New Year Resolutions or just work-in progress of being Present

So it's the new year and perhaps a time for reflection or is it?  What is it about New Year's Eve and New Year's day that make us feel a sense of growth and a willingness to make positive changes in our lives?  On New Year's day I read so many blogs and watched many shows talking about New Year resolutions.  I decided a while ago that for me- resolutions are not so much important as to make every day my practice of living in awareness and compassion.  This for me has been more attainable than resolutions as sometimes resolutions make be quite stressful and could lead to fear and anxiety.  I rather choose to follow the principles set out by the ancient sages which states that one does not have to do much rather to achieve as life should not be about achieving rather being present and awake.

I am still a work in process and I must admit that our culture programs us to be achievers and with good reason.  I support being productive but has being productive become too much stress for the body?  There's so much talk about "multi-tasking" since offices and organizations are operating "lean."  Nowadays one is not considered productive if she is not "multi-tasking."

I have a problem with "multi-tasking" in a sense that the mind is not focused which could contribute to mistakes-mistakes that are deadly.  For example, driving and texting!

We need to bring back the days of peaceful work culture where there's a band on "multi-tasking."  We need a revolution of spirit that considers the limitations of the human mind and body and treat it with great respect.

Parents need a licence to have children

As a teacher I wonder how different our world would be or would it if parent(s) needed a licence before having a family.  In this licensing program parent(s) would be screened for: psychological well being, intelligence, education, life goals and commitment to nurturing a child.

I see daily parent(s) ill prepared to raise a child which then becomes a responsibility for teachers.  Teachers are under such stress due to a lack of resources, administration, ministry of education incentives, parents and student behavioural issues.

It amazing how Hollywood type people, sports athletes, investors, CEOs and the corporate managerial pack make oodles of money while teachers, nurses, doctors, social workers (basically civil servants) earn not enough for the demands of our professions.

So what's the answer?  The answer is for our society to bring awareness to the stress and trauma which follows our profession and for parent(s) to take responsibility and have accountability.  This does not sound so complicated -right?

Somehow there should be seminars for parents to attend before and after birth and continuing until the child becomes an adult-this sounds very radical but radical is just what we need to have a shift in consciousness.

Monetary greed and marketing have consumed our species into such inequality that it's shameful.  I advocate for a time of green sustainable living and responsibility.  Eating organic locally grown food.   Where we attack the cause of health problems instead of using pills.

If there are parallel planets like Stephen Hawkins talks about I wonder what their world is like?

Marketing=abundance and affluence but then what about karma?

I often wonder about karma and yoga and how popular of a term and activity is has become in the west.  If someone does something to hurt you you may say "karma has a great way of getting back." Or if one gets asked the question what do you do for fun and if the answer is not yoga then you are not "cool."


What is it about the west that takes something cultural and re-create it to be "western" for a profit?Ah....marketing!  Marketing has revolutionized the west into a creative mosaic that's just genius.  There has been countless of self help books to help one discover their "true gift and uniqueness" so as to make their ways of making money to be self fulfilled.


Now is this just karma or does the marketing phenomenon really change lives and create abundance and affluence? 


I am a commerce graduate and if it wasn't for my exposure into this area of study I would not have concluded that one needs to learn the skills to be a marketer as this is the underpinning of monetary success.  Yes, many times in the workforce it is who you know but it is also how you market yourself.  Take for example the entertainment business or more specifically Hollywood a multi billion dollar industry where  its very mantra is marketing.  


Now learning the skills is one thing but yes what about karma?  Could it be holding us back from abundance and affluence?


So what do I say: love, pray and market!