Dec. 25 has come and gone. The gifts have been opened. The cookies are just crumbs. Perhaps the lights on the Christmas tree shine less merrily than they did a week ago. But hopefully all the warm feelings and our dreams of peace and goodwill toward our fellow man will remain with us all the year.

I received a gift from my good friend Cindy that made my heart ache, filled me with appreciation of great music and left me with renewed determination to follow through on the "peace and goodwill to my fellow man" thing.She gave me a CD titled "Beautiful Life" by Jimmy Greene.Jimmy Greene is a saxophonist and well-known figure in modern jazz. He is a husband and a father.On Dec. 14, 2012, his family suffered the unimaginable when a gunman opened fire at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, killing 26 people six staff and 20 children between the ages of 6 or 7 years old. Greene's daughter, Ana Marquez-Greene, 6, was one of those children."Beautiful Life" is his musical eulogy to Ana.He writes: "Despite the efforts of many to identify and debate the issues surrounding the Sandy Hook School shooting, an awful reality remains there has been a proliferation of heinous, senseless acts of violence in America acts that have ravaged my family and the families of so many others across our country. Much attention has been paid to the way in which my precious Ana died, but this album attempts to paint the picture of how she lived lovingly, faithfully and joyfully. In a way, this recording also represents a reaction. Not a reaction to the discourse sparked by the events of Dec. 14, 2012, but rather the reaction of a father after having witnessed a miracle ... the miracle of his daughter's beautiful life."There are several poignant moments on this album. The first being on the first recording, "Saludos/Come Thou Almighty King." It includes a portion of Ana singing as her older brother, Isaiah Marquez-Greene accompanied her from his first-year piano lesson book. Others come from knowing that Ana loved the musical "Annie" and would sing the song "Maybe" from it a cappella, especially in the car. "Ana's Way," which features Kurt Elling, is later joined by a children's chorus, made up of Ana's former classmates from Linden Christian School Early Years Choir when the Greenes lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. "When I Come Home" is a reworking of Greene's ballad "Home," with lyrics about yearning for a heavenly reunion. But the one I find so excruciatingly wrenching is "Little Voices." Actress Anika Noni Rose reads the words from this original poem."Little voices calling.Little voices laughing.Little voices singing.All those precious little voices.Brightening our day.Stealing our hearts.Shaping our lives.Then in the blink of an eye, they're gone.Now there's just silence where those little voices used to be.Now it's up to you.It's up to me.Will you make the choice to be a voice?Will you walk humbly and show mercy and love your neighbor?Will you love your neighbor?Not fear the neighbor who looks different from you or hurt the neighbor who thinks different from you?But will you love your neighbor?Will you love yourself?Will you teach a child today?Will you be your brother's keeper?Will you make someone smile?Will you do all you can to love, to forgive, to include, to help?So that the millions of little voices who are still here to brighten our days, steal our hearts, shape our lives, grow tall and strong.To learn from us how to forgive and love.Learn from us how to help, and to include, and eventually one day become the big, confident voices that will change our world and make it better than it is today."It ends with the children's choir singing "Remember me," as a soulful refrain. It's easy to imagine Ana's voice among them, small but strong.Greene's wife, Nelba, is a licensed marriage and family therapist employed by Klingberg Family Centers. She created The Ana Grace Project to promote love, community and connection for every child and family and to prevent violence and promote recovery through research, practical tools, professional development and public policy. She and Greene have dedicated themselves to creating real solutions to the kind of violence that took their daughter's life. They believe that love and community are the antidotes for violence. They are spurred on not only by their loss but by their faith and the belief that it is always best to "overcome evil with good."Greene states on the album's jacket that it was his father who reminded him days after Ana died, that despite the unbearable weight of their loss, there is still lots of beauty all around and very much to be thankful for in this life.As we head into the new year, join me in working toward reaching the goal of finding peace on earth and goodwill toward our fellow men and women so that we all can celebrate this thing we call a beautiful life ... something we should never take for granted and always celebrate.