Holiday spirit! Hold it in your heart every day of the year -- enjoy our differences, appreciate friends and family and celebrate the joy of life

Bruce Keller and Christene "Cookie" Meyers wish you a holiday filled with love and appreciation for our differences. May the spirit of the holidays bond us, giving tolerance and a richer understanding of each other.

Story By Christene Meyers

Photos By Bruce Keller

"The Carpe Diem Kids"

FRIENDS, FAMILY and travel are what we most cherish.

The holiday season, we express our gratitude for the people who mean the most to us -- family, of course, but also friends around the world of many faiths and persuasions. We are thankful to be able to visit and learn from them while expanding our global perspective.

In Indonesia, Cookie and Keller visited many temples, with respect and curiosity. Balinese Hinduism is the predominant religion in the province of Bali, while Islam is the predominant religion in Indonesia, with 87% of the population identifying as Muslim. It was our third visit and most fascinating and eye-opening.

During the holidays, lights glow warmer, music feels softer, hearts open a little wider. The season carries multiple meanings for our friends around the globe -- whether they celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali, or simply the turning of the year.

This year, we traveled in Islamic, Christian and Hindu countries. We visited with Jewish friends in Europe. As our travels expose us to other cultures, we observe that each tradition holds its own beauty. We all treasure our history and culture, our music, food and holiday traditions. So at this time of year, we express our gratitude.

Thankful for friends Maarten and Maarten and their labradoodle who welcomed us in Belgium where most people do not practice a religion but the country has a warm and welcoming spirit.

As we celebrate the holiday -- each in our own fashion -- may we all honor and respect people of all faiths. May we make our differences threads, not barriers -- part of our shared human tapestry. We are thrilled to be part of others' lives during our travels. It gives us an opportunity to listen, learn, and celebrate together.

The holiday lights go on in Bari, Italy. We spent a couple weeks with friends in Puglia, observing the rich heritage and influence of the Roman Catholic faith in the architecture of this bustling area in the heel of Italy's boot.

Our goal is to continue to be part of a world where kindness is the common language, and peace is the greatest gift we give one another.

We hope you share our belief that keeping an open mind and generous heart are the keys to achieving peace on the planet. Tolerance and broadening our scope are essential pathways to a better world. Time to give thanks, express our love and strive for persona and global peace.

We are thankful for our family in Atlanta, where we are welcomed each year for holiday festivities.

We are thankful for music, here in Lecce, Italy, where we attended a concert of Vivaldi and Bach in one of the city's grand churches, Lecce Cathedral. .

********************************************************************************************

Cookie and Keller took their niece and nephew-in-law Amarylla and Steve, and their kids, our great niece and nephew Peny and James, on a Big Bus tour of San Francisco. It was a chilly day but our hearts were warm as this bucket list dream came true in a three-generation tour of their home town, a city we love, too.

Coming soon: New Year's is the time to tackle your bucket list trip, and we're doing just that, with a Big Bus tour of San Francisco with our family. Whether your dream is a bus trip, a cruise to an exotic island, or a trip to a city you've long yearned to visit, now's the time. We just ticked an entry off our bucket list, with a return visit to the capital of Europe, Brussels, to kick off the holidays. We toured in an all-green bus, visited the world's most complete musical instrument museum, sampled what Belgians consider the world's best chocolate and braved the highways in a rental car in Puglia. What's your dream? What's stopping you from making it come true? We hope our Big Bus adventure will inspire you.