Last night saw not only the end of the year, but also the decade; it marked the end of an era which will go down in history as the noughties. This is an interesting analogy for me, for in many ways, spiritually at least, it marked the beginnings of a new stream of thought - the beginnings of a move away from the old me, me, me attitude that marked the eighties and the nineties towards the acknowledgment that we must now work together as never before and are a part of one integrated whole. The teens then will see this new way of life and new way of thinking begin to integrate more fully and mature, in the way that teenagers do. I expect there will be some tantrums along the way, as the world goes through its own form of puberty, but the world will emerge as a much better place, where feeling supersedes thought, and where being takes the place of doing. It is after all, all a matter of intent.
The noughties though were a decade of contrasts - they saw the completion of the Human Genome project, the discovery of water on the Mars, and the real possibility of extra terrestrial life, and also the sequencing of the Neanderthal Genome, which seemingly proved that modern Humans and Neanderthals were and are not related in any form. It was the decade of Harry Potter and the Twilight Saga, which saw an enormous interest in Wicca and the occult, but also the decade of The God Delusion, which saw much debate about the role that religion plays in our society, where for the first time in America it became safe and almost accepted to "come out" as an atheist. It was also decade that marked a rise in fundamentalism, with the destruction of the twin towers (the one news story that for me at least, will always go down in history), the Afghan war, and the London, Bali and Madrid bombings. The London bombing came I seem to recall in the same week that we won the bid for the 2012 Olympic Games.
It was the decade of the tsunami and the great outpouring of grief that followed, the decade of capitalism, of the growth of China and the integration of Eastern Europe. It was also the decade that saw the impeachment of Bill Clinton, and the election of the first mixed race US President, and closer to home, the expenses scandal. It was an incredible ten years.
From my own point of view, it has been one hell of a ride. It has been a decade of pain but also incredible joy, of exhilarating highs and crashing lows. The decade started with the death of my mother, which for me changed everything. The money that she left enabled me to give up work and write my book. It was for me, the decade of crystal therapy, of writing and learning and growth. It was also the decade when I discovered than none of this actually matters. It was for me, the decade of finding out who I was. I wrote last night that 2009 was the year when I finally discovered my path and realised that it does not matter what you do for a living, or how others perceive you, all that matters is that you are happy and content and strive to be the best that you can. We are not here to learn or to do anything, but simply to be - to be the best that we can in all things while showing compassion for our fellow man. Charity begins at home, and home is the planet on which we live with its wealth of humanity and other forms of life. Nothing else matters and nothing else is.
The noughties though were a decade of contrasts - they saw the completion of the Human Genome project, the discovery of water on the Mars, and the real possibility of extra terrestrial life, and also the sequencing of the Neanderthal Genome, which seemingly proved that modern Humans and Neanderthals were and are not related in any form. It was the decade of Harry Potter and the Twilight Saga, which saw an enormous interest in Wicca and the occult, but also the decade of The God Delusion, which saw much debate about the role that religion plays in our society, where for the first time in America it became safe and almost accepted to "come out" as an atheist. It was also decade that marked a rise in fundamentalism, with the destruction of the twin towers (the one news story that for me at least, will always go down in history), the Afghan war, and the London, Bali and Madrid bombings. The London bombing came I seem to recall in the same week that we won the bid for the 2012 Olympic Games.
It was the decade of the tsunami and the great outpouring of grief that followed, the decade of capitalism, of the growth of China and the integration of Eastern Europe. It was also the decade that saw the impeachment of Bill Clinton, and the election of the first mixed race US President, and closer to home, the expenses scandal. It was an incredible ten years.
From my own point of view, it has been one hell of a ride. It has been a decade of pain but also incredible joy, of exhilarating highs and crashing lows. The decade started with the death of my mother, which for me changed everything. The money that she left enabled me to give up work and write my book. It was for me, the decade of crystal therapy, of writing and learning and growth. It was also the decade when I discovered than none of this actually matters. It was for me, the decade of finding out who I was. I wrote last night that 2009 was the year when I finally discovered my path and realised that it does not matter what you do for a living, or how others perceive you, all that matters is that you are happy and content and strive to be the best that you can. We are not here to learn or to do anything, but simply to be - to be the best that we can in all things while showing compassion for our fellow man. Charity begins at home, and home is the planet on which we live with its wealth of humanity and other forms of life. Nothing else matters and nothing else is.
On that note, happy New Year to all !
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