Primal Anything

Late yesterday the wind started up and reached a pitch of howling that made me wonder if something was going to fly right through the walls.  Once nature gets in full swing neither man nor beast can withstand the power generated by it.  While past years’ powerful horrors fade away the events of 2013 are still very vivid in people’s minds.  The Alberta floods are still being felt around the south, especially in my neck of the woods with people still without homes.  Just over the past week Ontario has suffered a horrendous ice storm that made it’s way further along to Quebec and the Maritimes.  Around the world there were amazing floods in Europe, typhoons in the Philippines and Asia, earthquakes in South America.  The list goes on.

Political upheaval continued in the Middle East, Korea continues to cause concerns, closer to home we had scandals in the Senate and a mayor in Toronto who made international news.  Human behaviour is as unpredictable and uncontrollable as the weather.  Primal lust in the form of greed is evident every day although our psyches are so desensitized by it that we can no longer feel enraged or shocked.

So here we are in the midst of the Christian world’s celebration of the birth of one who represents Peace on Earth and Goodwill toward Men.  At the same time we reflect on the events of the past year and somehow, once again, we see that things just do not jive.  Recently a man passed away who, in death, was celebrated as someone who “changed the world”, someone who made a difference.  I speak, of course, of Nelson Mandela.  I refrained from commenting on his passing not out disrespect for the man, but in respect for the nameless and countless others who have also fought for freedom in one form or another but who will never be recognized.  And as we reflect on the year that has gone by, let’s also reflect on what we, as tiny individuals, can do to make the world a better place.

To quote Frank Capra’s John Doe:

“Now, why can't that spirit, that same, warm Christmas spirit last the whole year around? Gosh, if it ever did, if each and every John Doe would make that spirit last 365 days out of the year, we'd develop such strength, we'd create such a tidal wave of good will that no human force could stand against it.”