Somewhere in my upbringing I learned that “in every bad there is some good”. Because of the “bad” I used to experience – licks from my father, licks from my headmaster, being ridiculed for wearing shoes to school – I couldn’t make sense of that philosophy.
However, as I got older and realized the “good” that the headmaster and my father had done, it started to make sense. And, yes, not only did I survive the ridicule I got for having shoes, but I was hardened for even more serious forms of envy and criticisms.
We, as a people, have chosen to live under the system of capitalism. This free-enterprise system allows anyone, through hard work, to make as much money as they desire but unfortunately it has a downside. This is recession.
This occurred in the 1920s,1970s, 1990s and is happening now. Although it is to be expected, the actual year is unpredictable. The wise thing to do therefore would be to prepare for it to come at any time. This we seem not to have done, and now we are in an apparent state of panic.
Panic is a “bad” state of mind for an already “bad” situation – recession. So where is the “good” in the “bad”?
Let us start with “wants and needs”. You should now be paying strict attention to what you need rather than what you want. Do you need two cellphones? Do you need a television in every room? Do you need to pay to have your toes and nails painted? Surely they can survive without the decorations. And surely that money can be invested more wisely. I could go on and on about other things you buy and practise but I believe you got the general idea.
Almost every home has some piece of unused land that can be used to grow vegetables. The benefits in this exercise are exercise itself; saving money; earning money from selling some of these vegetables; sharing some with family and friends; eating healthily – for surely your vegetables would not have in the chemicals and wax that you ingest right now; the exciting satisfaction of transforming a mere imagination into an actual reality; feeding yourself and your family.
Having grown your own food, I expect you to cook your own food. This way you know what you are eating. No preservatives, little salt, no chemicals! You will save your “fast food” money and improve on your “fast food” health.
Has it ever crossed your mind that all those Bajans who lived to a hundred years old were born a hundred years ago? Sounds corny, right? Yes, but that was long before the popularity of corn curls, potato chips, Kool-aid, hot dogs, hamburgers, injected hormones and steroids in chickens, wax on cucumbers and meat glue.
Old folks did not need a gym because their work was exercise.
If you can’t make your own clothes, use the seamstress or tailor from your village rather than buy the expensive nonsense that some rich boy from France or New York has decided you should wear. Wouldn’t you feel proud to wear your own design?
Dennis Johnson asked a woman, who said that poor children in this recession should wear their own clothes rather than the school uniform, where she will get the “own clothes”. She said she would buy them. Dennis then told her to get the village tailor to make them. She went quiet! That told me there was a tailor in the village but she probably thought that a foreign item would be better or that she would be making the tailor rich. If we could only rid ourselves of that mentality, would not the recession be a little easier to handle?
One morning I counted 20 cars leaving St Philip with 20 people (one in each car). I thought, suppose that was five cars carrying those 20 people. That would mean 15 cars off the road.
The result: less wear and tear on each car; less gasoline used; money saved by all involved; faster trip to town; conserving of energy; less pollution; sharing and a chance for good conversation and the development of friendships. Car-pooling makes so much sense even outside of recession.
These few benefits should stimulate your minds as to how we can all become better citizens mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally while facing this recession.
These so-called luxuries breed nothing but laziness, selfishness, greed, envy, callousness and ill health. Remember, we are No. 14 in the world in obesity out of 191 countries.
We can use this apparent adversity to inspire creativity, enjoy sharing, rebuild family life, explore community living and realize independence and self-worth.
• Mac Fingall is an entertainer and retired secondary schoolteacher.
