It's amazing how quickly the time goes in the run-up to Christmas - we all seem to be busy shopping, writing cards, wrapping presents and catching up with old friends.  Sometimes it's difficult to sit down and think about the true spirit of Christmas.  Christmas is a Christian celebration of course, but apart from that I always feel it should be a time when we can count our blessings and maybe reflect on what we have achieved (or not!) in the past year.  I know I've learned a lot about myself during this past 12 months, not least of which is that I can deal with whatever life throws at me, which makes me a stronger person.

One of the things I've learned over the past few years is the impact of what you say to people, and how you choose your words can make a huge difference.  I've had to be the bearer of good, bad and sad news this year and I've really had to think about what I'm saying and how I say it, which can be very tricky.  Of course, when you have to write this information in a letter or email it's even harder in some ways to get the right meaning across.  I read quite a lot forums and discussion boards and sometimes I look at what people have written and wonder if they have really stopped and thought about the impact of their words on the people who are reading it - even with the use of smilies it's sometimes hard to know if someone is joking or being serious with the written word.

I guess we're all guilty of sometimes opening our mouths, or writing a response to someone without really thinking about what we're doing. Something I've learned over the years is not to immediately respond to something that might upset me or make me angry or sad, but to reflect on how I should reply because quite often my initial reaction is not really how I feel once I've thought about what's been written.  One of my wishes for this time of the year is that maybe some people will stop and think about others and try to see things from their point of view rather than immediately verbally attacking them if they've done something you don't like or agree with.  I'd also like people who always have to see the negative side of things to be able to be a bit more positive in the future.  I can always dream!