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    HomeVerified WritersPhyllisHas the Economy Killed Our Spirit?

    Has the Economy Killed Our Spirit?

    Are you going to have a Grinch of a holiday this year? As you drive down your street, what do you see? House after, house after, house of pain. No matter what income class you are in on some level, you feel the stress of what our economy has done to us as a whole. Now, I’d like to think that we can look at life as the “glass is half full”, rather than empty, but when you are faced with set back after set back, how can you possibly continue on the path of positivity? It isn’t just the adults that are feeling the stress, our children are feeling it whether we want to admit it or not, they are. As more adults become depressed, my guess is, more children will become depressed. It isn’t that we don’t want to work and provide, we just can’t work and provide when there are no jobs to be had. When you do get lucky enough to find one, the pay is half of what you were making to begin with, which that in itself is depressing.

    We had become a society based on wants. Now, we are just struggling to have our needs met. Gone away are the big cell phone plans with all the ‘extra’ features, gone away are the big football and satellite TV packages, gone away are all the spur of the moment fast food trips and going to the movies are a thing of the past. It’s time to get back to the basics. Start buying from local vendors, seek out farmers markets and local farms, buy gifts from online small businesses (that will benefit your country as a whole as well as that individual family) (like many featured in our Holiday Gift Guide (shameless plug)). It is time that each individual country starts thinking of how they can take care of their own. Just as any mom knows, if you can’t take care of you…no one else will. You can’t be any good to anyone else if you, yourself are broken. You need to fix YOU before you can fix anyone else. Perhaps the greater powers of our political systems can take that advice as well?

    Many fear of what 2012 will bring with it. Is it the end of the world? It might just be. As the great R.E.M. sang it… It’s the end of the world as we know it. As the holiday’s approach us all, we have to reteach ourselves and our children for that matter, that it isn’t about how many ‘things’ you get, or how much money was spent on gifts, but who we are spending our holidays with and what can we do to make them feel special without the hefty price tag. Perhaps just an extra visit a month with Grandma is all it will take to make her feel better, or maybe having your child create a hand-painted masterpiece is all that Auntie Sarah could ever want. We don’t need a bunch of “stuff“, we need a little extra compassion and support from others more now than ever before.

    How are you handling the depressing economy this holiday season? Would you say your spirits are up, and if so, how are you able to keep them up? Your tips and advice can help others struggling with this topic so please share as openly and as honestly as you can…using compassion.

    1 COMMENT

    1. Thank you for a great post! We often are the creators of our own stress. Parenting is a difficult task…and holiday times increase that stress. My advice: scale back and step back from the super-consumer frenzy that the media encourages.

      Your suggestions about shopping locally and from independednt artisans is a great one. If you watch a young child with a wrapped present, you’ll notice they usually are more interested in the ribbon and the packaging…they really don’t need the contents. What our children really want is our time and attention…and that is FREE!!!! Exchange love letters or letters of appreciation. Plan the holiday meals together and prepare them together…mac and cheese or franks and beans will taste better when eaten in an atmosphere of love than the most gourmet meals eaten in a home filled with tension and negativity. Turn off the TV and play charades or twenty questions…connect with your kids…just have fun!

      If your family is in trouble, financially or emotionally, ask for help…in most cases, the help is out there, but you have to investigate and then ask for it.

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