Brotherly and sisterly love: that’s the ultimate message of Christmas, I think.

Wrote James A Long in his Yuletide Reflections, “Once again we find ourselves in that season of the year when nature compels our attention in the direction of good will towards others, that period when a wholesome spirit of giving finds its most natural expression.”

It’s not perfect, of course. Not all will respond to that tug of nature. The golden rule will be broken countless times on Christmas Day, but perhaps not quite as often as the day after.

Still, for many, Christmastime is a reminder that love is a primal principle. We are not born with animosity and anger in our hearts. We are born with love in our hearts. Just look into the face of a newborn and you will see it. It’s so pure.

The soul whose birth date many celebrate on Dec. 25 once said of children: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

If only we could find an easy way to keep that purity throughout our lives.

Jesus, whether he be fact or fiction, felt we can do it. It was an ideal, of course. But doable if we apply a few simple golden rules in our lives.

Yes, it seemed so simple back them. “Love thy neighbour.” “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

If everybody was on board, you’ve got Paradise.

It was a beautiful message then, and a beautiful message now. It strikes a chord in something that is in our hearts from the beginning, as George Harrison sang about in Love Comes to Everyone.

There in your heart
Something that’s never changing
Always a part of
Something that’s never aging
That’s in your heart

These are my thoughts on Christmas Eve 2019, and the feeling that I must do better in the year ahead. I must remember to practise those golden rules in every thought and action. I must not forget.

Yes, it is a gift, a timely reminder of what I am supposed to be doing.

So, here’s to Jesus for his timeless message.

Je t’aime

— Jillian