Feeling a bit depressed over the end of Christmas? Me too. It's natural but not forever.
Christmas brought out a lot of the worst in people, after all. Many people were concerned exclusively with their own small piece of the planet. Reportedly, people kept their seats on public buses despite the fact that pregnant women and older riders were standing. Other reports told of outright cruelty in a time of undeniable want and incontestable need. Many people walked right past other people, homeless, starving, and unwashed in the streets, on the sidewalks, and in the train stations so often that it wasn't even news.
Christmas also brought out the best in people. Kindness was everywhere and patience was abundant. Then the decorations came down. The lights were turned off and put away until next year. Plants that were decorations or gifts were dug into the yard, the lucky ones that did not find their way into a garbage can.
But Christmas itself was not put away until next year. The ways of living that so many people joyfully experienced in the days and weeks leading up to Christmas need not vanish with the decorations, the lights, and the plants. Acting with kindness independent of someone "earning" our kindness, and holding back in patience despite a provocation that we would have once convinced ourselves called for "letting someone have it" because they "deserved" it, or because we were "sharing our feelings" and so we felt we had a license to unload on the other, all good things do not have to come to an end on December 26th. They do not end with Christmas Day.
Here's to a Happy New Year this year, all year through! Here's to a Happy New Year with Christmas every month of the coming year!
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