THE HOLIDAYS Are Not Joyful for Many

by Jack Watts

HI, MY NAME IS JACK: We are on the cusp of the greatest time of the year for many, but it is also the season of great despair for an equal number of others. The times are festive and joyous, with the assumption that all are eager participants, but that’s not true. There are millions who “white-knuckle” the holidays, with no greater aspiration than simply surviving them.

For these people, while they do not resent your happiness, it is a constant reminder of what they have lost and can never replace. Because this is true, as we all intuitively realize, let us set our minds to perform as many acts of simple kindness for others as we can. By doing so, it may help someone who has a smile on his or her face, but all that smile does is camouflage deep pain, betrayal, and irretrievable loss.