Normally I'd pack, throw a couple of bags (and that old, weather-worn deckchair) into the boot, and head off to the coast before rushing quickly back to pick up the cat, dog, or children forgotten in the rush to get to the beach. Not this year.

The yearly pilgrimage to Whale Beach was abruptly cancelled as coronavirus stalked Sydney's northern peninsula. How fitting that the year ends as it began - fleeing from the coast.

It's been a year of sudden, massive change, but this doesn't mean we should accept a passive role, watching on and standing by helplessly. Although broader shifts and events beyond the control of any individual have upended the certainties of the past, this is exactly why there's never been a more important time to be energised and involved.

There are two possible responses to the enormous challenges that have emerged this year.

The first was peddled by the Prime Minister last week. Asked about something - maybe Sydney's coronavirus outbreak, perhaps the flash flooding on the NSW north coast - Scott Morrison shrugged his shoulders. Offering his impersonation of a concerned father, he insisted that we've always had fires one year, floods and virus' the next.

Instead of attempting to change the world for the better these are the dismissive words of someone who can't see the links. Morrison is trapped in the perpetual present; he can't understand the changes and won't connect the dots to make up the big picture.

Look, incidentally, at where he's positioned you, the citizen.

The only power, the only personal agency he's granting you is permission to cope with the immediate threat - encroaching flames, rising waters, or the need to wear a mask. He's implicitly suggesting there's no way the actions of any single person can make a difference towards solving the problem, so don't bother.

Don't worry, we're being told, God will deal with it; just do as you're told. And global warming? You can forget that too...

It's the foundation of Morrison's top-down approach. He pretends to engage the individual by asserting we can all do something before engaging in a sleight-of-hand truck. He circumscribes the role of the individual so specifically, so minutely, that their only opportunity to do anything is by acting under his firm direction.

The global challenges we face today, climate change and coronavirus, vividly display the difference individuals can make. We know, beyond doubt last Christmas' fires and the storms this year are linked by a simple cause: climate change. A global problem but one that can only be solved by combined and united action.

Look at the US experience with COVID-19, a virus that almost certainly escaped from nature and crossed over to humans because of the pressures of the modern world. America neither recognised nor was prepared to take collective action to avert the looming danger. Already 300,000 people are dead and the country's economy only propped up because most of those dying are poor. It's cannibalistic; accepting some will perish just so the economy can keep firing, no matter what the cost to the health of the individual.

The entire point of community is accepting that we do have shared problems and the best way to overcome these is by uniting and adopting a coordinated approach. What we can do - what we need to do - is recognise that, as active and involved citizens, our actions can make a huge difference to the future.

By engaging with this column over the past year - and even if you've disagreed with some, even many, of the ideas or solutions presented - I hope you've felt empowered and encouraged to contribute. It's vital to participate - particularly today, as the world is changing so quickly around us. If we are going to survive as a species, let alone a nation, we need to be involved. Standing on the sidelines is not an option.

Sometimes the biggest surprise is recognising what's been apparent all along.

It's not up to me to prove God doesn't exist and I'm not going to bother doing so here. Christmas, however, is real, although there's no point unwrapping all those wonderful presents alone. Creating meaning at this time of year requires sharing. That's why we cling to these holidays, long after they've been revealed as being based on nothing more than fairy stories for children.

We only exist as a small part of something bigger, whether family, friends, community or nation. Existence alone might be possible, but a thriving society is a joint project. It's a vital part of being all we can be; turning ideas and concepts into reality.

MORE NICHOLAS STUART:

The point of this column has never been to insist that the world is one way or the other. I can happily leave those sorts of pontifications to politicians, priests and the myriad of other prophets who pretend they possess the real secrets of life.

My aim, this year, has been simply to provoke thought, offer ideas, and press the suggestion that there might be - there probably is - another way to accomplish our many joint challenges.

That's offered continuing excitement and I thank you for the opportunity to engage. By discussing these issues and realising we can grasp issues, change things, and shake the world we've managed to create something bigger than we could ever have achieved by ourselves alone. Even, and perhaps particularly, those letter-writers who've bothered to take the time to write in and disagree.

For me, however, the death of my sister from cancer earlier this year leaves a gulf that cannot be filled this Christmas. Please treasure these vital moments - live, participate, and love. One never knows when they might end.

Merry Christmas.