With the gruelling election campaign now over, Christmas provides an opportunity for all to relax and reflect on the most important things in life — friends, family and the lessons that the Christmas season provides.

Regardless of whether Bermuda's residents are Christian, belong to other faiths, have let their faiths lapse or are non-believers, there can be little doubt that the philosophy of Jesus Christ, apart from anchoring our laws and how we generally govern ourselves, are also valuable lessons for every day life.

Christ above all sought peace through the exercise of tolerance, mutual respect and above all the golden rule — that we should treat others as we would like to be treated. That is a profoundly powerful idea, contained in just a few words, and a standard from which it is all too easy to slip.

But it remains a worthwhile goal to aim for, and it is fair to assume that many Bermuda residents do try to apply it to their lives.

It requires keeping an open mind to different ideas, no matter how wrong or out of left field they may first seem to be, honouring the truth and forgiving the sins and transgressions of others, no matter how heinous or merely annoying they seem to be at first. All of this is much easier said than done; but it is important to be guided by this ancient advice.

We also need to remember, not just at Christmas, but throughout the year, both how fortunate we are to live here and just what a speck we are on the surface of the Earth. We are all guilty at times of coming to believe that our problems — as serious as they may be — have an overarching importance.

But compared to what people are going through from Darfur to Baghdad, or what it means to be dying from incurable diseases, from extreme poverty or under the yolk of dictatorships, Bermuda has much to be thankful for. Bermuda is far from perfect: but we have the potential to solve the problems we face, whether it is surviving in spite of the high cost of living, getting access to health care or healing the Island's racial divisions. That is not so elsewhere, where hope and optimism are often the first things to be lost.

Saying that it is better to give than it is to receive is such a well worn phrase, especially in an ever more materialistic world, that one hesitates to use it. But that fact does not remove its essential truth, nor the obligation of everyone who has benefited from Bermuda's success, to give back to the community, not just now, but throughout the year.

On that note, giving to the Buy Back Bermuda Campaign now and in the future will preserve valuable open space in Southampton and Shelly Bay for the enjoyment of future generations. This is a gift to the whole community.

There is no greater pleasure than seeing children enjoy all of the traditions of the Christmas season. But more than a new bike, clothes or the latest must have toy, we need to ensure that we give our children the tools they need for life; a solid and rigorous education, a sound moral compass and the sense that they have been put on this earth to help the less fortunate at home and abroad.

Bermuda's great wealth and success creates the real risk of creating a generation of children with a powerful sense of entitlement, but little concept of how that entitlement must be earned. The greatest gift all adults can give is the knowledge that our time here on Earth is not permanent. We have an obligation to help the less fortunate and the obligation to save the very earth we live on for future generations.

The staff of The Royal Gazette wish all of our readers a very merry Christmas.