Another festive season is here, yet in the excitement of celebrations, gifts and grandeur, we are inclined to forget the real spirit of Christmas - or Diwali or Id.

The common factor in all these celebrations is light. Some burn candles, others oil-lamps, either as decorations or as an obeisance to God. People of deep faith observe their religion's rites with devotion, others with a sense of ritual.

All are in search of their spiritual nature and a connection to God.

Light is a symbol of happiness and joy, hence the traditional saying from the Vedas, the sacred Hindu texts: "From darkness (ignorance) to light (knowledge of truth), from untruth to truth, from death to immortality, please lead us, O Lord!".

What we have forgotten is the only thing without which there can be no knowledge, wisdom or any religion: Love.

Yesterday I saw two people in distress because of severe family problems. Distress has probably become a more common disease than heart disease in society and I have added this to my list of medical diagnoses.

Several patients I have seen in the past week have developed high blood pressure or heart disease as a result of living in constant conflict and prolonged emotional distress.

Man seems to have become his own worse enemy. Instead of breeding trust and confidence in each other, which might promote a better civilisation and happier society, we are constantly on the watch for some trickery from our fellow humans.

We are trapped in a socio-economic structure imposed on us by politicians and corporate bodies which respect us as "valued customers" - but this can be harmful to our physical, mental and financial health.

Because I feel a "valued child" of God or the Creative Energy, Christmas to me is a reminder of His unfailing love - the ageless, timeless quality we have destroyed with our crooked minds and limited thinking.

Christmas is a time to celebrate the great, invaluable commodity of love and we do this by giving. Love is still alive in most of us and we show it to each other by giving gifts, even when we may be short of cash.

The sense of sacrifice for someone else's happiness is a sign of true love.

Christ is remembered for the ultimate sacrifice: His own life for the sake of humanity. People who sacrifice their lives for others are very brave.

This Christmas, I would like you to join me in prayer, wherever you are, for their bereaved relatives, that God may remember them and heal them:

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." St John (10:27)