Midwinter Greetings to you dear reader. I hope we find you safe and well in spite of the turbulent times. I want to invite you all to step into my imagining of midwinters of long ago; when the winds were biting, the frosts hard and the snow lay deeply all around.

In this world of long ago, families gathered around the blessed warmth of the fireside to tell stories, share the lore of their own people and teach the children their ways, so that they too might live long, healthy lives no matter what happened in the world around them.

2020 is bringing us a taste of that history and we are being called to release our attachment to ‘The Joy of Sparkly Things’, take refuge within ourselves, and dig deep to find who we really are.

Reach out to those less fortunate than you

This midwinter we are being called to offer our children safety and support like never before: to answer questions honestly, to face harsh truths and encourage them to truly find the gift within the struggle. Now is a time of bringing the light into the darkness, of reaching out to those less fortunate and sharing whatever we have with those in need. This year Yule Celebrations must surely focus around meeting the needs of everyone in society rather than simply meeting our own desires?

Gathering items for the food bank, donating warm clothes to those who are cold, giving toys and small joyful tokens to those who have nothing this year, and supporting any opportunity you can to share your own abundance is the siren-call of Christmas 2020.

Discover your best self: kind, generous, compassionate and determined. Give your children the ‘Gift of Giving’ this year in its deepest and most powerful form, for this will certainly be a Christmas to remember, rather than the clichéd Best Christmas Ever.

We all have it within us to make good out of bad, to shine light into dark corners and to make a difference. Christmas-time 2020 is asking you, ’How can you be a light in someone else’s life this year? What do you have to share? How much of a difference will you make?’

2020 has not taken away our humanity

There has been so much isolation this year that simply acknowledging strangers with a smile, noticing those around you, connecting and being willing to listen for a while will hold so much value for those who are lonely and struggling.

2020 has brought us a lot to cope with, but it has not taken away our humanity or our hearts. So please, this year, share your heart, share your blessings and open up a world of generosity and heart-centred caring for your children to build their own lives upon. Yule Blessings one and all. Stay safe and be happy.