And so... it's Christmas 🎄
With the world getting more complicated and so much angst being spread around, it’s time to take stock of the simple things in life that gift us enjoyment and provide us with real happiness.
Perhaps that is what we need on our Christmas list – an inventory of the things we know that make us and others happy, that bring peace for us all.
A Christmas reflection
The Christmas story starts with three wise men, but why were these men considered to be wise?
It is truly astounding this last year how many of us human beings, mainly the loudest ones, seem to have no idea what wisdom is anymore, or why it is more important to aspire to than an opinion formed from self-interest and what we think.
Wisdom is a form of intelligent knowledge based on the understanding of cause and effect from our actions. Wisdom is not exclusive to any belief system or religious piety. It is present when it is logical, equitable and applies to anyone.
The antithesis to “wise” is to be “foolish”. How many of us can distinguish between what is foolish and what is wisdom these days?
When many agree with each other that something would benefit themselves individually, they are not necessarily agreeing that an opinion should benefit everyone else equally. The only thing they may have in common is that they are part of a group representing their individual self-interest. When this benefit is not distributed equally, then the group is lost and fractures into other groups. This is the bane of Social Media – people shaming, intimidating and harassing others to express their view – also referred to now as “Cancel Culture”.
Perhaps us humans could start by giving less concern about the difference of our personal opinions, by taking care not to react or seek out the offensive, by responding with the simple principle of intending to, and actually doing no harm, this will immediately provide benefits for us and for everyone around us.
Minds that take care with how they think can become the happiest minds of all. Let’s be kind for ourselves and be kind for others. It is not necessary to be religious or have any belief system to know that this is a logical and sustainable way for us to survive in the only “here and now”, that we share and know.
The team at Wisefocus Designs wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas time, and a happy new year. Let’s hope the new year is more about being kind to ourselves while being kind for others.
