Hi Everyone!! I hope you're having a great day.A teacher placed two boxes on a table in front of her class. She then asked the class - as a group - to choose which box they wanted. She promised that whatever box they chose - they would be able to share the contents. One of the boxes was beautifully wrapped with red and green stripped foiled wrapping paper. It had a ribbon of gold and a very impressive bow. Almost everyone in the class was quite in awe of that first box. The other box was not nearly as fancy. Whereas the first box appeared to be wrapped with great care - the second box looked as though it was almost wrapped in a hurry. It was OK - but quite ordinary. And it had no ribbon or bow. Some of those in the class described the second box as 'plain' and 'boring'. A vote was taken. The overwhelming majority of the class chose the beautifully wrapped box. The teacher then asked one of her students to volunteer to open the chosen box so all could see what was inside. As the box was being opened - the students anticipation quickly turned to great disappointment when it was discovered that the beautifully wrapped box was filled with sand. Some of the students even went as far as to suggest that they were 'tricked' or 'fooled'. The teacher then reminded them that they were neither 'tricked' OR 'fooled' and that THEY chose the box. She also made it clear that she didn't say anything about what might be inside of either of those boxes. She then asked them to learn something from this experience. And that - my dear ATA friends - is my 'Christmas Message' to all of you. In LIFE - we often choose our FRIENDS by how they are 'wrapped'. We far too often assume the value of other people based on what we can SEE. If a person - like that chosen box - is appealing to our eyes - then we expect that what we will find inside of them will be just as appealing. But life doesn't always work that way. [With presents OR people] Sure - sometimes - a beautifully wrapped person [Like a beautifully wrapped box] has something beautiful inside - too. But not always. In fact - it's no more or less likely for a beautifully wrapped person to be anymore 'beautiful' INSIDE than someone who is more 'ordinarily' wrapped on the OUTSIDE. We [also] often try to fool others by how WE are 'wrapped' - giving very little thought to working on OUR insides. But truth be told - it's WHO YOU ARE that matters in life - not WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE. Oh sure - if you're 'pretty' or 'handsome' - that might help you get to the "Hi - how are ya" stage - but after that - it's WHO YOU ARE that matters. In fact - life is often difficult for the 'pretty' or 'handsome' among us because the expectations we have of them are often unrealistic. A great looking guy [For example] who isn't all that nice is a CREEP while an ordinary looking guy who isn't all that nice is - well - just not all that nice. After all - we didn't expect the ordinary looking guy to be anything but 'ordinary'. This Christmas - give yourself the gift of ACCEPTANCE. Be OK with how you are 'wrapped' and learn to appreciate your 'insides'. Appreciate - in other words - WHO YOU ARE!! Focus far more of your attention on your character and far less time on whether or not someone ELSE will find you visually appealing. And if you can do that - you will eventually [IF you haven't already] attract friends who love you for who are are. [And those people will be friends indeed]MERRY CHRISTMAS!! GREAT BIG HUGLove Craig!!