#HappyNewYear

To all my friends and family, forgive me for my lack of card giving or Christmas wishing this year…my thoughts were wide around you. I have to admit that I have felt a heaviness about this Christmas. I look around the world in all its suffering and I feel almost ashamed to indulge. All the spending and commercialism of the holiday gets to me more every year while I watch people and especially parents struggle to perform the demands of the season. I feel the loneliness of people separated from their loved ones, the pain of broken relationships rising to the surface in the eyes of strangers. I see the poor on the street, sleeping in the cold. And then I imagine the families and the children in places like Syria and… I shut down completely. I think, more than ever, that the true meaning of Christmas needs to rise again. We all feel it. I know I’m not the only one. That magic, that stillness, that goodness. I hope that the bright star that shone that original Christmas Eve can bring light and peace into all the world with a greater presence than ever before. We have lost so many shining lights this year, the legends with their worldwide presence among the very personal losses I have sadly seen too many loved ones suffer. The abrupt departure of so many must absolutely have significance that I truly feel shouldn’t be ignored. It’s not about hanging on in grief or fearing what may happen next but I think perhaps it’s a statement to all of us. A message. Reach in… look deep within and remember what motivates and inspires our souls the most. Share it, give it, live it… every day, every hour, every minute. Connect. Love one another with the full of your heart. Let in forgiveness and let it be relentless within and around you. Dance. Laugh. Kiss. Maybe then, the power of Christmas can shine through the pain that has past and light the road ahead. May the shining spirit of all this departing beauty light each and every darkened corner of the world so much that it is blinding. And when our eyes adjust once again….let peace be all we can see. This is my wish for all of you and all the world. Xx