As I scan my bank account, I notice how much money I’ve spent for holiday gifts, and I wonder,’Did I really need to spend that much?’

There is no right or wrong answer, here, because one can justify either response Yes, you spent too much. No one should expect all of THAT, and you broke the bank. Or, no, you didn’t spend too much. Everyone received gifts and your credit card didn’t burn a hole in your purse or wallet.

So there’s that. But there is something else that doesn’t resonate much these days, and that is that the best gifts cost nothing. If this is the season of peace on Earth–if this is the time to remind ourselves that we are the answer to many of the problems we face, then the best gifts we can give are acts of human kindness that pay it forward. Being kind, volunteering, helping your neighbors. Helping strangers. These are all gifts we are so often too stingy or too wrapped up in ourselves to give.

Acts of kindness used to be status quo, but as we’ve ‘evolved’ into a ‘me first’ society, these things are now the exception. And that’s too bad.

As we celebrate ourselves this holiday season, let’s step out of the comfort zone and celebrate each other. Let’s be less selfish, less disappointed that we didn’t get what we really wanted for Christmas, less concerned about why those other drivers can’t understand that we’re in a hurry and they need to get out of our way, and more concerned about how we can be more giving, more forgiving, and more kind to one another. That’s the first step in making all of us great again. And the cost? Nada.