I was in the shop this week at the end of a tiring day trying to reach something at the back of the top shelf but it was just too far, even when I jumped… a tall stranger came by and asked what he could get for me. It was a small gesture of kindness, but it made me smile and instantly lifted my mood.

The year certainly started on a stormy note for Parkes, and with COVID remaining in the daily news headlines, it is easy to get discouraged about what lies ahead for us in 2021. Last year taught us about the value of kindness, and my hope is that all of us will aim to perform as much kindness as we can this year to make our community even better.

Please let us know about your stories of kindness. We would love to publish them!

Maggi

It’s time to lift our spirits, raise a glass to happiness.
For Christmas is upon us, when joys o’ertop our stress.
Time to embrace Santa, reindeer, snow and Christmas cards
(Though the greeny-greys and browns outside sometimes make it hard)
Time for harvesting, for gathering in
Be it grain, or the year’s ideals.
Though some deny it, many share the excitement that I feel.

Current happenings in our world we find a little fearsome
Package up your doubt and fears,
But don’t put them on the tree.
Place boxes holding Peace and Joy,
Or filled with Love to spare.
Then watch those first two slink away
They have no business there.

Welcome all our newcomers, it’s sometimes hard to do.
To reach out from our safe little world
When beset by changes new.
But new friends bring a richness
That may catch us unaware.
As we swap our knowledge, we may find It’s a privilege to share.

Be humble, but not servile. We should all feel satisfaction
When good comes from a word or deed
A comfort, a kind action.
It isn’t glory-seeking, it’s a case of “job well done”
The profit is the thanks you get – it comes back to everyone.
Nurture friends, and help them,
You will get the same from them.
Remember, times were also tough in the days of Bethlehem.

Enough lecturing – It’s Christmas time!
Leave behind all thought of stress.
What matters if it’s noisy? Christmas wrappings make a mess.
It’s time for joyous homecomings
Laughter, peace and simple fun.
My message to you all is… GOD BLESS YOU – EVERYONE!

By Heather Veal

We hear, “Do not fear!” Though corona is here
It’s important to hold on to hope.
The lessons we adhere, Come from yesteryear
When we ask, “How did they cope?”
How in 1914, A war yet unseen
Engaged more than two nations.
The decade’s young blood, Spilled forth in the mud
Shaking the globe’s foundations.
For over four years, The world shed more tears
Until the fighting was through;
In the newfound peace, Surely death will cease,
Except now there was Spanish flu.
This flu had four waves, And filled way more graves
Than the years of the Great War;
While the 20s decade, Seemed like an upgrade
It ended how no one foresaw.
Stock prices degression, Saw a worldwide depression
29% were unemployed.
The nations arose, And fascism grows
Soldiers were again redeployed.
Humanity’s worst, Flowing out from the First
Saw the second war last for six years.
When it finally ended, some nations unfriended,
And Communism dominated our fears.
“We’re better off dead, than becoming a red”
Both sides feared potential invasion.
More fighting henceforth, ‘Tween South and North
The battlegrounds now were Asian.
The threat of the bomb, Gave way to dot-com
New tech became the new norm.
As we look to the past, How did the world last
From turmoil of 100 years
Humanity’s brilliance, Is birthed in resilience
As hope overcomes all fears.
So do not forget, it’s best not to fret
Smile and use plenty of soap!
Today’s scary mystery, will one day be history
The future asks, “How did they cope?”

By Dan Fredericks