Thursday, December 25, 2008

Christmas Morning 2008


It is a beautiful Christmas morning. All is at peace today.

All over the world, there is goodwill amongst men as people everywhere celebrates the holiday seasons with family and friends.

As 2008 draws to an end, it is perhaps timely to reflect about the major events of the year.

For the most part, 2008 has been a very challenging year. The subprime crisis caused the collapsed of the financial sectors all over the whole. No country has escaped the fallout.

Major companies have failed, from the big banks to the smaller neighbourhood stores. Some companies have been swallowed by its competitors while others have declared bankruptcy.

Hedge funds have been caught with their pants down, suffering huge loses. Frauds have been exposed with Bernie Madoff US$50 Billion loss the most shocking. Some people have killed themselves over the loss of their savings or their clients' money.

The wars still rage on in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many people grieved over the deaths of their loved ones. Widows face a bleak future while many children are growing up without their families.

Natural calamities claimed thousand of lives. Earthquakes, hurricanes, droughts, floods and freak weather systems provides clear indications that Mother Gaia is suffering from all the explotations of her rich resources.

The ice-caps are melting and the ocean level is rising. Many animals are dying as they struggled to survive in a changing environment.

Through all this, it is timely for each of us to reflect how we have reached this point in time. Whast caused all these events to occured with increased frequency?

It can all be summarised with one word - GREED.

It is because of our greed that we plundered the earth in our unceasing need to consume more and possess more. It is greed of money, chasing after million dollars of bonus and salary that caused the meltdown in Wall Street. Our craving for more of everything pushed up the prices of all commodities worldwide.

When will it ever be enough?

Perhaps it is time for us to realize that the emptiness in our soul cannot be fulfilled by consuming more. Perhaps, we need to orientate our search towards the simple things in life - a beautiful sunset, the laughter of a child or the serenity of Mother Nature.

We HAVE to start now. We have to start respecting the abundant blessings of Gaia and live in harmony with all life.

We have to realize that all our needs and wants will never be satisfied. We need to live simply with just enough and find other means towards the road to happiness.



"Even if a man acquired a pile of gold as high as the highest mountain, he would not be satisfied. That is why the wise man views gold and rock as the same."