Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Worth

As we enter the Christmas season it becomes amazingly obvious how governed we are by the material world. Queues form outside shops as people learn that a certain 'must have' item is available inside in either limited supply or at an 'unbeatable price'. People treat each other with complete disregard as they try to buy the perfect gift for someone they 'care' about and mob mentality often ensues.

What is something worth? Beyond the physical components, the labor, the shipping and the sales fees, what is something really worth? Do you remember something that was 'necessary' from a few Christmases ago? Where is it now? As the novelty wears off either because the kids grew up or you grew up or the parts fell off or it is no longer in 'style', what is actually happening?

This world is created from the inside out. Look around the room you are in. Not a single thing in it existed before it first existed in the mind of a human being. Nothing existed before it was thought.
'Necessity' becomes idea, idea is considered until it becomes a concept which requires agreement in principle (either with yourself because you have to make it or with someone else because you have to get materials etc) which turns into creation. This is the same for a chair as it is for a PS3. The only difference is that I don't need to spend 50 million dollars convincing you that you NEED a chair.
 
Since the world is created from the inside out, what kind of world are you going to help create this Christmas? Memories will be made this year. They will be of families and friends; they will be of quiet conversations and parties bordering on total madness. Few will remember what they wore or even what they got, but everyone will remember who they were with. I'll attempt a quote here that I'll paraphrase because I can't even remember now where I heard it but it has always stuck with me.
"They may not remember what you said, they might not even remember what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel"

...so before you go madly tearing into this holiday season with your credit card in you hand working yourself into a situation that you don't pay off until June, remember something...
I'm not certain who K is but I am certain that every kiss begins with love...
See ya next week.

4 comments:

  1. Great Blog Mark. Christmas is certainly a time for taking stock and holding family close. The real meaning of Christmas is often lost on the speeding flash of a credit card. I try to bring my siblings together for a concert night during Christmas, a gift as part of their Christmas present and a night to slow down and appreciate where we came from. This night starts with a kiss and ends with a kiss always. This year we are taking in Ennis on Dec. 9th. I'm sure you've heard of them. I love the phrase "They may not remember what you said, they might not even remember what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel" truer words never spoken. How often the gift of kindness can remain in your heart, long after the sweetest of chocolate is digested. Take Care and I do enjoy your blog. Marilyn

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  2. What a lovely Comment Marilyn. Thank you so much. I have heard of Ennis... I might take that one in myself! :) If I'm lucky I'll see you there.
    Mark

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  3. This one really got me thinking...
    Not so very long ago, we had hit absolute Rock Bottom...lost our jobs, our home, everything...we had nothing but each other, and 3 very young children...and a basement apartment in a friend's house.
    But, Christmas still "happened". We made paper and sequin ornaments together to hang on a "Charlie Brown" tree. We got a few things a a dollar store for the kids. But when they woke up, the "magic" had happened anyway. Then for a couple years during the climb out of the hole we had been in, we were on the receiving end of the food bank's Toy Drive.
    I learned a lot in those years. I learned that it is not important to go buy the "coolest" toys. I learned that I didn't really "need" all the things I had been taught to "need". I learned that appreciating what you DO have is far more important. I learned that GIVING a few of my pennies to the man ringing the bell WAS IMPORTANT...because I had learned that every penny counts...and that the charities really do help when it is needed most, and even if I could give only a little, I had more than others.
    That was more than a decade ago now.
    We are pretty conservative at Christmas, even today. I am more compelled to donate to a Food Bank or a Toy Drive than I am compelled to go shopping for myself or my family. The kids really don't even make Christmas lists...
    And we still hang those paper ornaments on our tree, and say "I remember that year" ...fondly...
    because we even though we had "nothing", we really had everything...we had each other and we had LOVE.
    All the other things have been outgrown...but LOVE has only grown!


    Great thoughts, Mark. Thanks.

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  4. Thanks so much for sharing this Helen.
    See, told ya you were a gift!

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