IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE! Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah.

Dr. Gold, Ph.D, LMHC, Licensed and Board Certified Clinical MentalHealth Counselor, with a Ph.D in psychology, is in private practice at her home office in Fort Salonga, specializing in relationships and integrating traditional methods with holistic ones. She works with all type problems. She is a Life Coach, Workshop Leader, Lecturer, and published Author. Please contact her at
drgold6@optimum.net.

When I started writing these articles for ET Week magazine, I often wondered why I was doing so. Afterall, wasn't my plate already very full? Was anybody reading them in the first place? 
    Eventually, I began to hear from some of you that these articles were inspiring. And that was more than enough to inspire ME to continue writing them. That was a good segue into the subject of this article.
    There is one ritual I always follow during this time of year, and that is to watch the film called, “It’s a  Wonderful Life” (If you don’t catch it on television, the DVD is available).
    A short synopsis:  George Bailey, played by the late wonderful actor Jimmy Stewart, has become very depressed. He’s despondent about his life and feels as if he failed many people in his small town. He believes that he and everybody else would be better off without him here. Thus, he is about to take his own life.
    Enter Clarence, an angel who is  assigned to save George.
    Clarence does this by putting George into a new life without him in it; making him experience how everybody’s life and the small town in which he lives, would’ve been if he had never been born.
    When he comes in contact with his wife,  children and the townspeople, they shy away from him and treat him rudely. It is indeed a dismal scene. After all, to them he was never there in the first place.
    Then, George is put back into his present life, jubilant, grateful and enthused to live and make things better for others in his town.
    This is a must see film. Even if you already have, see it again!  Why? Because surely every one of us have gone through a period when we feel failure. Failure to make a contribution to relatives, friends and others. Inadequacy to live up to our potential. It is only human to go through times like this.
    But truth be known, you don’t have to be in a so-called helping profession to help people. Case in point; several years ago my sister ran into a man who had gone to elementary school with me. He told my sister that he had never forgotten me. Why? Because, shortly after his grandparent had passed, I had put my hand on his shoulder and said, “I’m sorry.” Such a simple gesture, an incident I had long forgotten, but meaningful enough to him that he’d carried it with comfort into his adulthood.
    The point is, we have helped many people without realization. What may have seemed like an innocent act to us, even long forgotten, had become meaningful to others. Those little acts of kindness are significant.
    Therefore, my suggestion would be to deliver the gift of kindness. Say or do one thing, whether it be little or big, every day. Drop pieces of light into someone’s life this holiday season. You will light up other’s lives as well as your own.
    In closing, you have problems, so do I—with health, money, employees, employer, children, relatives and friends.  It’s not a perfect life for any of us, so moving forward, don’t forget to count your blessings. Because it IS a wonderful life! 

Merry Christmas!  
Happy Hanukkah!