Readers will know I am not religious in the sense of believing in Christianity or any of the other Abrahamic religions. It will also be fairly obvious that I don't enjoy Christmas & would happily ignore it altogether. If it were a time of real reflection & thinking of others, rather than a commercialised bun fight, I might be persuaded to participate.
This year I will escape, I hope - to Malta for the whole Christmas week. No tinsel, no over indulgence, no unwanted presents. no sitting to the point of crying out for some real exercise & fresh air. So often Christmas is so steeped in family tradition no one thinks about what it's all for. We just don't want to upset someone else by selfishly breaking out & doing our own thing.
Well just for one year I am going to. I think I've earned the right to be selfish.
I wish everyone who enjoys it a very Happy Chrismas. I just think that many of us in the developed world are "Lost Sheep". We need to be brought back into the sustainable fold of community, sharing, equality, human dignity - where "each is given according to his needs". While we are gorging on an overdose of food, drink & "stuff" people are homeless, or ill, or alone & lonely.
Millions of people, including me, assuage their conscience by giving to charity. It is debatable how effective at tackling the underlying problems aid is. Tomes have been written on the subject. But if we have any spirit of human kindness we can't "walk by on the other side" in the face of a disaster. Help is needed quickly in order to save lives & provide food and shelter.
The spirit of giving & generosity is not dead. Sometimes it's just buried under self interest. We need the political will of the populus & the politicians to really identify the problems & come together to provide the solutions.
I hope it happens in my lifetime, but time is running out & I'm not optimistic.
No comments:
Post a Comment