Don't we live in a decent world?

Actually, no.

Oh, I know that sounds harsh, but when we look around, what we find is that every one of you reading this post has a decent life, by most standards, but what we ignore when are taking time to pat ourselves on our own backs is that the majority of human beings on this planet live in cruel, harsh, destructive, torturous, violent, and deadly environments. If we answer the question from a democratic understanding of majority decides, then, no, we don't live in a decent world.

Before some of you start blaming the victims, just stop and consider: the planet, at the moment, has all we need, is capable of bringing forth all we need for all of us to live a decent life. I'm not talking about fabulous wealth, I'm talking essentials: there is enough food, clothing and shelter to go around. With a little thought, there could be productive things for everyone to do and it would be possible to ensure that every person had access to healthcare and education. We live on a miraculously rich planet, but somehow we've got things all screwed up.

There are, I know, a lot of folks who believe that they are entitled to more than others. I also know that there are a lot of folks who believe that others owe them something, even if they don't deserved it. I also know that most people who think that way wear suits, believe they work hard, and who tell themselves every minute of every day that they are better than the rest of us. They're not, but I know they exist, but people who are ill like that are in need of a physician, not our scorn.

We are constantly reminded that the world is getting smaller every day. If that is in fact true, then we no longer have the luxury of thinking that all those others are so far away, what are their troubles to me?

Since the world is getting ever smaller it can fit into ever smaller places, like our heads, of course, but more importantly, our hearts. We need to change how we think about things. We don't have to go through mind-boggling contortions and brain-numbing philosophical argumentation; we needn't think we have to give up things nor that someone else is just waiting to take it from us. All we need to do, really, is change our perspective, change our view, and change our minds.

I'm a simple person and believe we should start with simple things. Take a step back and realize just how small the world has become and realize that there is more than enough for everyone, and recognize that most of us don't want all that much really. There's more than enough to go around, on that basis, so why don't we start thinking about getting it there.

We could live in a decent world, if we wanted to, but first we have to acknowledge that we're all in this together.

Epiphany. Had one lately?

Today is Epiphany. Perhaps the highpoint of Christmas, especially for those in Southern Europe (and affiliated cultures elsewhere), but traditionally, of course, it is the official end of the holiday, in particular Christmas, season. (If you didn't get that, I discussed it last year, so you can read up on it here.) If it is the Day of Manifestation, though, what could that possibly mean for us here and now?

Beside the celebrations and frivolity, today is the day when it would do us all well to take a moment to turn inwardly and ask ourselves about our own manifestation in the world: are we as we would like to be? are we to others what we want to be? do others see us as we wish to be? just what kind of presence are we making in the world?

These are nice touchy-feely exercises, to be sure, and for that reason they are probably not taken seriously enough. I'm not the one who would maintain that we should always try to live up to others' expectations of us, but we should at least be aware of the effect and impact we have on those close to us and with whom we come into frequent (and perhaps not-so-frequent) contact.

On the other hand, we should be just as aware of how we're seen by others, so that we can at least compare the images and play that game we all loved as children: finding the differences between two pictures. I say we should be as aware, but I also know how difficult that is. As far back as 1785, even Robert Burns (in "To A Louse") pointed out so aptly:

O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!

Yes, it takes some effort, but we're given so many opportunities to try it again. Today, as I said, is not just as good a day as any. In a sense, that's what today was made for.

It's Epiphany today. Have you had one lately? If you look, you just might find one.

Too bad the Mayans screwed up

There were a lot of you who sighed that sigh of relief on 21 December, when you realized that Mayans had got it wrong. You're not fooling me. I heard you.

OK, maybe it wasn't the Mayans, maybe it was just those fun-seekers who wanted the Mayans to be right. Don't get me wrong, it's not like we don't try often enough to 86 the planet; in fact, we're getting pretty good at it. No, there were just a lot of you who were glad that you were allowed to stay around for a little while longer. We should really ask ourselves, though, whether we really earned, that is, deserve, this additional chance.

