Peace on Earth Good will to all people

Are you promoting peace on earth or preventing it?

Doc David

Transcript

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Hey friends, it's Christmas. Yes, I said it. It's Christmas.

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Your access to live relationships and day to live.

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Hello, hello. This is Doc David with Head Shrink Inc. I'm still alive, believe it or not. As I always say or often say, um, just life gets busy. So I have not been able to update uh my podcast. Um I want to try to do better, but uh like life gets busy. We're stuck in COVID, people are stressed, and I'm booked out three weeks, so it just gets difficult. Um, so holidays are here, and um I I didn't have anything like really deep to share. I uh the one thing I did want to share, I wanted to read a um a poem by Henry Wadsforth Wadsworth Longfellow. Say that five times fast. And um just maybe if you're not in the mood for Christmas, put you in the mood for Christmas. What is Christmas about? We could go into like a deep hours-long conversation as what is what is the meaning of Christmas? And lots of people would have different ideas um what it means. But there's this song called Um The Christmas Bells Song, and there's a variety of variations of it. Um, and I just wanted to read through it because it it was um I I had read it, I had heard it sung um by a group called Casting Crowns, and it just man, it just hits home for me right now with everything going on with um protests and coronavirus and and things like that. So I wanted to share it with you, and um maybe you'll find it useful, maybe think what is this trash? But whatever you whatever. I mean you get to choose what you wanna how however you want to listen to it. Um but here goes Christmas bells. I heard the bells on Christmas Day, their old familiar carols play, and mild and sweet their songs repeat, of peace on earth, good will to men. And in despair I bowed my head. There is no peace on earth, I said, for hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men. Then rang the bells more loud and deep, God is not dead, nor does he sleep. The wrong shall fail and the right prevail, with peace on earth, good will to men. The world revolved from night to day, a voice, a chime, a chant sublime of peace on earth, good will to men. Do you hear the bells that are ringing, the life of the angels singing? Open up your heart and hear them, peace on earth, good will to men. Um one of the things that I've been thinking about this season in particular, more more than other seasons, simply because um probably because of the politics that have been happening, um, and because of all the various lockdowns and the strong opinions uh that are going on, and the divorces that are happening, and the alcoholism and addiction things that are happening, um, all of that is walking in through my door, and I'm interacting with a lot of people and other therapists I'm interacting with that are um having those kind of interactions with their clients as well. And it just the song struck me, poem struck me, because I was wondering where am I promoting peace on earth and goodwill towards men? And men, it's just it's all people peace on earth, goodwill to the world. And um, and I've been trying to take that, you know, to heart in thinking in how I treat people, how I respond to people on social media platforms, um, the way that I think about people that don't agree with me. I mean, it's hard. I mean, I think we've all been there where it's kind of we we get faced with challenging people at times. And so my encouragement to you um is that where, I mean, my question to you is where are you promoting peace on earth and goodwill to all men and women? Um, or are you? Do you go around complain, whine, moan, start fights, look for faults in other people? Um, and this isn't just friends, it could be people um people that work for you, people that you work with, people that are serving you in a store. Um they've got lives too, they've got things going on in their minds, and they're hurt, and and they have all kinds of experiences as well. And so are you promoting peace on earth and goodwill to all people? Are you promoting peace on earth and goodwill to all people in your family? Are you promoting peace on earth and goodwill to the stranger that you walk by down the street? The person that you drive by in the car next to you. And again, you may think, oh, I'm just one person. What I do is not going to be significant, and I would completely disagree with you. Um you promoting peace on earth and goodwill to all men, to all people, could change one person's life, and that could ripple out, and they could do that, and they could change someone else's life. So, my challenge to my challenge to myself is how am I promoting peace on earth, goodwill to the world? Because I think right now we're in a lot of despair. There's no peace on earth, hate is strong, and people don't care often about peace on earth and goodwill to the world. And so, my encouragement to you and my question is where are you doing that? Are you promoting peace on earth? Are you promoting goodwill to all people? Even the people that are hard to deal with. That's hard for me. There's some people in my life that are hard to deal with, and I have to make a commitment to have goodwill towards them because that I believe is gonna make the world a better place. So, Merry Christmas. If I don't talk to you again, happy new year. Um New Year's here. Now, it'll be interesting. Everyone thinks, oh, get let's get rid of 2020. Things are gonna happen in 21 too, and I think it's all perspective. If you have the perspective of peace on earth, goodwill to all people, your life could radically change. If you have a very self-centered, me-focused perspective, your life won't change much. Hey, Merry Christmas. Hope your family is doing well, hope you can connect with your family over these next few days of the holiday, and I will see you possibly in a week or two or back in 2021. Take care.