Monday 3 January 2011

A fresh start?

I don't make new year resolutions as a rule. They are far too easy to forget and rarely do I maintain the enthusiasm for new things.
I am sure though that the number of people in their lycra shorts and new trainers, that I see jellying their way around the morning streets, have decided that this will be the year that they leave the couch and burn off some of the adipose tissue that has accumulated during the previous years. I am sure that the lycra will not wear out and that the spanking new Nikes will get little use after the first few days.
I went for a walk on January the first and my faith in my fellow man took yet another dive as I ploughed my way through streets littered with vomit, beer cans, broken bottles and rejected food containers.The way of life of so many of us has become ugly and utterly self absorbed. LIttle thought is given to others, and the notion of being nice or polite to fellow citizens seems to be a trait that is very rapidly vanishing. We have become obsessed by the present, by the here and now, and by the accumulation of material things that at the end of the day have little or no worth. We all die and no-one counts the black plastic bags that those goods end up in.
Having said all this, I realise that by withdrawing from society is not an answer. By doing so I am abdicating any responsibility for what goes on the world, and that in itself is irresponsible and self destructive. So this year I am determined to reverse my implosive tendencies and try to spend more time with more people - No doubt it will last no longer than the lycra shorts.

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