Get a real Christmas tree or a plastic one?

Posted to Waverley Leader (22/12/2010) on 25/12/2010
Commenting on "YOUR SAY: Plastic or real Christmas tree?"
http://waverley-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/plastic-is-fantastic/

It’s an age-old debate: get a real Christmas tree or a plastic one? A reader of the news item suggested that "Better to spend the money at local cafes etc to stimulate the real 12 month economy and not the short term Christian's holiday period."

Buying a real Christmas tree also stimulates economy, too. A real tree is grown, watered, cut, sold, transported, etc. A real tree lasts more than just minutes - time taken to consume a cup of coffee.

A Christmas tree, real or plastic, is shared not by the purchaser, but also the family and friends. More money is spent on decorating it, electricity to run the lights, and it provides a place to put the presents. It gives many days of pleasure, provides a background to take photos with loved ones, and family members to gather around to share some wonderful memories.

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. If you think a real tree is wasteful and does not suit your budget, then go for a plastic one, so long if you enjoy having one. Christmas tree is a symbolic representation for Christmas celebration, and therefore be it real or made out of plastic, the thought counts.

Merry Christmas 2010 and many more to come!

Start thinking, don't just relying on divine's power

Do you think the Almighty expected Adam & Eve just to behave like humanoids with no feelings and emotions? Probably He did when He asked them not to eat the apple, and yet they ignored the instructions and made a decision to eat it anyway. The reason was simple - they were created with a brain used for analysis and decision making. Yes, they became humans, and NOT humanoids!

The fact that we have brains, we need to solve our problems, and be rational about things. Primitive men had overcome darkness by "creating" fire; Thomas Edison went a step further and invented light bulb. Let's be creative and start creating your own light, shining and guiding you through darkness.

If everyone seeks or relies on divine power, then the purpose of our existence is meaningless. Saints do not perform miracles by themselves, but rely on divine powers. If everyone can perform miracles to perform tasks during difficult times, there will be too many potential saints for the Pope to conduct all the canonisation ceremonies.

Are floods, famines, earthquakes, volcanic activities, fires and other natural disasters punishments of humans' wrong doing or humans' stupidity? The deaths of many caused by some of these unfortunate events have nothing to do with human activities or humans' misbehaviour. It has nothing to do with cleansing, if so, whoever makes these happened should never be forgiven! I hope the flood during Noah's time was just part of climatic cycle.

I am not an anti-Christ or anti-religion. I am not perfect, and I don’t want to be; I want to be a better person tomorrow, but a perfect person can’t!

Don't solve problems in isolation

A friend posted on the Facebook that, "If every American go on 1 meat-free day per week, it would be the same as taking 8 million cars off American roads". His friend added the statistics that "1 lb of meat requires 40 lb of grass ...". Exchange of posts attracted someone to point out human teeth are not meant for meat eating.

By not eating meat, the cattle farmers will go broke, and financial crisis will deepen further in USA.

40 lbs of grass for 1 lb of beef may sound terrible, but don't forget that the grass also involves in photosynthesis, whereby CO2 is absorbed, and O2 is released.

As for human teeth, why do you think humans have incisors? They are for tearing and eating meat.

If cutting down intake of meat due to excessive consumption, then it is logical move. However, if the meat can be donated to those who can't afford it, then overall consumption will be in balance.

No matter what one does, one should take a holistic view. Solving problems in isolation will lead to problems occurring in another area.