There are lots of names for the last couple of weeks of the year but one of the best names for it is the season of hope.
Now that the hustle and bustle of the shopping, gifting and unwrapping part of the season is over, it’s time to relax and just be in the moment.
Most of all, really be there with your loved ones. Put your phone down and fully share with them those moments that will never come again.
It’s easy, in our prosperous country, to get caught up in everything that is extraneous about the season - the shopping, the parties, sending cards, putting up a bigger Christmas light display than the neighbours.
But there’s a kind of a hush all over the world post-Christmas Day, as the western world, at least, pauses for a moment and enjoys the calm of holiday that’s all about peace and goodwill.
For people of many faiths, this season has come to stand for a reaffirmation of hope, a renewed commitment to friendship and goodwill and a celebration of the simple joys of life.
Usually, those feelings of peace and love have a chance to last at least into January but then they’re gone in a moment, melting away like the snow as the pace of life picks up again and the bills for Christmas start rolling in.
But we should fight to keep those feelings. the hope that is the background of this holiday season as we celebrate the turning of the year and the start of the long crawl back to the warmth of summer.
Whether the wish is spoken or not, now is the time that we all hope the next year will be better than the last. Whether that hope is as grand as world peace or as simple as more food on the table, we all have our wishes for a better tomorrow, and this time of year tends to bring those wishes closer to the surface.
We may never have world peace or full bellies for everyone in the world, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth striving for.
Loving-kindness, warm hearts and open minds, tolerance for others, these are the real gifts we need to share with each other, not only during this special season but year-round; these are the first steps on the path to creating a better tomorrow.
—Black Press
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