For me, the mantle from Jane arrived gracefully into my inbox, amongst the clatter and craziness of pre-xmas preparations. It was wrapped in heartfelt words...and a gentle (yet important) reminder for me to dive more deeply into my experiences during this holy day of my own creation.

At the time I wondered if I could...hold this space...while so much else was happening around me, pulling at me with fast paced distractions and "to do" lists. What a joy it was then to be gifted this opportunity to "do life" differently.

And so I did....the doing...and the sharing...with a deep awareness of how the gift of life and the art of giving can be honoured in sustainable and creative ways that build hope for the future.

As my hands remodelled the recylced timber I was using to create a gift for my sister I prayed for our planet....our mother...and thanked her for this moment of intimate connection with something of her creation.

And then something of "my creation" wandered into my day. My 23yr old son, full of insights, questions and reflections that he was taking from reading "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight", which had led him to offer "acts of service" as his Xmas gifts.

And in that moment....my heart filled with wonder and gratitude for the journey of creation that I had shared with this young man, that now had him picking up the mantle of "care-giving", in his own way...of his own accord.

I finished the day with this prayer in my heart....for the next cycle of the Wellkeepers...and for the next generation of wise and courageous souls who may join our global community. May our tending of the wellspring of hope provide others with the understanding and support they need to find more creative and meaningful ways to honour the "gift of life" we have all been given.