In December, I fell and cracked a rib (sneezing felt like being stabbed); the pain has gone, but I’m left with an overall shakiness; maybe what an 80 year-old should expect from a fall? But I think it’s more than age. A deadly virus is gaining momentum – we haven’t got the measure of this one yet – just how virulent? We’ve been told to stay home and wait for the vaccine. People are scared. My reaction has been to batten down the hatches; what I can’t control (most things), I try to ‘let be’; routine tasks are more considered – slower; we face some months of ‘survival’. “At this moment, allow everything to be as it is” – that’s where I’m trying to take my head. ‘Tranquilo’.
During the festive break, I watched the 1994 film, Forrest Gump (which wears surprisingly well): Tom Hanks playing the kind-hearted lad, of marginal intelligence, whose unshakeable optimism wins through; it cheered me up. I’d forgotten that it starts and ends with a simple feather – aimlessly floating around town on random gusts of air. As the film ends, Forrest speculates: “I don’t know if we each have a destiny, or if we’re all just floatin’ around accidental-like. But I think it’s maybe both.”
Personally, I have no sense that my life is being shaped by ‘a destiny’ – floatin’ around accidental-like is more how it feels. Forrest Gump’s “maybe it’s both” is a credible stab at this great mystery of life.
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“ What prospects lie ahead for our young people now: to be out there, buccaneering, trading, dominating the world again”. In his post-Brexit joy, Ian Duncan Smith (of marginal intelligence) spoke those words to the BBC last week. But Scotland, which has no aspiration to dominate the world, voted 60/40 to remain in Europe and intends to re-join when independence allows. George Kerevan is pro-independence, but in this article, he asks Scots to stop being so dewy-eyed about the economic and political direction of the German-dominated EU. As presently constituted, the EU pursues neo-liberal policies which prioritise the interests of big business rather than the well-being of ordinary folk.
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At this time of doom and gloom, we can at least celebrate the imminent departure of Donald Trump from our lives (20th Jan). Inciting his followers to storm the Capitol, was not really out of character for this man – no great surprise; the scariest part is how such a flawed personality became President of the USA – with all the attendant dangers. This week’s run offs in Georgia mean that Democrats now control the Senate; and we can expect the profile of the US in world politics to change for the better – particularly with regard to global warming. But it would be a mistake to assume that Trump’s populist ideas will simply dissolve.
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Based on research by land reform activist, Andy Wightman, this is aFerret article about the shameful amount of unused, derelict land and buildings in Scotland – caused by reduced or zero rates of tax ( Glasgow Council, the worst). Wightman says: “It’s long past time for a genuine tax on the real value of land”.
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“The most vulnerable in our society – those who need care at the end of their days – should not be subject to the whims of predatory capitalism”; yet, Kevin McKenna tells us, more than half of Scottish care homes operate for profit. This article calls for a completely nationalised Scottish Care Service.
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Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means ‘a reason for being’ – the sense that one’s life has purpose and meaning. I think this diagram would be very helpful in finding a direction in life – four concentric circles – integrating what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, what you can be paid for.
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The importance of a ‘meaningful’ life was a frequent theme of the great Carl Jung. If, like me, you enjoy his brave, ‘mystical’ explorations, you’ll appreciate this essay from the Jungian Centre for the Spiritual Sciences.
“ A considerable number of my patients came to see me, not because they were suffering from a neurosis, but because they could find no meaning in their life…. Peace comes when people feel they are living the symbolic life – that they are active in the cosmic drama, that gives the only meaning to human life. A career, wealth, fame, power are all trivial compared to that one thing – that your life is meaningful.”
