My niece who lives in Brussels came to visit us and after hours of conversation said I was a downer and not as she remembered me to be, an optimist and cheerful guy. Love people coming by only to be critical, pointing out this and that. Oh Well.
I thought of the good things I have such as … good friends and neighbours
A Loyal and encouraging employer
A roof over our heads and food on our table
Most of us are healthy, while others struggling
An inner feeling of still searching for life’s answers
The expressions of music and art still excite me
a little dog that brings happiness and adventure.
Then I watch the news. God bless the media but they must spend more time pointing out the good things that happen in our community and elsewhere and less of the horrors we see each and every evening. We now and will continue to face well into 2025 the horrors of war in Ukraine, Gaza, and all over Africa. China, America and the EU are carrying very large lethal sticks ready to pill down upon whomever they feel is the weakest. What is at stake here? Entire nations may disappear like Taiwan, others invaded like The Philippines or perhaps South Korea. North Korea’s Great Leader President Putin will probably meet with the US President soon enough as a new world order may soon appear. To be right wing is no longer a fad, but an essential in politics today as the losers of the last great war’s offspring acquire socio-political power in many parts of the world.
Then there are natural and climate change disasters to deal with. National borders to reinforce. Yeah, have you not heard of the murderous illegal migrants that roam your streets eating your pets at night? Crazy ideas for a crazy time in our lives. To add to this is the unending increase in the cost of living. The little guy cannot win, can they?
I seem depressed sometimes, but that is because I want to do something about these things, I am also a responsible parent and husband, a caring son to an elderly mom. Where the hell are the heroes when you need them to appear? There is a reason the Marvel and DC franchises are so successful you see. But they are an illusion, and we live in a reality where if you help a victim somewhere you could be charged with a crime, fined too by possibly harming a bad guy or misunderstanding what citizen arrest truly curtails. So you live in a routine similar to what your parents lived. Go to work, shop, live with a family you hardly see and go back to work the next day. Such a routine will kill you someday.
I have an optimistic view, but it’s smaller and more localized. I have a wonderful family and neighbours, have employment and still have no need to see a therapist. I have my faith in a deity whose rules have inspired me always… Love your God with all your might and treat others as you wish to be treated. Damn, good rules are all centred on love. Practicing this faith can be a challenge living in a global society that seems uncontrollable, sometimes humanly evil, greedy and selfish. Yes, the people we share this world with have an appetite that has not been fulfilled as of yet. Can it ever be?
Happy New Year and The Blessings of Your Deity be upon You All.
PS Just got up New Years Day and turned on News. 10 People run down in New Orleans last night. What the F*ck is going on!
Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
[email protected]
