Happy new (calendar) year, everyone! I hope you had a great break. The most remarkable thing for me was that my e-mail trailed off to just a dribble, primarily just the newsletters and web scanning tools that I subscribe to. It was fantastic to come back to an almost empty inbox!
So I had a little time to reflect over the holiday, and I hope you did too. I noticed a distinct drop in the purchasing of presents this year, and fewer people were travelling as well. This may not be the best news for retailers or travel-related businesses, but in general I think it’s a Good Thing. We’ve built up an economy which is hugely dependent on people buying things they can’t afford, for no real important reason except that it’s possible.
It’s just not sustainable, and we’re mortgaging our children’s future. We have to cool down a bit.
So I hope we’re all discovering that, in fact, it’s not all about consumption and money. What’s more important to me is whether I make a contribution while I’m here on the planet, whether people appreciate having me around, and how many people are impacted by what I do. That stuff actually costs very little money – it’s much more about how I spend my time and energy.
I see a silver lining in the economic depression we’re going through: We’re reconnecting with deeper values. It’s painful, though, and people are getting hurt. So let’s try to help each other through this, and when we get through it all, I hope we’ll be happier, if just a bit poorer.