'Tis the season to think of others and be generous

Fall is the season where the maturation of the year begins to set in.

As the leaves change color, birds change flight patterns and the weather changes dramatically from warm winds to cool breezes, the expectation of autumn brings about festivities reserved only for the culmination of a year.

Since the holiday season has begun, many of us are hard at work preparing for the quality time spent with family and friends.

Hopefully in the spirit of the season, those who have a warm place to lay their heads won't forget the plight of the less fortunate.

The "Black Friday" experience has become a highly anticipated event every year around this time, so much that many retail stores use the number of sales for that day to make — or break — their quarterly numbers.

Shoppers hit shopping malls in droves at obscure hours in order to find a bargain or get the best "deal" on merchandise.

Yes, it's all in the spirit of the season, but I can't help but wonder if the essence of it has somehow been tainted.

Are we joyful for the fact that we are able to bless someone else through the gift of giving, or are we more ecstatic about feeling a sense of achievement when we are able to buy something on the cheap?

Do we shop for our loved ones out of the generosity in our hearts, or do we purchase merchandise in hopes that that person will return the favor?

Sometimes it feels as though this holiday season, which once carried so much substance, has now been reduced to just that — substance.  

And it's evident by the way society has continued to place more emphasis on after-Thanksgiving-day sales than on the day of Thanksgiving itself.

This holiday season, I urge all of us come out of what has become the societal norm.

As you make your way to one retail store after another, consider the folks that seemed to be displaced during this time of year.

For every article of clothing that you buy for yourself or someone else, go into your closet and give an older article of clothing to a donation station.

Pay it forward. Treat it with a sense of urgency.

This may seem a bit extreme, but so are the situations that some of the unfortunate will experience this time of year.

The light that you shine through your genuine generosity may very well lead someone into a brighter new year.