‘Tis the season to be jolly’

‘Tis the season to be jolly’ .. and boy after this year I’m sure we’re all feeling the need for a few jolly festivities !

I imagine there isn’t a single one of us who hasn’t to a greater or lesser degree grappled emotionally and or physically with the challenges of the past months, and health and well being has perhaps never been more ‘front page’ than it is now . With advice flying at us from all angles about what we should /shouldn’t be doing , consuming etc. Along with new rules and regulations about where and with whom we can and can’t go !

These unprecedented times will have brought out the best and worst in some of us, particularly as we can often have very strong beliefs about the rights and wrongs of health and well being ..

For some people Christmas is a religious time to remember and contemplate the story of 3 wise men bearing gifts for baby Jesus , or simply to celebrate special meals and exchange gifts of appreciation for each other with cherished family and friends . Then some people may have different celebrations at other times of the year, but whatever cultural or religious backgrounds we come from perhaps the state of Yoga has never been more prevalent and important than now. One of its many wonderful meanings is to Yoke/Unify and even if it’s remotely in ‘cyber space’ through FaceTime /Zoom or any of the other vital technologies we thankfully have available to us these days , we need to connect with each other .

God to some of us is an entity , a feeling of a higher power we may pray to in times of need, to others a feeling of oneness with nature or something that’s mirrored in the faces of those we love. But whatever our beliefs are this festive season, even if adverse circumstances feel like they’re taking their toll, it’s often through adversity that the best of ourselves can shine through.

“The truth is that there are no good men, or bad men, .. it is the deeds that have goodness or badness in them. There are good deeds, and bad deeds. Men are just men.. it is what they do, or refuse to do, that links them to good and evil. The truth is that in an instant of real love, in the heart of anyone.. the noblest man alive or the most wicked.. has the whole purpose and process and meaning of life within the lotus folds of its passion. The truth is that we are all, every one of us, every atom, every galaxy, and every particle of matter in the universe, moving toward God “

from the book ‘Shantaram’ by Gregory David Roberts