"So ... this is Christmas" ...

I don't have to look all over the world to find loneliness and despair. Along with happiness, there is also loneliness and desperation all around us. I can't justify closing my eyes to it. So many unfortunate folks are looking for anything to feel "safe", and are seeking shelter wherever they can find it. With all the cutbacks over the last year in mental health, it is bound to just get worse - until some sanity is returned to the legislature and governing bodies. Except for the very wealthy, everyone else seems struggling in one way or the other to make ends meet, physically, financially, and mentally - and, mental health systems have become a major victim. We're now at "war" with a figure of speech, people's minds, and religious teachings. One could say it's not a very good time for the country or the world ...

And yet thankfully, we still feel ... "Christmas". While we hopefully celebrate the joy of Christmas in some way, we still get lonely, still have compassion for old friends, family, and those who are struggling or suffering. But, those feelings too are a good thing - a saving grace for the human race. It means that we have not lost our compassion or capacity to love and to "forgive". Along with the "foundation" of Christmas, it is also a kind of "peace" ... that we all need in some way, regardless of our faith.

"So this is Christmas" (a great song) comes to mind .... and there is hope: for 2007 and beyond - many happy new years - "without any fear" ... and there is "hope"... always. It is there - somewhere within us all. That, I "believe".