Christmas is a lonely time for some people while it’s a favourite time of year for others. Hope everyone is being fully present and spending time with their loved ones. My friend is over and I cooked, he baked, we read, chatted and laughed until chef came home. I haven’t read Dickens since A levels and forgot all about Scrooge at Christmas, a familiar cartoon that came on TV every year, a large part of our childhood post swimming training.
Business in full swing this festive – which is an encouraging sign for the Macau economy that has gone pretty quiet this year with the corruption crack down.
This year, I read Marie Kondo’s book on reduction, tidying and items that “spark joy” and dived deeper into the psychology of consumption; the labour process that goes into manufacturing things and sustainability – or the lack of. The awful things like child labour and the insecurity of purchasing more and more just because it’s cheap – those things come at a price in dark places they don’t want you to hear of. Do we really need more stuff?
This year, we bought little thoughtful gifts and tried to do a little more than be self indulgent.
Some thoughts for being more mindful in 2016, buy less, only items that spark joy and be present rather than focus on all the other “stuff” that range from material goods to a certain type of lifestyle social media positions as ideal.
I leave you with a few sobering thoughts as you enjoy time in the company of loved ones. Empathy has always been important to me, an exercise of gratefulness and extending the kindness and generosity when one can.
Christmas for the homeless and a look at the clothing business.
Are you on Instagram? Follow along for real time updates of latest Macau discoveries this month! I am finally done with work travels and getting back to wandering Macau. :)
