No matter what happened in the hours,
in the days, and in the months before,
at the festive time of the year
those of us who are naturally
optimistic and altruistic
like to immerse ourselves
and fully embrace the Christmas spirit
and like to spread some Christmas cheer…
no matter how hard things may have been,
and no matter what has been endured,
Christmas time is always when
those young and old like to give,
and are given, gifts both big and small,
both fun and personal,
to show how much their presence
and their connection to one another matters.

No matter how old we may feel most of the year,
at Christmas time everybody can remember
what it was like to be a child –
especially when they look at the faces
of the children who are the next generation
and you see their eyes widen
and their smiles grow after they
unwrap the gifts that they have been given…
no matter who someone is,
and no matter where someone comes from,
it is always nice to be kind to those
who don’t have what you have
and also to remind people that –
though it may appear that we all live very different lives –
that does not mean that we aren’t
integral to each other’s happiness.

Christmas is more than Christmas trees,
Christmas songs, Christmas cards, Christmas crackers,
Christmas dinner, Christmas lights, even Christmas presents,
because Christmas is about family –
and not just the family of our genetic lineage,
because “family” can include the family
of friends that we have accumulated over the years
who have stuck by us no matter what –
and that is why we should never forget who we are,
and who each and every one of us
all around the world are to one another:
one, big, human, family –
even though some people sometimes
need to be reminded of that fact.

There are lots of ways to celebrate…
there are lots of ways to make
the world a better place to live in
for those who you know,
and for those who you may never meet…
giving the gift of your time matters more
than some people might realise –
as does the gift of thinking
about others before yourself
and being the reason that people feel included…
there are many reasons to feel grateful
for what, and for whom, you have in your life –
and some of the most important
and indefinable reasons
only become apparent when it is
the right time of the year
and there is a visceral feeling of hopefulness
that can be felt, and which lies
at the heart of what Christmas is all about.

Merry Christmas!