Thursday, December 16, 2010

Happy Holidays! What??


It's that time of year again when the holidays are upon us.
The school year is over and many people take time off work to be with their families.

I'm always in two minds at this time of year.
While I love spending time with family and I love the excitement that the holidays bring, I hate the commercialism that goes along with it.

I hate the crowds that are at every shopping mall and I'm so terrible at knowing what gifts to buy for people that it gets very stressful and I find myself counting down the days till it's all over!!

But this blog today is about whether to Christmas or holiday.

I really don't understand why people would get so upset about businesses wishing "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" or god forbid "Merry Xmas."
The fact is, there are people all over the world who believe different things.
What if we had a majority of Jewish people in this country? Should we only say Happy Hanukkah? Why should the majority dictate for all?

Those who think we should only say "merry Christmas" in this country would be the first to object if the government decreed we should have a happy Hanukkah instead. There's separation of church and state for a reason!

Doesn't "happy holidays" encompass all religious and non religious groups? And why would I be offended if someone said this to me? Would it change what I believe? Of course not!

People get way too sensitive.

So no matter what your personal beliefs are, please don't be offended this season if someone wishes you happy holidays or seasons greetings.
Remember this season was celebrated as the Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere before anything else so no-one can claim originality!

Most of all, think on all that is good in your life and love and appreciate the people who love you and accept you no matter what.

Peace out!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Learning from the past...



If you work in an office, or regularly participate in the activity of receiving and forwarding bulk emails, you would have no doubt, seen the email that goes something like this..




"CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WHO WERE BORN IN THE
1930's 1940's, 50's, 60's and 70's

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, raw egg products, loads of bacon and processed meat, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets or shoes, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner store and buy Toffees, Gob stoppers, Bubble Gum and some bangers to blow up frogs with.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because......

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street lights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no Lawsuits from these accidents.

We were given air guns and catapults for our 10th birthdays,

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Our teachers used to hit us with canes and gym shoes and bully's always ruled the playground at school.

And YOU are one of them!
CONGRATULATIONS!


I've edited the email somewhat but I'm sure you get the picture.

Every time I read this email, it raises my annoyance level a little further. Yeah congratulations,
YOU made it! YOU survived, as if we're all so much over the top today. But is that all that matters?

What this email originator doesn't get, is that although we survived,
MANY didn't and their deaths/disappearances/accidents & diseases could have well been avoided.

Sure, life is different today and you know why? Because we KNOW BETTER!!!

And while there will always people who will be too careful and too over the top, you should never berate a parent who actually gives a damn about what their kids are doing, who they're hanging out with, and being contactable at any given moment.

We know better.

We've learnt from mistakes and that doesn't mean we're doing it perfectly now... But we are doing it better in somethings and hopefully, we will continue to learn to make this a better world for our children's children.