MY OUTRAGEOUS CHRISTMAS FANTASY

I wake up Christmas morning and stumble towards my coffee maker. I look outside into the darkness in the vain hope that there will be a little snow outside, but no, as expected everything is green and damp. Considering that I live in the midst of temperate rain forest this isn't so strange.

Out of the corner of my eye though I do catch a glimpse of something that is not a usual part of the familiar landscape outside my window; dangling across the busy intersection near my house I see a large banner that reads "WAR IS OVER! (If You Want It) Happy Christmas from John and Yoko".

Later on I look online and pretty well every major news outlet and blog reports the same story. In almost every major city around the globe there are reports of tens of thousands of such posters, in 100's of languages posted on buildings, bill boards and on any large structure of prominence.

There is a lot of speculation around how this campaign could have been coordinated so quickly, and the massive volume of posters appearing is staggering to the imagination. No one claims responsibility, and it seems that they appeared over night. Yoko Ono is equally perplexed about how this happened and had no advanced awareness of this. There is also no record on the internet of any conversation about this in the days leading up to Christmas.

A collective pause occurs around the globe, and we all seem to take a deep breath. Countless numbers of us are in awe and suddenly dare to feel hopeful. Questions long suppressed are brought back to life and real dialogue begins to take shape in the days that follow. We dare to ask if it is perhaps OK to rethink the way we have shaped our world thus far.

Conflicts around the globe continue for a little while , though their numbers dissipate dramatically. Our leaders quickly begin to realize that their free passes have expired and new rules of conduct are formed. Differences begin to gradually fade into obscurity.

Most cities around the globe agree to preserve at least one of the posters in a prominent civic or symbolic location, as a permanent reminder of the wild and outrageous dreams that appeared overnight and changed our reality forever.

Christmas is forever changed as well. Millions pledge to stop buying presents, and instead every Christmas morning post messages of hope in the form of wild and fantastic art and poetry plastered as gifts for everyone over all of our communities.

This is my crazy, naive and completely unreal fantasy. A worthwhile endeavour despite the odds....