Listening to NPR's All Things Considered today (OK, truth be told, I'm posting this on Wednesday, but it still is Tuesday's thought) I heard a wonderful commentary that made me smile. When commentator Lauretta Hannon was growing up in Warner Robbins, Ga., she and her mother would kill time by riding around in the car. And when they saw chain gangs, they would buy cigarettes and throw the packs out the window to the men.
In the story, Ms. Hannon talks about riding in a car with no seat belts, stocked with orange juice and vodka and at the heart of the story is buying cigarettes for convicts--lots of reasons to view the story with negativity. But I realized right away that those were merely distractions from the heart of the story about learning a valuable life lesson. She described the joy of seeing the "radical happiness" she had caused; as a four-year old she was first becoming aware of her own power.
Christmas is a great time to learn that we have the power to cause radical happiness by simply giving small gifts that matter. Granted, cigarettes may not be the best gifts, but prisoners are certainly among the best recipients if we are looking to give a gift to the person whose birthday it is! (Matthew 25:31-46)
You can hear the story here.
In the story, Ms. Hannon talks about riding in a car with no seat belts, stocked with orange juice and vodka and at the heart of the story is buying cigarettes for convicts--lots of reasons to view the story with negativity. But I realized right away that those were merely distractions from the heart of the story about learning a valuable life lesson. She described the joy of seeing the "radical happiness" she had caused; as a four-year old she was first becoming aware of her own power.
Christmas is a great time to learn that we have the power to cause radical happiness by simply giving small gifts that matter. Granted, cigarettes may not be the best gifts, but prisoners are certainly among the best recipients if we are looking to give a gift to the person whose birthday it is! (Matthew 25:31-46)
You can hear the story here.
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