Trying to follow

I met a homeless man the other night who really touched me and challenged my thinking. I don’t walk around downtown much in the evening, but last night we did and ran into a number of folks asking for money on the streets. It was quite cold last night, and I hope they were able to sleep well at some point.
Anyways, after giving away all the cash I had in my pocket we ran into yet another gentleman and we stopped to chat with him. His words stuck in my mind, I can’t remember word for word but he said:

“I just want to have some fun, like everybody else.”
“…something to put my mind at ease; without being too specific.”
“…without being lead like a child.”

Have you ever thought about the message it sends to a person when you, based solely on your impression of them, treat them as unable to care for themselves? What does it do to an adult’s self-esteem when, at a difficult time in their life, they are continually being “lead like a child” to meet their needs?
I do understand that people have a true concern that giving money to a person on the street might end up supporting thier drug or alcohol habits. I’m not advocating support of those activities. A wise women once told me, “If I was out on the street and down on my luck, I might want to have a drink too.”

I almost feel like it becomes like Jesus with the women caught in adultery. “Let he who is without sin throw the first stone.” Here it is: Let the one who has never spent their money unwisely, be allowed to never give any of it away.

This holiday season I’d like to encourage you to give the gift of mutual respect to the people you encounter on the street. Get a large amount of $5 bills (or $20). Write a note, a note to yourself and others about being a wise steward of the money you spend and not to waste it on unnecessaries when so many in the world are in need. Write that personal note and make copies of it. Get some envelopes and put one note and one $5 Bill in each. Put a bunch of those envelopes in your wallet. Now, anytime you or anyone who asks you is in need of some money, give them (or you) an envelope and remember to read the note before deciding to spend the money.

If someone chooses to by alcohol with that $5, it was their choice. If someone chooses to by a latte at Starbuck’s with that $5, it was their choice also.

Every year the holiday season comes around and I quietly cry to myself about how terribly consumeristic and self-centered it all seems to be. I’ll post something here and there, but mostly I worry about ruining people’s mood and being a pessimist.

Well, this holiday season I’m going to try and talk about some of this and point out some alternative options for the Holiday’s that you might want to consider.

Today, I thought you should check out CoolPeopleCare and their new “Christmas is Not Your Birthday” Campaign. Sign up for their email and take the five minutes a day it takes to read it and respond.

It’s over a week since the Easter holiday, so I feel safe venturing some critiques about it. My friend Bryan pointed out that there hasn’t been much outrage around Easter about the bunny and eggs.
During Christmas there was so much outrage at the idea of calling the evergreens people where buying “Holiday Trees.” When my mom was growing up they had a Hanukkah Bush. My family had decorations for Christmas and Hanukkah (as well as a strange assortment of other family ornaments). Mindy and I have not had a tree in our living room since we’ve been married, and yet I don’t think we missed out on anything essential concerning the birth of Jesus. Celebrating the birth of Jesus is a good thing, but his birth is not what is central or pinnacle to the Christian faith; it’s his resurrection.
I wonder then, where is the outrage at Jesus’ resurrection being taken over by a giant bunny that hands kids pastel eggs full of candy? If you ask me, that’s what people should be upset about. I think it’s probably because nobody’s trying to trump the word “Easter.” Maybe they’d be bothered if someone decleared it the Buddha Bunny? Or what about just “The Bunny” leaving “Easter” out all together?

My point in saying all that is not to incite outrage over the Easter bunny or to start a boycott of pastel eggs. I think I’m just bothered by the lack of consistency and focus on such unimportant things. Let other’s call the evergreens what they want, maybe you should be ditching the Easter bunny altogether. Probably we should be spending a little more time trying to explain why some old guy dying and then rising from the dead is so important to our children. Believe me, you’ll have your work cut out for you.

After a confusing hiatus from podcasting (or properly posting our podcast), we have an official show in the works.  I, Ariah, will be joined by my brilliant and funny co-host Zach Swee for what we hope will be a regular weekly podcast.

We are open to having the podcast cover a wide range of topics from technology to faith.  I hope that it will be entertaining for everyone that listens and also informative.  Right now I think we are blessed to have at least 1 known subscriber (made props to Scotty).  We hope that increases in the next couple weeks.

For now since you are one of the few who are getting the inside scoop, we could use your help.  We need a name for our podcast.  Zach mentioned one in a previous podcast, but we’d like to hear if you have any brilliant ideas.  We also need some input on our theme music.  Let us know if it’s good or ridiculous.

We leave you with a bonus podcast, this should hold you over till our next official one tomorrow:

Bonus podcast

This Festival of Lights has come and gone without me lighting the Menorah even once. Being all by my Jewish self has caused my desire for hording candles to overcome tradition. I guess I should bring out the Jew in me and have a small fire in my living room tonight.

So, I caught wind of a handful of email forwards before the holidays; The “Taking the Christ out of Christmas” type stuff. I didn’t pay much attention to it all, at least not before Christmas had come and gone. Now, I’d like to speak my mind on a little of it. Here I am, very much Jewish and also Christian, having celebrated and planning on continuing to celebrate BOTH Christmas AND Hanukkah. I don’t much care whether all the hype during this season started because of Christmas, Hanukkah, or Saturnalia we all want to enjoy the season now, and we should have every right to; ALL of us.
And Christians of all people should know enough to be at least a little respectful of others. If I want to call the tree I stick in my living room a Hanukkah Bush, you really shouldn’t feel threatened, nor threaten me in return.