I look so forward to the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons. All they hype, the excitement of children, the tree and house decorations, the nativity, the services at church, family and the giving. I pour a lot of my efforts into giving. I don’t necessarily focus on the monetary values in the gifts I give, but try to focus on people. How can I serve my family and friends? What acts of kindness can I do for them? How can I serve or give to total strangers or to organizations that benefit those less fortunate. How can I spread joy of the season?
In doing so, as previously mentioned, I really pour myself into projects and making others happy during this time. And after the holidays are over and we ring in a New Year…what happens? A lot of people get a little depressed…they get down on themselves and life...they get the holiday blues. And then it hit me. Why do I just have to practice giving and sacrificing myself for the good of others just during the holidays?
For me, and I bet for a good number of you, the giving is the best part of the holidays. It just makes you feel good. Remember old Ben Weaver in The Christmas Story from The Andy Griffith Show? Everybody else in town was so cheerful and happy…but not old Ben. He was determined that he was going to remain miserable, and worked hard at trying to bring others down to his level of unhappiness. On one or two occasions, Andy almost went over to the “dark side”, but fortunately, Ellie Walker was there to steer him back to a cheerful heart.
By not giving in to the negative attitude that Ben Weaver was putting out there, Andy and the crew eventually managed to force Ben into letting down his guard and “allowing” himself to be happy. The turning point was when Ben fell off the crates in the alley, and Andy went to investigate. Seeing Ben on the ground and asking him, “Ben, what in the world are you a’doin?” Then glancing over to see the overturned crates stacked up as a step up against the jail cell window, as Ben lashed back, “Aww you’re crazy. Why would I want to…?” Then Andy interrupts and asks, “Yeah…Why would you, Ben?”
In the scene that follows, Ben brings his suitcases into the jail as Andy brings him in for Disturbing the Peace. Barney is asked to inspect the contents to be sure the prisoner didn’t bring in anything illegal. When the suitcases are opened, all of the gifts he brought from his store were revealed and passed out. Although Ben gave out his gifts with a little gruff, he still did it with a cheerful heart.
What can we take from this blog and this episode? How can we fix it so we don’t feel so down after the holidays? One: be a cheerful giver all year long. Find ways to devote your time and talents to those who will not only appreciate it, but will benefit from your efforts as well. Two: Be appreciative of those in your life that “steer” you back to a cheerful heart. Three: Stay persistent in your quest to be happy. The negative people want others to be negative with them. Stay strong. Four: Be a cheerful giver all year long. Do things for people all throughout the year. Don’t be afraid to let your guard down, so others can see you for the nice person you are under your exterior persona. Giving all year will make you happier. Five: Learn to associate with positive, uplifting and fun people. Ben Weaver finally did, and it brought him a great deal of joy. You can easily associate with this kind of person if you spend any time in “Mayberry.”
So this year, decide to be happy. Decide to share your talents and time with others. Decide to finally make one of the Mayberry Events. Decide to join one of the Mayberry related Facebook Pages…there are several out there: I Miss Mayberry; Mayberry After Midnight; Mayberry, Our Favorite Hometown; and TAGSRWC “Only one word I can think of…Big” to name a few. Join some of the Mayberry websites like the iMayberry Community at www.imayberrycommunity.com I don’t have time for all that social media stuff you say. It doesn’t take that much of your time, and it’s certainly more uplifting that many of the social media sites out there. Go visit the Events Calendar and find a Mayberry Event near you. “Thanks, and Happy Motoring!”
Have a Mayberry Day,
Keith
AKA: Col. Harvey
