What's going on? It's a matter of perspective

It’s freezing-up here. Read cold, windy, snow, ice and the end of the Western year here in Rosemere. I thought of changing calendars, maybe going to an old Aztec one, like this , but have been informed that while it may look cool on my wall, it won’t make any difference because it will still be freezing-up here.
Sometimes you just gotta suck it up, hang in and wait. Well, some people tell me I should try to enjoy the intervening period between fall and spring, but I’m thinking that’s like trying to make a silk purse out of a pig’s ear, or whatever that old expression is.

And besides, even if I could, what would I do with a silk purse. Open it to find it empty most likely, the way the world's economy is going – and by the way, I’d like to offer a hearty thanks to all those greedy suckers who got us average folks into this mess. Hey, we see you sneaking off there buddy ... but there’s not much we can do about it is there? What’s in the bag, fat man? Oh, food from the mouths of the poor. Cool.

On the other hand, while I am reminiscing and planning here at the end of another year, I also want to remember to show my appreciation to all those who destroyed some of those obnoxiously stunning rainforests. Damn, they were offensive in their beauty, so “well done, boys!” I think the result is much more pleasing to the eye that all that green filled with birds and animals ... and it is obviously a much nicer place for children to play ... just look at all that open space. No kids getting lost in that forest any more. And we all know how unsafe forests can be!

And while they were cutting down all those offensive forests, some heavy thinker came up with the idea that there should be no more “Christmas Trees” because the use of the word “Christmas” might offend someone. So now they are Holiday Trees. Smart move, I say. One good step towards eliminating all references to the differences between people. Once we get going, we can eliminate all the “difference words” and then we will all be the same, right? Is that the idea?

So, if you were planning on celebrating anything special to your culture better do it soon because, if the folks out there get their wish, everything will just be called “holiday” in the future – and think of all the money we will save, eh? Just by one card that says “happy holiday” and you can send it to anyone, any time. One size fits all. But don’t worry, the greedy fat man already has a copyright on the “happy holiday” card so he will do okay. Although I must confess I am concerned about the use of the “holi” in holiday, so I propose we just go to:

Happy whatever day it is for you day!

I tried to keep that as bland as possible, because that’s what I think we must need, bland. Although I will take feedback on the use of the word “happy” given the way it might be considered to be oppressive of those who don’t believe in happy.

What is going on anyway!

What happened to enjoy the moment, share the wealth, enjoy nature, celebrate your specialness? What ever happened to “be you, love life”. Gosh, whatever happened to me, that I could be so cynical here at the end of this year.

After all, a lot of good things happened this year, did they not?

Ouch, none came quickly to mind so I went to Google and entered “good news” and the good news, folks, is that 22 million sites were available – so, yes, some good things happened.

"How you doing?” I asked my neighbor as we encountered in the street. “I woke up breathing,” he replied. That’s good news, eh, because I like my neighbor. And my grandson was born. And Sylviane and I are still doing well. And we get to eat, live sheltered and have family. But I guess those are all personal “good things” so maybe they aren’t on the scale of the “not good things” that happened in the world this year.

Or maybe they are. Maybe personal happiness; being glad to be alive, rejoicing in family and friends, celebrating being well enough, sitting in awe of the rising sun, maybe these are enough.

And maybe so is appreciating those who give in spite of the reality of their own poverty, or try in their own small ways to make the world, the community, their neighborhood, a safer, kinder place allows us all to feel good on some level.

It’s a matter of perspective, isn’t it? I mean, we could go on, and on for pages, hours, days about all the mess in the world. Or we could choose to go on and on for pages, hours and days about all the good things we have experienced or know about.

Let me go to an example which will seem silly and mundane after my rant about greed and destruction. CYC-Net (Hey, it seems appropriate in this context).

This year we have reached almost 4000 members on the discussion list. As well, in the period from last March to November, we had over 600,000 individual visits to the CYC-Net site. And those visitors came from all over the world. I was looking at the statistics the other day and while I see a lot of visitors from North America and Europe, I also see people who came to visit from places like Yemen, Vanuatu, and Djibouti. Now, if you are like me you might have to look a few of those places up and if you do, you will see how far those people came for their visit.

Imagine what it must be like to practice Child and Youth Care in those places and how dedicated those people must be!

And then there is the other set of statistics which reflect on those who supported CYC-Net during the same period. (www.cyc-net.org/administration/funding.html). Go there and have a look and see how many colleges, programs and individuals actually chose to support CYC-Net.

So, there you go. Two sets of statistics. One could choose which one to dwell on at any point in time. I could go on a rant about the wonders of people who care enough to seek out new knowledge, or go on a rant about the people who use but do not support.

But it’s the end of the year here. I have a choice to make. How do I want to feel? Because the choice I make will impact on my experience, on my feelings and ultimately on my well being. I choose and then live the outcome of my choice.

So, I want to say “Welcome” to whoever visited 43 times from Jordan. And “Hey! Glad to see you” to the 6 visitors from the Yukon. And “Wow! Are you welcome here!” to whoever that is in Paraguay. And thanks to all of you who did support CYC-Net.

"Hey, we’re still breathing aren’t we?”

And it is because of all of you.

So, thanks for that!

So, to repeat myself, but in a different context, a context of appreciation ...

Happy Whatever Day it is for You Day!

It is a matter of perspective, isn’t it.

Thom