Six weeks ago in Sydney, Australia, a mother parked her car in a primary school car park and accidentally hit the accelerator. The car crashed into a classroom full of children killing two 8 year old boys. It can only be described as a horrific tragedy.

Several days after the accident, Raed Darwiche, the father of one of the boys killed, expressed his forgiveness of the driver. He invited Maha Al-Shennag to join his family for a meal explaining in a video message that forgiveness was “the way a proper Muslim acts in a time of calamity and tribulation…[The family] are telling everyone out there – forgive her, it’s an honest mistake. It could have happened to any one of us.”

In a year that seems to have left so much planetary vitriol and bitterness in it’s wake, I was deeply moved when I read the father’s comments. What more can one say other than it’s important to step back from the toxic, ego driven insanity of the world; take a deep breath, settle the mind and reflect on our lives. How are we responding and acting to world events and people in our lives? Are we bringing a more compassionate deportment into our hearts; minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day?

By honestly answering these questions, we can be faithful that the traditional wisdom of our humanity will serve us all, in good times and bad.

My very best to you on your continuing journey…
See you in 2018
Christopher James Wild