or depressed; the sad souls whose distress cannot be alleviated with money—the sick, the shut-ins, and the otherwise forgotten. Can you think of anything more sad than to be alone or isolated? One of my favorite parts of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” is when he is visited by the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley, who is trying to save Ebeneezer from a fate of having to walk the earth after death witnessing all the things he was supposed to attend to during life. At one point in the conversation Scrooge compliments Marley on what a good partner and businessman he had been prompting Jacob to stand up and scream, “Business?!? Mankind was my business!!” The one thing we can never get enough of is love; yet the one thing we never give enough of is love. It costs us nothing, and it makes no imposition—yet the benefit the world derives from it cannot be measured. Love may not necessarily make the world go round; but it sure makes the ride worthwhile. When you reach out to others with love you give them hope; and there is no medicine more powerful, no tonic greater than the expectation of something tomorrow. Hope is one of the virtues that renews the soul. It is God’s grace at its finest. Throw open the doors of your heart and let the sunshine of goodwill bathe everyone you come in contact with. What matters most is not the difference between those who believe and those who don’t believe; but the difference between those who care and those who refuse to. I know of no religion, Christian, Jew, or Muslim which doesn’t call upon its faithful to tend to the needs—spiritual or otherwise—of the underprivileged. Learn to see God in all persons, of whatever race or creed and strive to glimpse the spirit that unifies us all. We only get one shot to pass through life, therefore, any good we can do, any kindness we can show towards our fellow man, we should do so now. Let us not defer or neglect it for we shall not get the opportunity to pass this way again and ultimately we will be asked to account for our actions. It takes no special courage to reach out to others; just a conviction and belief that it will make a difference. It is what God wants us to do. It is what He put us here for. The more you give of yourself, the less others will let you go—and the closer to God you become. From my home to yours, may your Christmas and the coming year be a most special and blessed one.▲

Taking stock of what’s important...

Volume 17, Issue 25

December 18, 2006

A Christmas Message