[????] The Christmas Truce

I am not a wimp, but I've learned that all of life is not about anger either. There are only so many times you can say 'I told you so' before you become a characterization. Lifting a word of warning is one thing. Stating what you believe is another. And yet, I think sometimes looking back at those magic moments in the world where people WERE able to overcome their difficulties and differences helps.

Especially in the darkest of times.

The Christmas Truce is a famous story often told around Christmas, about a Christmas eve long ago where the Germans and Allies stopped their fighting and put it aside for one night to have a spot of good will between them. I think the elements of culture the two sides shared helped make this possible. Sometimes sharing a moment together can make a difference.

I think the thing that makes this particularly poignant for me is....its not like they didn't hate each other. I mean seriously, read the propaganda at the time. They went so far as to rename everything German with an Americanized name. Furthermore, there was so much animosity on the side of the allies, that when Germany surrendered they saddled it with a debt so crushing that, when combined with the depression forced the people to accept whatever crazy ideas came along that would give them hope.

And we all know how that went.

So the fact that this happened was amazing. It was, literally, in my mind a miracle.

Miracles happen. They do exist. Its hard to understand them, but miracles happen sometimes. Although, in this context, the larger elements still stayed in play. That is to say, the miracle was a window in time where man acted in his best possible nature, but the historical tides before it and after it continued.

I've had miracles in my life, but many of them have been brief respites such as this rather than lasting life changing events that lasted for the better. In one instance in particular, I was able to be an instance of benevolence in someone else's life and (I hope) make it better, but I paid for it with a week or two of near starvation.

Miracles often come with costs attached, but that doesn't mean that they don't happen, and they're important to recognize when they do. I'm not speaking from a supernatural perspective but purely a spiritual one. There is something in us that needs to recognize wonder and beauty when we see it, for otherwise why are we really here? I argue that it is the moments of wonder in life that matter most, not the mundane ones; even if the work in the mundane times is what often makes wonder possible.