(( HARVEST TIME IS COMING ))

So after my happy positive post we have a not-so-cheerful one. Traditionally Christmas is a time for sharing and for spreading happiness around to our family and friends, but is this really happening? The days running up to Christmas are normally hectic and fraught with people having very little time for pleasantries and courtesy. The pressure that we put on each other to buy the perfect gift and send the perfect card is one that seems to have pushed many of us to the edge. Every year we complain about having to rush around and worry ourselves over whether something we bought for our friend or relative is suitable or not. We actually stress ourselves over this small issue to the point of giving ourselves a nervous breakdown.

It is a fact that Christmas is the most stressful time of the year and for those who have little or are living alone, this is the worst part of their whole existence. Society here in the UK has changed so much and it is more apparent to me because I spent four years living in China, so for me the change is more obvious. The economic problems which have left many thousands without jobs and many people in debt has been blamed on money hungry "fat-cats" or bosses of big companies and banks, but in fact we are all to blame. Our own selfishness has got us into this mess. The desire to have what we cannot afford and then borrowing money to pay for the fake lifestyle has been a noose which has been waiting to hang us for many years.

I still remember clearly having a conversation just after my return to the UK in early 2007 about how greedy and materialistic we seem to have become in this country. I even spoke about my fears for the future when the good times come to an end. I even wrote a piece on my previous blog about how this selfish attitude will come back and bite us all on the ass. Well guess what...it happened! After living in China and meeting many-many people who were living in remote areas, away from the small pockets of so-called development and seeing with my own eyes the struggle and difficulty that they must endure everyday to survive, I gained a new perspective on my own life. I realised how selfishness and greed and the need for these stupid trinkets of materialism to be around you actually takes away your humanity. We have become automated buying machines, with no real purpose in the world but to fill our big houses full of useless junk. I'm ashamed to say that I almost became one of those people.

I still clearly remember many of the moments of my time in China that made me stop and realises how many people struggle to survive and through all of the hardships which they endure, they still have the ability to smile and laugh. Their happiness comes from the heart, not the wallet. I hope someday I can visit these places again, if I'm allowed. Sadly in the real world, understanding and compassion are just a token action. We do something nice, not because we want to give, but because we want to feel good about ourselves. Once again the selfish attitude rears its ugly head. For example, a person living in an expensive house, with two new cars parked outside and a TV in every room, decides to donate £10 a month to a charity in Africa. In their mind, for a few moments they can feel satisfied that they have done something and have now justified continuing to sip on their £50 bottle of wine and sit back to watch the usual drivel on their 50" flat screen TV. It is a token act, not done out of kindness, but instead done as a way of justifying their own selfish greed.

Sadly here in the UK and in most developed countries, we have become too comfortable and take everything for granted. We complain about the traffic, When in fact we are the ones who bought the cars, we moan about our debts, when we are the ones who borrowed the money and we moan about our lives, when we are the ones who made living so complicated and turned it into a childish "Mine is better than yours!" game. As the proverb goes; "You reap what you sow" and for many of us harvest-time has come and misery will not be too far behind.

Will we learn from this? ...Probably not.

(Misterduncan)
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