A Return to the Conundrum...

Those of you who are in contact with me by gmail or Facebook, or have been viewing my Flickr postings will know that I am now living in northern Ontario, in a small community called Nakina. It certainly has been an eye opener, a breath of fresh air, both literally and figuratively. It has also had a substantial impact upon my quest to define the Canadian character; and my desire for our community as a culture to better our lives, our surroundings and the hope we should be creating for future generations.

Last August I entitled a posting:

So many people, so little purpose!

...Oh, but that is God's conundrum!

I’d like to revisit this idea. I would like to reset the parameters of this project and maybe raise the odds a little.

I opened my posting with the following sentence:

What sense is there to our lives if we lack purpose? If we lack purpose, we live either foolishly or without consideration.

Although I implied that there are many people, there are far fewer where I am now, but there still seems to be too little purpose. Too few in our communities seem to have a commitment to bettering their environment or even their immediate surroundings. To do this, only small steps need be taken and little effort. But the hardest part may be a change in attitudes and priorities.

Here’s a short statement written by Lord Conrad Black in his August 28th posting:

What is needed is a reorientation of America away from consumerist hedonism and back to a sensible balance between production, consumption, discretionary spending, saving and investment;

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/AMERICA+DARK+DAYS/3453700/story.html#ixzz0z6HUGizV

At first I thought that maybe we as Canadians should substitute Canada for America. Then I thought, why not strip it right back to the basics? I thought, not America or Canada, but FAMILIES, or households. If families, or households, were to curb their hedonist consumerism, consume and produce responsibly, and be discrete in their spending and savings habits, wouldn’t our communities and families become more balanced, become happier and more fulfilling places to live in?

In every thing that we do there should be some purpose. All our actions truly do create reaction. So if our actions have a negative impact on another maybe we should reconsider our actions?

What we do in consideration for those around us might be as little in thought as picking up a piece of garbage, a kind act or encouraging word. Or it might be standing up for a mistreated individual. Giving of our time to make life easier or happier for another. But any of these things gives our lives purpose and meaning. It makes us responsible individuals, responsible to our families, our communities and ultimately ourselves.

The conundrum should not be God’s, but our own.