2009 is here, yet much in the news and around us look and sound like 2008. I am now tired, almost worn out from the negative vibrations and events (both as listener and participant) that seem to characterise much of today’s world. Only a few hours ago, I heard one of our government politicians being interviewed. I am still waiting for her honest answers to the questions she was asked. I am sure that there are many who yearn for honest leadership in all spheres of society. Will 2009 bring out of us more honesty and integrity so that together we can rise above our present quagmire?
Not all stories of 2008, however, have generated negative vibes. Among those that were positive and remind us that there is still much human goodness around, is the story of a Sheffield man who lent a penniless Australian tourist £5 to pay for a ferry trip in 1969, but only received his repayment 40 years later. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/7791427.stm]
Such a story should have made the headline news for the whole week so that it is etched in our minds. The lender was not in, when a card with £200 was delivered at his house. Touching indeed was the attached note: “To Jim Webb, a good man. From Gary Fenton, a tardy payer of debts”. Mr. Fenton not only repaid his £5, but he added that amount for each year he missed out in repaying a debt he promised to pay but was unable to do so as he had lost the lender’s address. One is not surprised that Mr Webb was “over the moon” with this gesture. As he rightly noted: “In this day and age promises are made and promises are broken and you lose your faith in human nature”.
A sure sign that things are not going well is when we start to lose faith in human nature, in each other, and in all the qualities that make for a society with heart and conscience. The reality is that there are many positive stories (as this one) all around us in our communities. These need to be told and the experiences need to be shared so that more lives are touched and transformed. In this regard it is my hope that 2009 will stir up among us more visionaries – that is, ordinary people who can see and grasp the present moment (not necessarily the future).
And in event you need to read the stories of such people, try these two books: Bill Mosher, Visionaries (Orbis Books, 1995) and Jonathan Kozol, Ordinary Resurrections (Crown Publishers, 2000). These, however, should not displace those stories that are alive in our local communities.
© copyright Jagessar January 2, 2009
