In a conversation about the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu with my husband this morning, he shared a YouTube video of the Archbishop with the Dalia Lama. A joyous collection of warm and colourful images that give us a glimpse of the relationship between these two spiritual icons.

The conversation moves seamlessly from death to joy and back again. Half-way through the 2-minute video the interviewer asks what it is about their friendship with each other that allows them to have this kind of extraordinary joy. The response from both men is playful to start with. “He’s always troubling me” Desmond Tutu jokes.

They become more serious and reflective, even holding hands at one point. “He’s there for us as a beacon” Desmond Tutu adds with a tone of reverence. I was captivated by the intimate display of spiritual unity. Then, just as the short video ends, the Dalia Lama turns to Desmond Tutu and says with utter conviction:

The week between Christmas and the New Year often takes on an ‘other-worldly’ quality. Retreat and introspection are bundled soporifically between festive book ends. The world slows down creating space for reflection. 

This kind of benign introspection doesn't take much effort. It would be easy to discount festive downtime as 'cerebral idling'. But it serves an important role in creating distance and bringing perspective to our otherwise hectic lives.  

For those committed to life-long learning, reflection plays an important role. Margaret Wheatley sums it up in her customary no-nonsense manner:

“Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences and failing to achieve anything useful”.