01 Jan Merry Christmas from NatMed!
What is Christmas for you?
For too many of us it is a time of falling into Christmas day in an exhausted heap after school wind-ups, rushing to finalise work commitments that were due yesterday, attending about three too many social “get-togethers” and behind that smile lies the true desire to swap the heels for a pair of fluffy slippers, a cuppa and an early night, and to top it off – cramming in that last minute christmas shopping on a budget with throngs of others all looking strung out and the very opposite of peace, joy and goodwill to all.
For me Christmas this year has been about new beginnings – one month into a new job at NatMed; my first ever blog….you’re reading it; and the realisation that Christmas is about celebrating Christ’s birth – Christ-mas, a new beginning. The wonder of a baby wrapped in swaddling cloth and lying in a manger. It is a simple and humble message – no tinsel, no crown, no palace, no crowds. It strips away all “the stuff” that we cram our life with…no chaos. “Silent night, holy night – all is calm, all is bright”. The message is one of peace – something we all need more of. I was reminded of this peace at Carols by Candlelight on Sunday at the Cottesloe Civic Centre – some four thousand people drawn together, singing “Silent Night” and waving their candles – beautiful shining lights in the night sky, that lit up faces – men, women and children alike – alive and full of joy, it was a spirit moment. It stands in stark contrast to the terror of the past few weeks with the loss of innocent lives at the Lindt cafe in Sydney, the tragic murder of eight children at the hands of their drug-affected mother, and the loss of 148 children to Taliban in Peshawar. In these difficult times we need to replace fear with peace. May I encourage you to welcome a spirit of peace into your lives this Christmas by doing less, be still. Enjoy the beauty around you – the blue of the sea, a cool breeze, ponder an insect, make time for the wonder of children, get up early and enjoy the solitude of the morning, undisturbed. Reflect on what is.
Christmas is also about hope. Hope is the anticipation of something good for the future. To experience this hope first hand – just watch the anticipation of children on Christmas Eve, the eagerness for what awaits them in the morning – very early morning for most! Hope believes that life is a gift and that with each new day we have the freedom to put the past behind us, lay our burdens down, and choose to live today differently – a little kinder, a little less angry, a little more positive, a little less critical, a little more loving… and as we go along- these “little’s” result in a better and brighter world for yourself and those around you – because life is connected and what we choose to do to others – we choose to do to ourselves. Love a little more and it is like a boomerang – it always returns.
May the Peace and Hope of Christmas be with you as you reflect on the year past and consider the new year ahead.
Best Wishes,
Jodie Huston and the whole team at NatMed
