We have seen each year that the ideals implicit in the ‘Spirit of Christmas’ bring out the best in people.

Acts of kindness are never in short supply in Jamaica. Indeed, the feeling of giving and caring that Christmas engenders is stimulated by the hope of a better life for mankind that the birth of Jesus Christ brought to the world.

Throughout the past few weeks we have featured various acts of goodwill — corporate entities and individuals extending a helping hand to the less fortunate among us.

One of those instances was last Friday’s report of the experience of 24-year-old Mr Tirique Wade who, the day before, was offered a job as an ambulance driver trainee by Heart Institute of the Caribbean (HIC).

The job offer followed an Observer online report of the October 28 incident in which an ambulance driver suffered a fatal heart attack while en route to Andrews Memorial Hospital with a patient. With the ambulance without a driver, and other onlookers unable to operate vehicles with a stick-shift transmission system, Mr Wade stepped in and drove the ambulance to the hospital, saving the patient’s life.

There are, of course, other such gestures made by Jamaicans, many of whom do so without fanfare. Hopefully, that flow of the milk of human kindness will extend beyond the Yuletide, resulting in more of our people heeding the biblical instruction to ‘Love thy neighbour as thyself’ — a core tenet of the Christian faith.

To those who are extending a kind hand to others, we say well done. For, if those gestures of human compassion help to change the life of only one person for the better, it would have been worth the effort.

We acknowledge that the spirit of giving has not been made easy as the economy, while seeing some improvement, is not yet at the stage at which more Jamaicans can give in the manner they wish. That, though, is nothing to be ashamed of, because kindness is not measured only in the presentation of lavish gifts. A gift does not have to be material, and it does not have to be a purchased item. Indeed, real value can never be measured in monetary terms.

Perhaps more important than money is taking time to exercise care and consideration to anyone in need of help, especially the aged, children, and the disabled. A small act of kindness which costs you nothing can change a life or save a life.

Additionally, at this time, when we celebrate the birth of Christ, we can never stress enough the need to remember that there are vast numbers of poor and indigent people across the world, including our own Jamaican compatriots, who will not have anything to eat, as difficult as that is to fathom amidst plenty.

But even as we acknowledge and celebrate all the acts of kindness and love that come to the fore at this time of year, we must express deep sympathy to the people who have lost loved ones over the year, and especially those who felt the cruel sting of death in this season.

For them the pain must be extremely unbearable, coming at a time when people are in a festive mood and when the world is reflecting on a birth that signalled a new beginning.

So let us all spare a thought for our brothers and sisters who have suffered loss. Let us also take this opportunity to give the Almighty thanks for guiding us through the year, and pray that He will be with us throughout 2025.