Christmas is in full swing. I know that because I have a T-shirt with Father Christmas on which I wear with no shame.
And I have already been to two Christmas parties and done a school Christingle service. But for me I rarely get swept up by this season.
I love the time of year, but somehow for me I want to hold on to both the joy, and also the sadness. At Christmas time the isolation and loneliness which many are facing is somehow magnified.
So I hold on to the smiles on the faces of the children who came to see “Father Christmas” at Fernhill Heath last week (where I had a ringside seat – wink wink!).
But also the grief in the eyes of the parents I visited who had lost their baby and are distraught.
I throw myself into the Christmas spirit as the Salvation Army Band plays in the main entrance of the Worcester Royal; but share in the sadness of the people I meet in the foyer who I will take to the mortuary to see their loved one.
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I will watch Polar Express and The Snowman with my grandchildren; but I will be mindful of those who have no one to cuddle up with on the sofa and spend their Christmases alone.
And, of course, whilst I might have enough food and a warm home, I think of those (in increasing numbers it seems to me) who are homeless or in food poverty.
But perhaps it is not enough to just think and be mindful; it is a start, of course, but perhaps I need to take some actions. I think that if everyone does their little bit, small actions together can make big differences. That is why I started our hospital Christmas appeal for Worcester Foodbank and tried to make other small differences.
It will never be enough; I know that! But if we can’t make a difference at Christmas then perhaps we never will. Thinking leads to acts of love; and perhaps that is one of the central ideas of the festive season.
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