There’s a lot of anger and hurt in the world right now, and I understand why but I worry about the long-term consequences. Whilst expressing the feelings is cathartic, negativity can end up fuelling negativity in a vicious spiral. Not a single person needs that weight right now. Today I want to reflect on finding the good – the diamonds – in our current circumstances, and showing patience and understanding toward others.

I’m talking, of course, as someone living in the UK and seeing the impact of the changed rules for Christmas. I’m currently in a tier 3 area and lucky enough to live near my family so we can still all see each other on Christmas day though we aren’t seeing any of our extended family like we usually would.

What happens after Christmas is something I’ve been worried about for a while, not only for myself but in general. The whole country has been talking in terms of wanting 2020 to be over with for a while and everyone’s been pointing to the joy of Christmas as a bright spot. For many of us, we started celebrating early – I started in November. The problem is that January was always too soon to be a respite and this new covid variant has been a horrible reality check for everyone. I can understand why people were, and still are, angry and upset at the lack of notice around something they’d been building themselves up to for a while.

Yet I want to take a moment to reflect that we’re in a society that was, and still is, chronically ill-equipped to cope with doing what we need to do. Our culture is one of booming hospitality and entertainment industries, full of nights out in theatres, pubs, bars, at gigs, or in restaurants. By day there are museums, shops, art galleries, bowling alleys, cinema, escape rooms, climbing, laser tag, spas, etc. Our media presents an ideal of earning so that you can do those things, and then the requirement to check in on social media so everyone else knows that you can do those things. The pandemic may have hurt the incomes of the hospitality and entertainment industries and their employees hardest, but it has hit the spirit of everyone.

I would not want to lead this country right now, not for anything. I would not want to have to make rules where there is a moral judgement required to decide between who needs the most. A judgement between, for example, protecting the vulnerable from the virus and protecting the vulnerable from depression. I would like it even less when those hypotheticals are being constantly converted into living examples of the human-beings effected.

I think we all keep forgetting that there are human-beings, prone to human error, making these decisions and rules. And this year, I’m not sure there have been any right answers to find, just an endless quest for the ‘least worst’ that has sometimes gone wrong. As a nation of independent adults, there’s a further complication in the perception of fairness and whether people are consistently following the rules once they’re set, too.

The thing is, setting those rules and whether other people follow them are both outside our immediate control. And if we’re doing what’s best for our mental health, we’re focusing on what we can control. I also think we should be focusing on much more than just Christmas Day.

So as one human-being to another, let us do what we can to be kind and find cause to celebrate right now. The pressure we’re under from the pandemic can be likened to the pressure that creates diamonds – let’s find our diamonds, and carry them with us into 2021 because the start of the year isn’t going to look much different for us.

Here are some ideas of what we may have found:

  • Additional time, not spent travelling, to devote to ourselves, family, friends etc.
  • Healthier eating, having lunches at home rather than limited to sandwiches.
  • Ways to connect virtually with people we’d previously lost touch with.
  • A more environmentally friendly way of working which can protect the planet.
  • A deeper ability to cherish the time we spend with our loved ones.
  • A deeper ability to cherish our local, natural beauty spots.
  • New or rediscovered hobbies and talents.
  • A greater ability to exist in the moment and value our present.
  • Stronger connection to our neighbours and local communities.

I want to end in wishing you a Merry Christmas, however you might be spending the day this year. I hope you can find some of those diamonds to take with you into 2021, and I look forward to when we all reach the point where we can safely see all of our loved ones again.