One satirist characterized last year as the "Year of Living Stupidly", but I'm afraid that was the least satirical part of his piece. It was a year of damn near abject stupidity. Don't believe me? What about the legal spat between the US and Russia carried out on the backs of handicapped children? What about the civil war in Syria? Or, how about the saber-rattling going on in Israel? It looks like the Arab Spring got pretty wintry in Egypt, don't you think? Or, what about that star-spangled freakshow the Americans called a presidential election? How about throwing in a little mass murder (Newtown) or the ongoing violence against young people? And there was certainly no overreaction to Occupy protests and the like. No, worldwide, I think, we had plenty of opportunity to show how ill-suited we are for the title of "Crown of Creation".

I'm personally not sad to see 2012 fade from memory. It's getting ever more difficult to get through to anyone, and the amount of energy that one has to expend to simply get another's attention is getting to be burdensome. Everybody I run into seems to have a reason for anything and everything that's wrong, but not a one of them has stepped forward with a possible solution, primarily because the moment they step forward, everyone else starts shouting them down and telling them why that solution couldn't possibly work.

Sometimes I think we could simply call 2012 the "Year that Reason Died", because if there is anything that I miss more than anything else, it's reason in the public arena. It just doesn't seem to be in favor anymore. I have never experienced a year in which so many words were thrown at issues, problems and events, and which were heard by so few. Some folks don't want to hear, that's become clear, and some can't hear any longer, I suppose because the bleating of nonsense is just too hard to overcome.

Yeah, I'm having my moments when I sort of wish the Mayans would have been what they were hyped up to be. I would have liked to have seen a new world. Who knows how much longer this one is going to last?

A whole new year

Well, here we are in a brand new year. Actually, it's a whole new world in fact, what with the old world having come to an end on 21 December last year ... or didn't you notice? Yeah, that was pretty much of a let-down, wasn't it? I've come to expect much more of apocalypses, but maybe I just watch too many movies. Nevertheless, I would be remiss if I didn't at least wish all of you the best of health, peace and happiness for 2013; you're going to have to do your part of course, but I sincerely hope that the coming year is a good one for all of us.

Let's face it: the last one wasn't a very good one, was it? Murder and mayhem, war and rabid saber-rattling, unsuccessful and stolen revolutions, an absolutely brutal American presidential campaign, and not a single problem solved anywhere. Well, at least no big global issues. At bottom (and if we're not there, we're damn close), we're not a bit better off than we were 365 days ago. And as the old saying goes, if things aren't getting better, well, they simply getting worse.

We're still in the holiday season, of course. The 12th Day of Christmas isn't until the end of the week, so we've still got time to build our reserves and our resolve to make the coming year one worth living. We've got a lot of work to do, but if we all pull together, we still stand a chance. But, I'm pretty sure most of you still don't know what we should be pulling for. I think it should have dawned on you by now, but in case it hasn't, I don't mind saying it again: these end-of-the-year holidays have less to do with a particular religion (though that has been the lastest starting point) than they are an opportunity for all of us to turn ourselves around and get ourselves headed in a more positive direction.

It really doesn't matter if you're a non-believer or a believer, and it doesn't matter which flavor or belief you prefer. The guy's birthday which we take as the reason for the season certainly didn't care, so I really don't know why we should make such a big deal of it. We're all in this together. That "this" is everything that counts: this life, this world, this planet, this environment, this society, and last but least this economy, too.

We can do better than this folks. We don't need all the rage, the hate, the strife, the war, the killing and the oppression. We don't need it at all. But as long as we're willing to tolerate it, as long as we're willing to put up with it, we're going to have it and more.

It's is, in the end, up to us: you, me, those folks over there, and those we've never met. It is up to all of us. We've never had a better chance. It's a whole new year. I say we go for it. Who's up for it?