Thursday, January 5, 2012

Be the Change

        There seems to be a general consensus that the year 2011 was not a good one. Just about everyone I‘ve spoken to has said they are anxiously awaiting 2012, and that it will be the start of new beginnings, for both young and old alike.

        But what made 2011 so bad? Was it the continued downward climb of our failing economy as it tried to figure it’s way out of the deep dark abyss it had been pushed into? Perhaps it was the failing bank system which blatantly endangered our neighbors and neighborhoods as they foreclosed on good people. Maybe it was because we had to stand back and watch helplessly as bankers received bailout money for corrupt business decisions? Or perhaps it was when we watched our own credit scores plummet, making it impossible for us to get a bailout of our own. Then again, it could’ve been when the working class tried to stand up for themselves at the injustices they continued to be hammered with, only to be heard as a slovenly cry from lazy hippies not willing to pull their own weight. I’m not sure. The world has always been a difficult thing for musicians and artists to maneuver. Although we continue to feel the pangs of our feast or famine way of life, this year was harder simply because work was less.

         At the start of 2011, the United Nations said it would be the “International Year of Forests and Chemistry”. At which point those things go hand in hand, I’m not sure. The simple fact that the Rainforest is supposed to hold almost all the cures our human race could ask for, and we’re destroying it at an alarming rate, appears to not have impacted the United Nations enough to cry foul.

       I can’t put my finger on why 2011 was not a great year for me. It wasn’t because I turned another year older, since the alternative wasn’t so hot, either. Most of the year I was unemployed, but towards the end I managed to get offered not one job, but two. Opting for the later one, I even got paid more money and had better hours. My husband and I both got to work jobs at the same time while our oldest son got his license, and bought a car. Sounds good. My youngest son cut his four-year growth of hair at 20 inches, and donated 6 ponytails to “Wigs for Kids”. My mother celebrated her 91st birthday, and everyone managed to stay fairly healthy. All good. But I still can’t chalk the year up as one I’d want to repeat. It was a year of struggle.

        This new year of 2012 has been designated the “International Year of Cooperatives, and Sustainable Energy for All“. Quite a leap from forests and chemistry. Is this supposed to make all the Occupy Protesters feel their voices are being heard? What exactly does the United Nations do after they designate a year? Who knows, but at least they’re confident there will be a 2012. Not so with the Mayan and Nostradamus folk. The end of the world is still looming.

        At the ripe old age of 90, Mr. Harold Camping confidently predicted the return of Christ on May 21, 2011. When no one claimed to have seen Jesus, Mr. Camping stated that the visitation was purely a spiritual one.

        The Rapture would soon follow on October 21, 2011. Being a mathematician by trade, Harold insisted there was a secret to the Bible that only he could figure out. Although it was most anticipated, the Rapture never came. But to his credit, Mr. Camping humbly apologized for his clerical error... again.

        The boisterously stated “End of the World” date, which was to follow the Rapture, virtually went by unnoticed. However, upon the non-arrival of his savior, Mr. Camping suffered a stroke, and went into seclusion. It was not a good year for him, either.

        I’m not sure why I’m in that throng of people optimistically praying that 2012 will be a better year than 2011. Nor am I confident it will be any different. In fact, I feel as if I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. While some of my friends are saying we need to find what’s right with the world, and see the beauty in our lives, there are still things so very wrong. I appreciate and love every day that I’m alive on this earth, but some things need to change. There’s no denying that.

        I have a deep yearning in my soul for 2012 to be better than last year. I can’t say why, but it’s there. I hope there’s no other shoe waiting to fall, and no more struggling. For me, I will try to take a more active stance in the fate of my world. This doesn’t mean protesting the direction my path has taken, but rather cutting a new path. Seeking a new horizon without putting blame on anyone or anything. What has led us here as a people is beyond analyzing. It is what it is. It’s time to push past this, and figure out where we go from this point. One thing is true, I will remain hopeful for the fate of mankind. Scientists believe we are still evolving physically, so it seems to follow we will evolve in other ways.
     
        So here’s to a better year all the way around. May you have time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life, and find happiness along the way. May you recognize the value and power you have to make a difference in this world of ours, and may you above all, go out and do exactly that. As Ghandi has been so often quoted, "Be the change you want to see in the world". I wish you well.