The panic and bustle of the pre-Christmas rush is now a fading memory. The new year celebrations and subsequent return to work, school and the stress of normality are yet to come.
I find myself in a rare situation of having time with very little responsibility or duties that are required to fill it. It is pleasant, but the novelty always stirs a little bit of anxiety within me; a feeling that I should be more productive. I often yearn for a slower pace of life but can’t quite relax into it when it comes.
Such moments naturally lead to some reflection on what has gone before. I find myself dwelling on recent experiences of human nature, both the best and worst of it.
The days immediately prior to Christmas can be stressful for us all. I saw a number of incidents which reminded me of this as the holiday approached.
There was the traffic jam in the village where I live on Christmas week. One motorist’s ill-judged attempt to join a…
