I heard an interesting story the other day. It was about a boy who growing up had very little and when Christmas time came, expected nothing. On Christmas morning the little boy was surprised and excited to see a fruit basket, filled with oranges, apples and a toy wooden knick knack.
Someone was recently asked, “What do you want for Christmas?” They replied with one simple word; peace. With all the hustle and bustle around the holidays, just sit for a moment, alone or with family possibly friends and enjoy a moment of peace and wish the same for others.
You hear it numerous times throughout the holiday season. It doesn’t even matter your religious background. What do you want for Christmas? Well I’ll tell you.
I want to be able to attend my child’s school function without wondering how many of those precious children are a part of the 49,886 children experiencing homelessness while trying to obtain an education. Did you know Florida is ranked 43rd (50 being the worst) in child homelessness and that 800,000 children in Florida alone live in poverty?
I want to give the gift of security to those who have felt that fear of having your power cut off. I want to not choke up every time I pass the families with children on the side of the road, holding signs asking for anything. I want to not feel guilty because I didn’t stop and I didn’t stop because I feel as though any of us are always one step from their reality. I have nothing to give, or so I thought until recently. The other day when my son and I past a homeless family on the side of the road, I asked him to just imagine what that must feel like. To not have shelter from the rain (my son happens to feel quite discontent when it storms) I don’t know how much he really understood but I did notice he was getting teary eyed. We have never had much in the way of fancy crap people fill their homes with but the older I get the more I realize just how far from the bottom of the barrel we are. There is a huge gap between having a roof over your head and having to wash your children in a convenient store bathroom.
We as a society need to wake up and realize that the homeless of today are a whole new demographic of people. They could be your neighbors, co-workers, friends and family. We can no longer ignore and not give to those in need because we feel they will run to the nearest liquid store to cure their latest disease. It’s just no longer the case. We should be ashamed of ourselves for purchasing that new furniture set knowing our economy is causing people in YOUR shoes to become homeless. Every time we spend or live outside our means we should be ashamed for choosing to ignore our growing homeless society.
I love to gift give and receive just as much as the next person but this year…I want people to give to someone else. I want to see everyone spending less yet giving more. I see people who are not even religious celebrating a religious holiday merely by shelling out money and for what greater cause exactly? We need to shell out to the top dog corporations so they can feed the hungry in some country we can’t even pronounce so they can appear ethical?
It’s been awhile since I last posted. To be honest I haven’t felt all that inspired lately. If you take anything away from this remember those families who have nothing. Not the families who may go without presents this year but those families who get turned away by homeless shelters because the 718 beds in Orange county alone are already filled, that only offers beds to 62 percent of the homeless population in Orange county. Don’t even get me started on Volusia, Seminole or Osceola counties. Remember those families who are experiencing homelessness for the first time, due to our economy. The same economy we all should fear, the same economy we all created. I challenge everyone, myself included to reach out. To admit and acknowledge that the real hidden epidemic is right here in front of us, it’s behind the eyes of the same children who are suffering emotionally and academically because they don’t have any of the simple things in life. Those same objects we consider to be free. While everyone else is worrying about who gets what and purchasing enough gifts so everyone will feel satisfied, stressing over not getting that one big ticket item we all feel we need, look past the surface and see just how silly you’re behaving. So what do I want for Christmas? I employ you to give any way you can. Feed the homeless, reach out to the community, do your own research and get involved, I know in my heart if we don’t fix this now, we will regret it later.
