They (you know, them – the experts) tell us that this time of year brings out the best in people.

They say the closer we get to Christmas day, the stronger and more apparent become the eagerness of people to display acts of kindness.

During this enchanted time of the year the media fills us with heartwarming stories of people’s kindness, generosity and overall willingness to help our fellow man.

Indeed, we find ourselves experiencing greater feelings of generosity as we drop a few dollars into a collection kettle in the mall or volunteer time to help those many organizations that exist to make life a little easier for those in need.

This truly is a wonderful time of the year. Even the surliest among us seem to wear the occasional smile, and portray a slightly nicer disposition.

We have a name for this. We call this the Christmas spirit and it seems to have magical properties that bring out the best in us all and help us experience those powerfully good feelings that come from helping others.

It seems that this extra niceness begins to appear within us around December 1 of and lasts through the first few days of the new year.

For approximately 35 days each year we willingly share more of our time, our money and overall niceness to both friends and strangers.

I personally have been blessed to meet many people who do not do this. December 1 brings no changes into their lives.

This time of the year has no impact on their kindness, niceness or generosity.

The folks I am referring to are those who have adopted the Habit of Christmas Spirit 365.

These folks do not get caught up in the spirit of the season; they live that very spirit every single day.

And if you ask them, they will tell you there is no greater blessing.

They all share the same philosophy. They will excitedly tell you life offers no greater feeling than the sense of pure joy that floods your body each time you perform a random act of kindness or some other task that helps a fellow human being whose life is perhaps not quite as blessed  as yours.

Every one of these folks I have ever spoken to all say, somewhat guiltily, what drives them to live the Habit of Christmas Spirit 365 is how good it makes them feel to make others feel good.

These folks do what they do every day with no expectation of reward or recognition other than the reward of the wonderful feelings mentioned above.

They excitedly tell of buying a cup of coffee for a stranger, picking up the grocery tab for a senior at Safeway or volunteering their time to help new immigrants to our country learn to read and speak English.

Indeed, this is a wonderful time of the year made more so by the constant invitations to spend time with friends, attend terrific social events and sing-along happily to those familiar Christmas songs every time you turn on a radio.

Just envision, on this Christmas Day, how much better our lives would be if we elected to incorporate the Habit of Christmas Spirit 365 into our every day lives.

Imagine if every day was Christmas Day.

Have a wonder-filled Merry, Merry Christmas.

Let’s make a habit of meeting like this.