[Oe List ...] A Howard Thurman quote

[LAURELCG@aol.com]

There is a need in the human spirit for the salutation of life.
It is the act of celebration that provides a personal and collective
awareness of the place and significance of the individual in its
continuity, in the flow of life itself.  This sense of continuity
is the ultimate windbreak against the ever-present threat of isolation
and separation from the surrounding environ.  The true meaning
of Christmas is expressed in the sharing of one's graces in a world
which is so easy to become callous, insensitive and hard.
Once this spirit becomes part of a person's life, every day is Christmas
and every night is freighted with anticipation of the dawning of fresh 
and perhaps holy, adventure.

                    Howard Thurman