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Unwrapping the Gift of Lift …

Nov 29, 2016 10:51PM ● By Annette Briggs (Owner/Publisher)

Happy holidays and Merry Christmas! Wow … how time flies by ever so quickly as we prepare to welcome in a new year in mere days. As many of you and countless others get ready to celebrate Christmas with family and friends in South Carolina and all around the world, I ask very humbly that you allow me to place, as a gift, this month’s primary editorial theme—Uplifting Humanity—under your Christmas tree or in your gift-filled stockings to be unwrapped by all.

Friends, I love Christmas and all that it represents! But, most importantly, we must remember that Christmas is not so much about what we receive, but more about what and why we give. The dictionary defines the adjective “uplifting” as the moral or spiritual elevation of influence. I agree but take it a step further. I believe that lift is all about action that kicks moral elevation and influence into high gear and life-changing impact. It means to inspire, encourage, to raise up or revive as one that affects the kind of change that can truly make a difference in the life of another. Honestly, this is the secret sauce. Do you really look into and behind the eyes that represent the sea of faces in the world around you? Do you (we) really care about the world? Really???

Well, we can certainly learn a few lessons from one of my favorite mammals—the dolphin. Did you know that dolphins are not only extremely smart but caring? Dolphins have even been observed giving food to people. In one instance, a bottlenose dolphin heeded the SOS calls of two beached whales in New Zealand and led them into safe waters. The whales would have most likely perished if it were not for the guidance of the dolphin. Amazingly, in New Zealand, a group of swimmers were first surprised when a group of dolphins began circling around them. The circle got tighter and the dolphins began splashing in the water making the swimmers nervous by the aggressive behavior. As it turned out, the dolphins were warding off a nearby shark that was moving close to the swimmers—preventing the shark from attacking. What an example of lift.

There are also some pretty amazing people in the world that have unwrapped the gift of “lift” and given it to others, like award-winning chef Narayanan Krishnan. Featured on CNN, Krishnan, to the dismay of his parents, decided to abandon his illustrious career plans to spend his life and professional training looking after those that could not care for themselves. He has provided more than 1.2 million hot meals through his nonprofit organization, Akshaya Trust. Krishnan’s life was changed forever by an unlikely encounter (more like a divine appointment) with a homeless man. The world needs us and the statistics bear witness to this. The homeless and needy walk amongst us every day—largely ignored. One quarter of the world’s population is starving. More than 1.5 billion people don’t have access to clean water, and a child dies every couple of seconds from a disease that could have been prevented.

What great examples of lift in action. Let’s all unwrap this gift of love and compassion in action this holiday season and give it to the world around us. It’s all about giving humanity a lift.

Lifting this season,

Annette Briggs

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