In the occidental world, the world where I was born, where I grew up and have always lived, Christmas and the New Year are joyous holidays, time for exchanging wishes of happiness. Even when the year has been sad, hard, painful, dramatic; for this very reason, we feel the desire to have hope for better days. Here I am again, to participate in this campaign of optimism.
Recently, we have seen the last strongholds of many ideas and actions that transformed the world in the 20th century extinguish, and now we face many new and difficult challenges in the current century.
Born in the middle of the 20th century, I already consider myself a “survivor”. I don't feel old, although the "machine" sometimes wobbles, but it is undeniable that those who reach my age are no longer young, nor in the head, as some say. Having lived for so many years, even the most distracted person gains an experience that only elders can have, of course.
Throughout my life, I saw several generations passing. I knew my great-grandmother, who was born in 1877. The fact of having known a person from that old time, among other things, gives shape to a certain personal database, doesn't it? Even if I didn't want to, even without being obstinate on reading history books, I acquired a significant historical knowledge of customs. People of my generation have witnessed great events, discoveries, artistic and social movements, technological and scientific advances, wars; we were there when these events took place in the 1900s.
It is normal to think that we know a lot of things but, in the end, it makes little difference. Finally, it is important just for ourselves. This "era" is coming to an end, the face of the Earth has new faces, and ideas are changing. There is no point in wanting old concepts and customs to prevail. It is normal and healthy for there to be changes, for there to be progress in human society.
I hope that young people can discover the importance of their time, with their own challenges, which are enormous. May they not postpone their responsibilities as agents of the future. In a very short time we, the elders, will no longer be there, neither to help nor to disturb. I wish they would get rid of the rancid and harmful thoughts of the past century, that are still present, with futile stubbornness, keeping their last gasps. I do not want to say that the past is bad, on the contrary, it grants us wisdom.
I wish the citizens of next year a bright future. May they know how to use their energy to perfect good results and not dwell on mistakes. And, above all, that they can try to innovate, without forgetting a very old instrument which has never been well used by us, even if it has been proclaimed and are still being proclaimed: Love... "Whoever has ears, let them hear." (Matthew 13:9)
Let's all try to act in solidarity, to control warlike instincts, instead of fomenting them. We must unite with common goals, for the good of humanity, for our good. New communication technologies can help us a lot if we don't use them in a malicious way.
May this special moment of our planet, in its orbit around the sun, keeping life and death in this vicious circle so beautifully dependent on the sun's rays, may it help us to see how small we are and, at the same time, great enough to understand it.
Finally, I want to share with everyone the best energy I have: the faith that makes me believe in LIFE without death, beyond anything we can perceive. The commemoration of the birth of Baby Jesus at this time of the year was very well chosen, the analogy is good. The light of the sun, from which we went far away and that left us in the freezing cold, will return to the north of this world, bringing hope back to our hearts.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
