Welcome to Christmas. A time I wish for you will be filled with warmth and good will and the company of friends and family. A time when we remember what it is to be human. A time that brings friendship and togetherness. Whether we embrace Christian beliefs or those of other religions, it once again reminds us of a way of living concerned for others. It’s a spiritual holiday that many are pleased to rejoice in.
It’s a time when our thinking drifts away from the fight for monetary reform and heads towards the sea and the sand. Away from the stuff of debt based systems, market surveys and environmental degradation. Away from the ethereal stuff of market mechanisms and in to the ethereal stuff of beach and bach. Into a world where the reflections on the water are more compelling than the undercurrents that exist in the banking systems.
It’s a time to ask, “Why can’t we have Christmas the whole year around?”
Emanuel Kant, the German philosopher, lived from 1724 till 1804. He never travelled more than fifty kilometres from his home. If you had rung his doorbell in Koenigsberg it would almost certainly have been his old servant Lampe who answered the door for you. If you had then made it into the inner sanctuary of the house, you might have been disappointed to find that the great thinker, of whom Coleridge said his words had gripped him with “a giant’s fist”, was in fact a small and very slight person, puny even, and of fragile health. However, his lively blue eyes might have betrayed something of his great wit and sense of fun, which made him very popular, especially with women. Apart from being a famous philosopher he seems to have been a bit of a party animal, and was an all-the-rage regular at social events. He loved playing pool and talking with friends.
Kant never married, and late in his life he discovered that his old servant Lampe had been systematically robbing him. He was forced to dismiss him from his service. But try as he might he couldn’t forget him. His journals thereafter contained a sad and recurring entry… “Remember to forget Lampe”
Remember to forget. Only if we let go of the trivia that irritates, can we relax in the holiday season and look forward to greater building in the new year.
Remember to forget all the silly things we have done this year. Remember to forget all the hurtful things that others have said or done to us. Remember to forget the embarrassment of the stupid choices we have made. Remember to let go of the irritations and disappointments of this year, and to move forward forcefully and effectively. Remember to forget the ego and to practice being kind, rather than being right.
If we need a mantra underpinning the fight we take up next year, then I suggest we need look no further than some of the now famous notes from Mother Teresa.
· People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
· If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
· If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
· If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
· What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
· If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
· The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
· Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
A great movement is lived out in the lives of those who work in its name. There is no greater reminder of how we might all live in the world of work than the one that is rushing towards us on the 25th of December. Over the next few days you will be somewhere there are people who have less advantage than you. Someone you might have passed in the street, seen in the train or on the tram. Checking the change at a bus stop. Hesitating outside McDonalds. Take a step towards a random act of kindness. This is the time of year where we can remember to forget to be embarrassed, and move easily from solving the big ticket issues at work to learning more of helping our fellow human beings.
Me? I’m off to Gisborne over Christmas.. Up the coast to AnauraBay. I’ll be lying in the sun and trying to remember to forget French rugby teams and English referees.
Merry Christmas.
Written By:
Neville Aitchison
Party President