Bye 2007....
- By The Rambler
- Published 28th December, 2007
That's it folks. It's the last echoes and whispers of 2007, a year that is finding its way and rightful place in the dustbin of history. By and large, it has not been a very eventful year, either on the international stage or on the home ground. We have seen better years, and worse.
Whenever a year comes to an end, I am reminded of the following passage from “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us; we had nothing before us; we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.”
This has always been a world of contrasts, differences and extremes. Everybody gets exactly what he deserves, although he always believes he deserves more or better. In her great scheme, Nature has provided for everyone. There is an Indian saying that every grain of rice bears the name of its eater.
Of course, there are some who seem to be getting more from Nature than others, but in fact they are only reaping the fruit of a previous labour, what they have sown earlier, or getting in advance what they will be made to pay later – a sort of enjoy-now-pay-afterwards. That's the law of karma for those who believe in it. Those who don't would do well to revisit their opinion.
As in all previous years, people have been mostly concerned with the here and now, with living everyday and living one day at a time. They have been concerned with the constantly rising prices, the erosion of their purchasing power, the taps that are going dry, what the government has been doing, or failing to do, for their welfare and wellbeing.
People have been trying to reap the greatest benefit with the least effort, and have always laid the blame on others for their own shortcomings. They have been mostly harbouring the delusion that the government owes them a living, conveniently forgetting the basic fact that what they call the government is none other than themselves.
And so, from one year to another, time runs its course
from here to eternity.
.......Hi 2008!
A new year is always welcomed with a feeling of hope and expectation. People look forward to achieving whatever they have not been able to fulfil in the past. They arm themselves with a new desire to turn their dreams into reality.
The new year is being celebrated against the backdrop of a persisting spell of drought that is engulfing the country. Our reservoirs are running dry, and the rain still refuses to make an appearance. It is predicted that we shall run out of vegetables in a fortnight's time. We cannot say if anything is being done to import vegetables to make up for the impending scarcity.
However, the population at large doesn't seem to be mindful or to care either. They are now engaged in a frenzy of spending all of their end-of-year bonus together with their December salary. January is going to be particularly long and hard this time. At the end of the money there'll still be so much month left.
Now is the time of spending, of eating and drinking and making merry. But for many Mauritians every time is party time. And this reminds us of the great Bible edict that there is a time for everything: “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to win, and a time to lose; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”
It would seem, however, that people no longer have so much time at their disposal and want to do every thing at the same time.
What stuff is 2008 going to be made of? Whatever the circumstances, it will mostly depend on what we want to make of it. Don't forget that life is like a funnel – you get out of it only what you pour into it.
So, here's wishing you all a Happy New Year full of joy, happiness and success, in spite of everything.
Whenever a year comes to an end, I am reminded of the following passage from “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us; we had nothing before us; we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.”
This has always been a world of contrasts, differences and extremes. Everybody gets exactly what he deserves, although he always believes he deserves more or better. In her great scheme, Nature has provided for everyone. There is an Indian saying that every grain of rice bears the name of its eater.
Of course, there are some who seem to be getting more from Nature than others, but in fact they are only reaping the fruit of a previous labour, what they have sown earlier, or getting in advance what they will be made to pay later – a sort of enjoy-now-pay-afterwards. That's the law of karma for those who believe in it. Those who don't would do well to revisit their opinion.
As in all previous years, people have been mostly concerned with the here and now, with living everyday and living one day at a time. They have been concerned with the constantly rising prices, the erosion of their purchasing power, the taps that are going dry, what the government has been doing, or failing to do, for their welfare and wellbeing.
People have been trying to reap the greatest benefit with the least effort, and have always laid the blame on others for their own shortcomings. They have been mostly harbouring the delusion that the government owes them a living, conveniently forgetting the basic fact that what they call the government is none other than themselves.
And so, from one year to another, time runs its course
.......Hi 2008!
A new year is always welcomed with a feeling of hope and expectation. People look forward to achieving whatever they have not been able to fulfil in the past. They arm themselves with a new desire to turn their dreams into reality.
The new year is being celebrated against the backdrop of a persisting spell of drought that is engulfing the country. Our reservoirs are running dry, and the rain still refuses to make an appearance. It is predicted that we shall run out of vegetables in a fortnight's time. We cannot say if anything is being done to import vegetables to make up for the impending scarcity.
However, the population at large doesn't seem to be mindful or to care either. They are now engaged in a frenzy of spending all of their end-of-year bonus together with their December salary. January is going to be particularly long and hard this time. At the end of the money there'll still be so much month left.
Now is the time of spending, of eating and drinking and making merry. But for many Mauritians every time is party time. And this reminds us of the great Bible edict that there is a time for everything: “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to win, and a time to lose; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”
It would seem, however, that people no longer have so much time at their disposal and want to do every thing at the same time.
What stuff is 2008 going to be made of? Whatever the circumstances, it will mostly depend on what we want to make of it. Don't forget that life is like a funnel – you get out of it only what you pour into it.
So, here's wishing you all a Happy New Year full of joy, happiness and success, in spite of everything.
