Last Christmas I was mulling on giving something to my growing staff at the agency where I’m currently employed.

And yes, it’s a bit off writing this a month after Christmas. But Christmas isn’t just a holiday event that’s marked by a date on our yearly calendar wantonly being waited upon by people to remind them of an upcoming merry occasion that needed to be celebrated.

The meaning of Christmas lies in the heart of giving. We forget that the spirit of Christmas is best seen through the eyes of the recipient.

As in previous years, I donated the whole amount that I budgeted as a gift for my staff to a program that the Sacred Heart is Jesus Parish sustains. It’s called Sponsor a Child that provides the tuition fee for one year to a child in the community around us for a Montessori education.

These three kids are the recipients for the year on behalf of a donation made on behalf of the Center for Drug Regulation of the Food and Drug Administration.

The program still needs a lot of donors and each child’s program will cost only P3500 per child per year.

In our lifetime, I’m sure that people have provided us a lift in our lives chasing our dreams. That meant that some had to give up a couple of wants in order to provide our needs or pursue our dreams.

I hope that some of my readers get to share a little of what they have with those who have less in life through programs like these.

An atmosphere of being able to pay it forward is a gesture of perpetual kindness.

After all, heaven in their eyes is a tangible dream for the heart that’s willing to share.

Mark Twain once said “kindness is the language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see”.

We’ve all had that moment when we decide on a matter that affects another person. It’s a difficult decision especially when it comes to work. Rules and regulations define what one needs to do. Or not do.

Often times things happen beyond our control. We can’t predict what happens in other people’s lives. An illness that debilitates a close family member, a family or someone who goes through difficult times, or worse, a death that leaves us devastated.

In the workplace, life goes on regardless of the circumstances. Upper management would always tell you to leave your problems at home. But how do you work well if issues at home hound your mind while you’re working?

In a relationship, at times we have difficulty sharing problems. Either others wouldn’t care or are looking out for themselves. It’s depressing to face your problems alone. After all, one is a lonely number.

Of course one can argue that people abuse kindness. But let’s keep it real and let karma pay back these low life creatures.

So here’s the rub. When is kindness more important than being right?

It’s a fair reminder that when people think that in the middle of their chaos, there was you to lean on, being kind will always be the right thing to do.

Kindness, after all, is an eight letter word that’s someone else’s Relative Joy.