Grace Massoud wrote this article in MTV Website:

The world needs more love and kindness. War-torn Lebanon has long suffered from conflict, pain inflicted on its people for no other reasons than greedy, evil and political agendas. With so much sadness, loss of dignity and death, people’s spirits need to be uplifted somehow. Think about this for a second, even if we’re not directly affected by the attacks in the south, we’re all carrying the collective trauma from decades of war and crises, factoring in that it’s already hard enough to human. I feel the weight of it, don’t you?

When it comes to personal pains, I will show you a desperate case from my family. We have an elderly who has been giving everyone grief for a very long time. Recently, he has deeply hurt another family member. I’ve suffered my fair share of ingratitude from him, having given him my time, energy and attention only to be stabbed in the back. This uber-sensitive person hears a single word from you that is not in total agreement with his opinion nor complimentary towards him, and he immediately holds a grudge, unknowingly to you at first. Then he goes off and complains to everyone willing and unwilling to listen. From family members to complete strangers, they’ll hear overexaggerated accounts of why he was verbally abused by this horrible human being that is you or some other innocent “victim du jour”. 
This spewing of negativity got really, and I mean seriously exhausting. 

Despite this energy-draining drama he engages in non-stop, I will not cease to gather strength and energy to check in on him once in a while, even take him out somewhere to get him out of the house. This would give me a clear conscience. This is in keeping with the point I’m trying to make. Despite the hard shell, despite how difficult it may be, despite the fact that you feel spent and overwhelmed by your own problems sometimes, find it in your heart to be kind. Make a conscious effort to be sweeter to everyone around you because you never know what the other person may be hiding behind a smile or behind a frown. 

The reason for the season is to appreciate the love you have, to spread it around and share the wealth. That is the real meaning of Christmas. To celebrate the birth of the Son of God, his devotion and self-sacrifice to the flawed human. Because He had so much Love for the world. Presents and Christmas trees are just lovely and pure magic, I know they make me giddy with joy, but the essence of the holiday is making a conscious effort to give more of your time, energy and attention to others, to give more of yourself, to Give.