It is difficult to avoid the commercialisation of a modern Christmas. There are of course many positive aspects to Christmas; for those with Christian beliefs the fundamental “reason for the season” is reason enough.   For those whose beliefs might be different, the tradition of gift giving provides the opportunity to think of others and what they might value.    For one of our family, who is about to embark on travel in South America, we thought that a book by Chris Ryan titled “How to stay safe in a dangerous world” would be appropriate. When traveling, Ryan advocates remaining vigilant about your surroundings and aware of possible threats. Most importantly he encourages his readers to develop strategies to deal with the unexpected. He also notes that sometimes the safest course of action can feel counterintuitive. Much of his advice seems common sense, but I guess the interesting thing about common sense is that sometimes it only appears “common” in retrospe...