Hi everybody.

This short segment is what we call for the good of the order.

It's something we used to do at the end of my sorority meetings, if you can believe that,

where someone would share something that they came across in the course of the week, a poem, a song lyric, a short story, that they found enormously helpful as they went about daily life.

And I wanted to pick up the thread because I am so often wowed by something I see in the world

that I want to bring back and hand off to you.

So every Friday we produce a short segment called for the good of the order.

Think of it like an audio greeting card, a thing to share with the people that you love around the country

who you don't get to see or talk to enough. A thing to discuss with the people you do see and talk to

on a more regular basis.

This is Kelly Corrigan Wonders for the good of the order. As the holiday season kicks in in earnest, here's a short list of things to keep handy.

Throat lozenges, scotch tape, a dust buster, blankets, and plenty of extra forgiveness.

Surely my family's upcoming gatherings won't be the only ones where guests might abhor one

another's positions on vaccines or build back better, and that's to make no mention

of the painful conflicts that pass between family members over a lifetime.

As we brace for conflict, and maybe nurse grudges, we would be wise to consider a posture of grace.

If and when a full amnesty for past wrongs or current wrongheadedness isn't possible, I strive to

separate the offender from the offense. That way I can more easily muster compassion for

the actor, even if I can't manage clemency for the act. It's worth

remembering also that we practice forgiveness all the time. We forgive our parents for

not understanding when we're joking, for worrying about the wrong things,

for asking what Tik-Tok is and rolling their eyes when we mention health care or climate change or

...