New Year Approaches

Well, with Christmas slowly dropping behind us we have New Year approaching.
In this day and age of our high tech, busy lives. Governed by the atomic clock, electronic calendars, invitations and appointments on Facebook,  Global news on Twitter.
I like to look at the bare trees, the dark evenings and early mornings, the wild seas and the neglected fields and remind myself that, despite all the modern gadgets and gizmos, the World continues on as it has done for thousands of years.
When our ancestors decided to break down their lives in manageable chunks, inventing days of the week and months of the year (names after their Gods and revered leaders) and the Seasons - taking the path of the Sun and the Moon to mark auspicious occasions - Solstices - the highs and lows of the Year - they were in tune with their surroundings, in tune with Nature.
Festivals were held to celebrate these important occasions - Harvest Festival, Christmas, New Year, May Day. Charting the progress of the year and giving thanks for the bounty that Nature provides us all.
To celebrate the ending of the old year, to bring cheer and merriment during the cold dark months and look forward to a new beginning.  To mourn the passing of the old, ready to be reborn, resurrected into the New.
It's no wonder that so many of our Faiths and Beliefs reflect these ideologies and rituals.
They have been ingrained into us ever since we started tracking the herds to hunt, planting seeds to grow, sailing the seas to explore.
I only hope we never allow the technology to take us too far from this intrinsic bond with Nature and our World.

Christmas Cheer

Christmas is fast approaching and we as a family are all organised – no last minute rushing about for us.

I know that, to some people, that’s what Christmas is all about – the hectic bustle and mild panic of last-minute shopping, trying to get stuff wrapped up the night before, remembering at the last minute to post the overseas cards.

Not for me, thank you.  I fall into the Bah Humbug category – and am fortunate to have a very organised wife.  We have Christmas well under control from about June onwards, and if we actually hit December and the decorations are not up, the cards have not been sent, the presents not wrapped and the shopping done, then there’s something seriously amiss.

I don’t really enjoy Christmas – too much fuss and fake goodwill.  A good excuse to eat too much, drink too much and watch the usual roll-out of Christmas specials on the TV.

So, to all you people out there, please allow me to wish you a very Happy Christmas – I hope it brings you whatever it is you are looking for – be it Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All, or another glass of wine to go with the turkey sandwiches on Boxing day!

Facebook

I read a blog the other day about someone that's given up their Facebook account and "switched off" a network of 555 friends.  She cited deciding to make her social networking 3D - not virtual, but real. She said she didn't want every aspect of her life to be published for everyone to see.  I'm paraphrasing, but I have one or two objections to raise.
1.  Who really has 555 friends?  I don't even know 555 people, let alone call them friends.
2.  Yes, we need to remember to keep our social network 3D, but there is also a place for Facebook and the like.
3.  There is only one person in control of what you publish on Facebook - you.  You don't need to show that you've done the ironing on your status.  You put on there your milestones, your achievements - but the ones you want to SHARE.  If you want to keep something private, keep it private - resist the temptation to post it!

What I like about Facebook is how you look at your list of friends, and you see you and someone else have a mutual friend and you think "I didn't know they knew each other"!
: D

2012 Olympics

I'm watching the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony and I am deeply touched seeing all the various nation's athletes coming together in peace and in celebration and in competition.  Makes me wish once more for World peace.  If we could only all behave towards each other as we are tonight... With Respect.

Spring Clean

OK, It's not spring anymore, it's summer - not that you can tell from the fog, drizzle and chilly wind driven rain - but as far as the date is concerned, it's the first week of summer.
So, spring cleaning - I looked at my virtual world and decided it was far too cluttered!

I did that thing you're meant to do with your possessions and clothing.  Have I used/worn this in the last 6 months/year?  No?  Bin It!

LinkedIn?  Gone. Deleted.
Twitter?  Ditto.
Various email addresses (wow! so much junk accumulates when accounts not touched for months) now deleted.

Extra Facebook profiles - Gone!  (Sorry to see you go...  Really??  Hardly Old Son!)

My Virtual Alter Egos have been purged, and now I feel decidedly uncluttered.  Suddenly my smartphone Hub app has 3 entries instead of 7.  I'm sure servers all over the world are breathing a collective sigh of relief as tons of spam gets erased from dormant accounts.

My security must be tighter too now.  Facebook and three email accounts - Gmail, Ymail and Live
(Just in case - you never know when you might need one of the Big 3!) - so much easier to keep track of!  And with the recent LinkedIn password hack scare, perhaps that's not a bad thing?

So Thank You spring, for the inspiration to simplify my e-Life.  I feel positively tidier!

Love notes

I love leaving notes like these for my wife and daughter  to find

Cicero

Cicero a Roman politician, lawyer, and orator, who lived from 106 BC to 43 BC, had this to say:

 “Six mistakes mankind keeps making century after century:
Believing that personal gain is made by crushing others;
Worrying about things that cannot be changed or corrected;
Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it;
Refusing to set aside trivial preferences;
Neglecting development and refinement of the mind;
Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.”