Christmas Wishes from The Kitchen Witch...

It's not always about food.

Sometimes it's about love...

Ring Out, Wild Bells
A Christmas Poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;



The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.



Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:



The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.



Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,



Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;



Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.



Ring out the want, the care the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;



Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.



Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;

Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.



Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;

Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.



Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;

Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.



***

I believe there is more good in this world than bad.

That people are fundamentally compassionate and gentle underneath the layers of life they have had to bear.

That we each have a purpose and a reason for being here - at this time and in this place. And that with each new day we are given the gift of discovering what that purpose is, uncovering it's deeper meaning.

I believe we are each sacred, our lives, our hearts, and our souls, and that we have been charged at this time in history's humanity, with the possibility to change things.

I believe that the quickest path to changing the world around us is by changing ourselves.

Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote the poem above over one hundred years ago, and yet it's as relevant today as it was when he first put pen to paper.

And so today, on Christmas eve, my thoughts turn in this direction.

To the idea that if we could each make a commitment to start where we stand and try to live the best possible lives we can, the ripples of that decision will carry on and on and on.



We may not have the power to change the world's bigger picture, this is true, but we each have the power to change the world around us.

To walk in the truth of Love, Mercy, and Compassion - whether Christmas is our holiday or not.

I believe this message of love, hope, and peace is universal and is shared by all.



In honour of that I'd like to invite everyone to start Christmas Eve by listening to one of my favourite songs by one of my favourite artists.

I have purposely not chosen a Christmas song, and am instead hoping that anyone who happens to come across this blog will feel the spirit and the hope that lies beneath the trimming and decorations.

Lend your voices, my friends, only to sounds of freedom...

Merry Christmas.