Christmas Spirit

It will be an odd Christmas this year. There hasn't been quite so much hysteria because of the credit crunch so perhaps looking at Christmas in a new light will benefit us all. We need to slow down and take stock of what is really important in our lives and appreciate all that we do have. I have just finished reading "The Poisonwood Bible" and found it fascinating. We really do need to have a new understanding off Africa and the appalling way the Europeans and the Americans have behaved. Yes, it is in the past and we are not personally responsible but we are by proxy. We are not well-informed enough, we do not ask enough questions, we are concerned about our own little worries and grumbles and gripes which in the larger picture do not count for a lot. We have enough food, we have houses over our heads, and we do not care enough to stop the repossessions and the break-up of families going through the stress of hard times. The effect on the children and the marriage can be devastating. It is not a good time to be losing your job or your home. We could do so much more to help before families get to breaking point and the split starts. Relationships are hard work and we become complacent. We need to work on ourselves all the time or we atrophy and become whining, complaining victims. We can change our reaction to what happens to us and start to take responsibility for our reactions and our lives and this beautiful planet. Have a wonderful Christmas!