It is Christmas day if you are a Christian. (I am not so it is less significant for me). If you listen to all the talking heads on TV it is a time for goodwill and caring. Why only now at this time? Should we not be caring and have goodwill to others, all living creatures, the earth and all about us all the time. I suppose this is a reflection of the superficiality of life in our 'modern' times.

We went to see the final installment of the Lord of the Rings on Tuesday evening. This is just a fictional story, but one with a great message: truth, honesty and genuine enduring friendship is what life is all about. Power and wealth is nothing and can be lost in an instant, but pure friendship is till death and beyond.

It is a hapless dream that humanity could live in peace with one another and at peace with the earth, not exploiting each other or the earth, but living with mutual respect, trust and caring. Hapless it may be, but achieving it in little bits, wherever possible, makes this life better and worth living.