The gap between the uber rich and the rest is at it’s most sickening, there are 300,000 + people in the UK that are homeless, over 1 million that have to use food banks to survive, yet the UK is one the richest countries on the planet.
I have a house, a business, money in the bank (not a huge amount before you think about writing begging letters), I have a car, clothes, food in the fridge, a smartphone (joke, this is not a privilege, more of a curse), I have a wonderful wife, two amazing children, a dog (smelly one), two cats (who eat a lot), I have everything that I need.
Compared to how people lived 100 years ago, 200 years ago, 500 years ago, a thousand years ago, I live like a king.
I am privileged and that is something I need to remind myself more regularly. There are great many who are more privileged than me, and then there is a hell of lot more who are less so.
Christmas has become such an odd thing, increasingly dominated by material gifts. Perhaps it could be replaced with a day of gratitude for what we have and a day to spend some time helping those less fortunate in the world.
What gifts show love to the people that matter and to our fellow humans? That is not just once a year, but all year. They don’t come from Amazon. They come from our hearts and that is what we could choose to do more.
I have had an amazing life so far with all that I need and more, everything else that comes my way in life going forward is a huge bonus and that is a huge privilege I have. I am massively grateful.
Philip Dodson 