My Friends

My friends in China,

A very happy lunar new year to you and your families.

I miss you.

Covid 19 and geo-politics have conspired to disrupt friendships.

Relationships of trust, respect and affection that have been built over many years;

Brought to dust by politicians on both sides who do not understand how to build the things that bind, excelling only in things that divide.

I yearn for my friends along that golden delta, who have taught me grace, history and the value of effort.

The benefits and grace that hard work and a yearning heart can render,

Change, freedom and a self-determining future;

That brings hope to the hopeless, power to the powerless and wealth to the poor.

To you my friends in China and to friends everywhere, I say; may the year of the Golden Ox result in benefit for the common good. May the year reward us all for our diligent work, and may it instill in us all a shared loyalty to humanity and our planet.

May our dreams and toil to make the world a better place for all result in a better palace for all.