Submitted by Brent Sheridan on Tue, 20 Dec 2011, 12:49pm
"2011 was a year of global tumult, marked by widespread social and political uprisings, economic crises, and a great deal more. We saw the fall of multiple dictators, welcomed a new country (South Sudan), witnessed our planet's population grow to 7 billion, and watched in horror as Japan was struck by a devastating earthquake, a tsunami, and a nuclear disaster. From the Arab Spring to Los Indignados to Occupy Wall Street, citizens around the world took to the streets in massive numbers, protesting against governments and financial institutions, risking arrest, injury, and in some cases their lives." (The Atlantic)
Sitting here at my computer, finishing off the last bits and pieces of client work before we take a few weeks off, I am moved to promise myself to reserve at least a few days to think about some of these other people, what their lives are like today, what they are facing, and what I want to do about that.
Like Tim Minchin sings about in this lovely, bittersweet song, Christmas as I have come to understand it, at its best, is about taking time to think about others, be they family, friends, or even strangers, in a spirit of love, compassion and giving. Boxing Day did not used to be about even more consumerism and watching people getting trampled at the doors of department stores; it was originally about boxing up the leftovers of Christmas feasts by richer people, to give to the poorer ones in their community.
This was community in action, being ‘in community with’ others, not as an abstract idea that hopefully some government agency or some other people would create. I do not know what I will do this year to be in community with others, but I am committing here, to myself and to whomever might be reading this, to think about it and then, hopefully, to do something about that.
Please wish me luck; I will need that and more... 
We wish you a joyful and restful next few weeks!
