I think the biggest thing we can all learn from the past year is that nothing should be taken for granted. I know things look like business as usual right now, with the economy seemingly back on track. But beneath the surface of things huge shifts have taken place that will not be felt for months, if not a year or two, to come.
When and how these shifts came about is beyond the scope of this blog, but I would like to address a few things that you can do to mitigate the potential off-balancing of a world in transition in 2010.
Choose local quality over cheap imports. Do not support slave labor anywhere in the world, and the best way to do this is to buy home grown goods, the closer to home the better. Not only does this insure that you are not financing sweat shops in China, it also ensures that the money you spend stays in your own local economy.
Stay, or get, in the best possible physical shape that you can. If you don’t like regimented exercise like going for a run or lifting weights, do something different like gardening, chopping firewood, or playing soccer with a child. The rewards will be manifold, from a general feeling of well being to increased stamina and self-esteem. When we look good and feel great, we exude more of that energy commonly referred to as ‘charisma’. We also tackle stress better.
Reinvent yourself. There’s nothing like a period of uncertainty to blur the edges of who we think we are. What are your hidden talents, and what could you do with these if you decided to become an entrepreneur instead of a wage earner (not that there is anything wrong with earning a wage, just that one day your employer may not be able to keep paying you that wage and it will be a lot less stressful if you have already laid some groundwork).
We saw many changes in 2009, and I would argue that the biggest changes went largely unnoticed by the mainstream media and hence the population at large. Big Media have not earned our trust; in fact they have failed miserably at this. So why finance them with your money and energy when there are some great websites out there that are committed to ferreting out the truth.
Below are three of my favorites.
www.zerohedge.com
www.globalresearch.ca
www.solari.com
Happy Transition!
Margo