Christmas amid climate catastrophe: Serenity of stillness

WE Sri Lankans are showing solidarity in recovering from the devastating Ditwah, one of the worst climate catastrophes ever seen.

- By Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri

It is not just a time to relax and refresh, but also to reflect and to reinforce.Despite the overly commercial coverage of Christmas, the true serenity associated with spirituality is still significant. As someone boldly said the other day, Christmas is certainly not the Santa’s Birthday. Let us reflect on it further.

A “manger” in the little town of Bethlehem became world famous because of Christmas. I think it is high time to be brilliant on basics in responding to the call to be spiritual. It supersedes traditional religious boundaries. In essence, Christmas invites us to awaken ourselves towards spirituality. I would call this a message from “manger” to “managers”.

Let us see what spirituality from a management perspective. It involves a term for many beliefs and practices intended to develop one’s inner life. It is associated with a feeling of interconnectedness. In other words, it is the vital principle that gives breadth of life to physical organism.

A time for living, a time for believing

A time for trusting, not deceiving,

Love and laughter and joy ever after

Ours for the taking, just follow the master:

The above is an extract from one common Christmas carol we hear, "Mistletoe and Wine". It was made popular as a single by Cliff Richard. We observed how many corporates committed in organising Christmas carols during recent weeks. It has become not a mere annual ritual but a deeper organisational phenomenon in strengthening employee engagement. Participating in carols is a demonstration of unity, solidarity, and team collaboration as a set of professional colleagues. In turn it helps the needy in the society as well.

The essence here is synergy in action, leaving aside differences.

This has clear connection to what management scholars termed as “spiritual intelligence.”