I had banned the dreaded
"C" word in my house until the 1st of December, but I am actually
feeling full of Christmas Cheer at the moment, so I'm declaring it Christmas
now.
After my weekend in Kilkenny, I
feel hope, something I have not felt in a while. Hope in the work I want to do,
that I will find the right people to work with, and hope in the salvation of
the world. OK, this seems a bit extreme, but, on returning from my travels, I
did 2 things that restored my faith and salvation in the world. I
finally finished 1421 by Gavin Menzies. This book changed the way I look at history, and the whole bloody
Eurocentric thing. If you are into history, maps, navigation, anthropology, botany, and numerous other fields, read it.
I also watched a film The Economics of Happiness. This film, is the most inspiring documentary I have seen recently. It’s very depressing
at the start, but ends up very hopeful; it actually ties in with
everything I believe in, the way I like to work, the way I believe communities should work, the future of mankind... It really is that deep! It
all ties in together, and wow, I haven't felt this positive in a long, long
time.
So, that’s just a bit of Christmas Cheer
and now here’s the Christmas Advice. I don’t usually offer advice on my blog,
well apart from advice of a crafty nature, what glue or stitches to use, but I
am feeling so full of cheer, and chat, and reality of the overhypness of
Christmas, I want to help you all cope with this coming Christmas. (Obliviously I'm not
religious. If I was religious I would actually take affront at my religion and
icons being used to encourage several of the deadly sins, which my religion is
supposed to be safeguarding me from. I am always surprised the Church has not
come out and actually renounced any and all association with the excesses of
Christmas. Is it because theres no such thing as bad press?).
Advice
for buying presents for kids:
- BLAME SANTA!! If Santa does not give them the presents they asked for, you are not to blame, Santa is. So if your kids are unhappy, tell them a story about the North Pole getting flooded due to the polar caps melting and all the presents were destroyed. So, Santa did the best he could under the circumstances. (Get them to watch The Economics of Happiness film)
- YOUR KIDS WILL NOT HATE YOU FOREVER if they do not get the presents they wanted, they will just hate you for a little while. Giving them what they want just gives them unreal expectations of their doomed future (get them to watch The Economics of Happiness film)
- KNOW YOUR CHILD, Put some thought into it. Do you really know your child? I mean really? We're all so busy these days; it’s easy to not notice the small things. Buying them something they want is the easy way out, buy them something surprising, something they don’t realise they want, but they will remember forever. (Get them to watch The Economics of Happiness film)
Advice
for buying presents for loved ones:
- FOR THE PERSON WHO HAS/WANTS EVERYTHING buy them the The Economics of Happiness. They definitely need to watch this film, so they can see how their excesses are destroying the world.
- FOR THE PERSON WHO DOESN'T WANT ANYTHING buy them The Economics of Happiness.They will really appreciate this film. It might make them a bit smug, because they are already on the right track with regards to possessions.
- FOR ANYONE WITH ANY SENSE OF ENVIROMENT buy them the The Economics of Happiness. This film might make them cry because they have been following the destruction of the earth with great detail. It says everything they have been saying, but more intelligently with great visuals and in 68 minutes. It will also give them hope.
- FOR ANYONE IN ANY POSITION OF POWER OF DESICISION MAKING (Real or imagined e.g. bank managers/CEOs/politicians etc) buy them the The Economics of Happiness. They are the people who really, REALLY need to see this film. They are destroying the world.
http://www.theeconomicsofhappiness.org/
The Economics of Happiness - Official Trailer from The Economics of Happiness on Vimeo.
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