You may have read....

....this before, but at this time of year it's worth revisiting.  (Then again, it's worth revisiting any time of year.)

In the Christmas of 1914 or 1915, during the wanton brutality of the First World War, British and German troops stopped shooting. They went over to each other's trenches and exchanged seasonal gifts. Some even sang carols. I think they even played a game of football.  The next day, they got back into their positions and continued with the carnage - they were ordered to. Stories like this leave us wondering whether to laugh or cry.

There are often situations that are both bitter and sweet, awesome and awful. But through our choices and our actions, we can take what is bad and make it good.

Leaders grasp nettles   (David Ogilvy)

I don't know if you have....

....read Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy.  In it, this is the description of our world -  'Earth. Mostly harmless.'  Ummmm, it makes you wonder what a harmful place must be like. We may not pose much of a threat to the other solar systems but we are certainly a danger to ourselves.

The only thing that is arguable, is whether we do more damage through our high ideals or our shocking lack of moral conscience.

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.  (Albert Einstein)

Some people will say or do....

....almost anything if they think that it will gain them more money, more love or more respect. It's all rather sad, to say nothing of counterproductive. Money earned through insincere action is soon wasted on unnecessarily indulgence. Love attained through a false promise is soon lost. Recognition given to an empty gesture is rapidly replaced by criticism.

If there is ever pressure on you to lower a standard or to compromise an important principle, the apparent reward is probably not really worth having.

Surely the principles of Christianity lead to action as well as meditation.  

(William Wilberforce)

Nature does things differently....

....all over the world. Plants, creatures, people, vary from place to place. In essence, we are all much the same but each individual manifestation of that essence, is gloriously unique. To go along with our different personas, we have different tastes, preferences and opinions.

It's not for anyone to say that some of these are better or count for more than others.

You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Are people who wear....

....suits more important than those who dress in casual clothes? But if you had to manifest an air of authority to help control a volatile social situation, wouldn't you prefer to be clad in a uniform that conferred a look of power upon you. Even the most free-thinking and unconventional among us find it hard not to be taken in by appearances.

Yet you may miss out on something valuable if you judge anyone by their superficial features and evaluate a situation entirely by the first impression it gives.

It is through gratitude for the present moment that the spiritual dimension

 of life opens up.    (Eckhart Tolle)

'Enough,' they say, 'is a banquet.'....

.... 'Go too far,' they also say, 'and you will wish you hadn't gone anywhere at all.' It's a funny old thing. I have been around for a while now, and in all this time I have been keeping a careful eye out, in the hope that one day, I will discover who 'they' are. I want to ask them, 'Why do you say all these things?' 

Anyway, where was I? Ah yes, moderation. It's a fine thing and you can't have too much of it! Some limits may need to be respected but feel free to allow in some passion.

Under every stone lurks a politician  (Aristophanes)

As children we are all taught....

....to label and categorise the world around us. What colour is this? Then later come more sophisticated inquiries. How big is that? How much does this cost? What is that truly worth? 

And as adults it seems as if, when we are not judging others, we are judging ourselves. Really, that's bad. Indeed, arguably, the only one thing we are ever within our rights to judge ourselves for, is judging ourselves!

The only way round is through.   (Robert Frost)