Cass

It's not a personal failing.

Even small connections like a call to a friend, a walk with a neighbor or volunteering, these things can make a meaningful difference.

If you're listening and you're feeling lonely, I'd encourage you to give yourself compassion.

And if you're listening and you know someone amongst your community or your family or friends who is struggling at this time of year, who is particularly lonely, then I'd encourage you to take just a little bit of time to reach out to that person.

It could be as simple as a phone call or visiting someone, maybe for a short amount of time.

I think even a small gesture of kindness towards people, it helps them to feel less alone.

I know I have an uncle who lives alone and I don't get to see him as much as I'd like to nowadays, but I'm going to make an effort this weekend to get up and visit him before Christmas and I look forward to seeing him as well.

So

Yeah, just encourage you to think about if you notice someone struggling, then maybe reach out to them, you know, maybe take them out for a cuppa or something like that.

So whether you celebrate Christmas, another tradition or none at all, I want to offer you goodwill, kindness and warmth this season.

And I was thinking earlier today about all the different ways people celebrate or don't celebrate at this time of year.

And I wanted to talk about our common humanity.

So for all the differences we have in appearance, in cultures, customs, the locations where we live, we are all more similar than we are different.

So despite our differences, we all share a fundamental human experience.

We may live in different locations around the world.

We may experience different traditions and customs, culture, but we're all human.

We may look different on the outside, but we have more in common than we have different.

So common humanity is this concept that recognises that everyone is

No matter what you look like or where you live in the world, everyone desires happiness, love, connection with others and fulfillment.

And all humans, no matter how rich or famous you are, suffer at various points in life.