The end of the year is just passing now. The winter solstice occurs at about noon (GMT) today (21 December). That’s the nadir of the solar cycle, when the angle of the sun is most acute on the axis of rotation of the earth. Today is the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, the longest in the southern. We’ll enjoy watching the days lengthen in the coming weeks, though today we’re enjoying sun and an almost balmy 12 oC – as warm as it was for too many days this past summer. I think we can look forward to a warmer, drier 2009. Though its increasingly a guessing game as the planet exhibits symptoms of pneumonia – warm and cool in the wrong places.
The winter solstice has been a time for celebration since the beginning of civilisation in all corners of the world. There are many celebrations observed with winter solstice including Christmas, Yule, the Islamic New Year, the Mysteries of Mithras, Hogmanay and even more winter festivals not necessarily associated with the solstice. The one I’m most familiar with is Christmas. I’ve grown to have mixed feelings about Christmas because the sentiment of giving has been superseded by the sentiment of getting. But Christmas is an opportunity to create some magic at home, especially for children, to forgive and make peace. Even if you’re not Christian, you can still get that good feeling that comes from giving love and comfort to friends, family and even strangers down on their luck. Children love to decorate a tree, even making their own ornaments. And they can be enthusiastic about making presents – I’m amazed to see my children making gifts for their friends and teachers. And I love to watch Christmas movies with my family – my favourite is Scrooge (1970) or A Christmas Carol (1984), even Scrooged helps evoke the spirit of giving in the hardest heart. Dickens surely could tell a story well.
We’ll be having a little party to welcome the new year and if you’re free you would be very welcome. On 30th December we’ll go for a walk in the woods from 2pm, then have a hot drink and snack in The Shed at 4pm. Please drop me a line if you can make it.
The economy is weighing more heavily on people’s minds as each week passes. The worst aspect of the money-go-round stopping is that people are losing their jobs. I hope the people that can make a difference to this situation act soon. But the system change that we need requires new thinking that just doesn’t seem to be occurring in the heads of governments. Here are a couple of YouTube videos that give a light look at what’s going on. One is from the 1930s and shows that things haven’t changed that much (-Vintage pro-inflation propaganda). The other is more recent and shows that the immediate solution to the stagnation of economic activity (fiscal stimulus) is not really a solution (- Fred Thompson on the Economy), but a band aid until we can restructure behaviour. And to show what that change in lifestyle means, here’s a short film about how one can live live more lightly on the planet, while saving money and improving one’s lifestyle – The Solar House.
Here in Ireland we got a bit of scare as authorities pulled pork off the shelves due to a scare about dioxins in pig feed. Coincidentally CIWF came out with a report that shows that Europe’s pigs are being farmed in horrendous and often illegal conditions. The Europe-wide investigation into pig welfare standards reveals shocking images of barren pig pens with European law frequently broken ( – Revealed: the state of Europe’s pigs (report & video) and The Independent coverage of our investigation). That probably doesn’t surprise anyone who remembers the mad cow disease scare (BSE), bird flu or salmonella scares. And it shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows anything about food production – it’s so industrialised one wonders how these creatures could be healthy. It turned out to be a bit melodramatic so we can all enjoy our Christmas ham :-).
Well, enough drama. Let’s be positive. You don’t have to spend to have a good time. And maybe some of the measurements we use aren’t that good anyway – after all we never count the work of parents (mostly mothers) in nurturing children, feeding family and creating a warm home (until they get a “job”!), but it is surely is valuable, worthy work. We’re in a better position than ever to enjoy life – we have the things that we need (no that does not mean an Xbox 360) and now that we’re not so distracted by “chasing the train” we can get back to enjoying our friends and family. Have a wonderful and fun Christmas. Come for a walk and a cuppa on the 30th if you’re free. And be positive in 2009.
Best wishes from us all at Ballin Temple,
Tom
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