Brotherhood of Men


Sitting here in the shade of a newly awakened Christmas night, enjoying the childish enthusiasm delivered right after the final stroke – ‘t is a new day. And the best one of all, I write with a borrowed pen as I look up and down at the little yellow light dancing around in our Christmas tree. Charmed, happy, cheerful. And just because of this one day that’s mark quite festively in all our calendars. For there is no day like today. No, not really. Not even my birthday can compare. For everyone all over the world; relatives, dear friends and strangers alike all celebrate this glorious day. Where the things most worth celebrating, the things most precious to us play a leading role. Love, peace and understanding. Loyalty to your family and loved ones and mercy where you should allow it. Like a cloud it floats around, shaking us, making us come to our senses. Forcing us to recognize the principles on which we so much rely. And for one perfect moment it all becomes clear. We feel closer to each other and closer to ourselves. In a brief moment where we share an honest smile, in a glance and a nod that transport the love in our own hearts to the next. And the next and yet the next. A chain reaction of positive attention and admiration. Not just because we allowed ourselves to open up the window to our fragile hearts, but because of our motivation to do so. We still believe. In kindness, in dreams, laughter and sunshine; a brotherhood of men. And, I dare say, if this light shines so brightly in us, just like those darling little yellow ones we so much enjoy, then this world can’t be that wretched a place, can it? There must still be room to breathe and flourish. Indeed, there must be hope left. For the world we know and that of our sons and daughters. And maybe even theirs again. For there is much that can be said for us, for the selfish, irrational ways we can behave… for the important things we have lost track of during the course of time. Man will always be fuelled by emotion more than anything. Not ambition, not prosperity nor skill. Feelings are what make us real, what causes us to stand out and connect. What makes us care. They are what makes our blood flow, our hearts beat, our minds want and our bodies yearn. For things beyond reason and time or space. Togetherness, fondness. Those are the things we are after in life. Our truest if not noblest goal. Even if some of us might not yet have come to realize it. They will. For we all belong to a family outside of our own. And therefore I speak with a smile, while admiring our Christmas tree. “If we have not yet lost our will to laugh, to trust, to love… this world is not a hopeless place. It is only if we decide to settle for less than we desire or deserve that it is a hopeless case.”