Archive for December, 2008

4 Sleeps to go and there is a hush over the world. For some, the chance of solace in what has been a year of unbelievable turmoil. Many people will find this Christmas difficult because of what proceeded in the months of October, November and December in particular.

Some who read this comment will be basking in Southern Hemisphere Summer  although Yesterdays 10 degrees Celsius daytime temperatures, driving rain and high winds did little to convince me that this was Summer!

Others particularly in North America , Northern Asia and Europe…… ice and Snow will be most likely your weather ration for Christmas.

Many retailers will feel the harshness of economic downturn , many workers in a raft of businesses will be mind full of goals, targets and projection forecasts.

And  you and I will be weary of easy as it goes more likely being very fugal rather than lavish in our Christmas Shopping.

As I write this; my last comment of 2008, I can not help but recall working in a large food supply warehouse in Papua New Guinea . Whilst the memory is over 10 years old the clarity of what I saw is as clear as that day back in 1997.

A young man worked in the huge warehouse some 2 floors beneath the surface of the street. He along with maybe 20 or thirty of his fellow workers carried bags of grain from the elevator into neat orderly piles rising up maybe 30 feet in the corners of the building.

Not only did they have to carry these heavy bags of grain maybe 60 feet they then had to lift them to the top of these enomous piles then stack them neatly.

They didnt do it once they did it for hours on end.

The heat was oppressive out on the street,  but down two further floors below street level  it was unbelievably unbearable. I was fighting for breath just standing there. The temperature was well over 50 degrees Celsius and the humidity must have been 100%.

These “boys” wore loin cloths and their black bodies fare glistened. There was not an ounce of fat on them and they always smiled politely even though their bodies must have ached.

I went back to the comfort of my air conditioned office  ( that still felt hot ) on the way  being traumatised by what I saw.

No way was I working as hard as these men I had seen. How could I justify my salary as Company Director maybe 1,000 times more than these men.

How was it that I was in such a  privileged position and was not in the position where these men were…. where every day was a battle for survival.

I know a song that has exactly the right words….Give Thanks with A Grateful Heart ….. and in half a dozen words sums up a commonality for every reader of this Website regardless of Circumstances that you have found yourselves in this year. We must be grateful and thankful.

If you are the unfortunate directors of General Motors I guess your biggest concern will be how to stop losing US$52,000 every minute of every day.

Maybe our troubles and worries are trivial by comparison!

So for the next 2 weeks enjoy Christmas and the Bright Hope for the Future .

I will be writing again on New Years Day 2009!

If you have missed my other 28 most recent comments it maybe a great time to read ( or Reread! )

Merry Christmas and May God Bless You and Keep You Safe

Lindsay Walker

21 December 2008.