Happy Hallothanksmas!

Wait, I'm confused, is Christmas still on for 25th December? 

Excuse me if the answer to my question is obvious. Last time I checked we were half way through November, making it 38 more sleeps (38!) until then - ok, give or take a few hours depending on what part of the globe you live in. 

Why then have we gone from pumpkins and ghosts only a few days ago, straight into snowmen and and Christmas trees?! No 'in-between' whatsoever to enjoy a consumerism-free November. 

I want in-betweens, I like in-betweens! In-betweens keep me sane. In-betweens act as breathers to help me recover. 

But nope! Instead I have shops with fake snow on its windows and/or Christmas carols playing on the background. Even supermarkets are stocked up with toys, chocolates and 'turrón'. The most astonishing thing is that we don't find this astonishing at all! We happily buy the Christmas tree with all its decorations, we start loading on gold gift wrap, we start planning Christmas dinners and booking friends and family.

How did we allow this to become the new normal? 

Next thing I know I'll start celebrating my next birthday the day after I turn a year older. 

There is a clear conflict between my journey towards inner peace with all my meditation, yoga and whatnot and a world that conspires against my mental sanity. Happiness is found in living in the moment they say, well stop stressing me about future events then!

Football-Immune

Does not caring the slightest about the World Cup make me a traitor? I'm incapable of sitting through 90 minutes of football - equally incompetent of sitting through 5. I'm immune to this World Cup fever that has spread across the globe and currently has masses building their days around matches and even messing up with their sleep to make up for the time difference. 

My total indifference has made people question my patriotism, when the truth is that I couldn't love Spain more! I just think that support takes many forms and believe that holding a flag on one hand, a strong drink on the other whilst letting out of your mouth outrageous words, is not the best way of holding your country's back. Instead, I shop locally, I absorb the morning sun, I take public transport, I savour the juicy tomatoes... you get the idea...

It's just that I'm not into football. But not like those who say the same and then find themselves glued to the screen whenever a major match is on. I actually try my very very best to avoid any kind of streaming of this sport. I still remember the awkward conversations when Dublin taxi drivers learned where I came from:

"So do you support Madrid or Barcelona?"
"Hmmm... You see? I'm not very much into football"
"Oh, that Messi guy is good, isn't he?"
"Ehm.."
"He must damn be! With all that money he is paid.."
"Hmm"
"And that Ronaldo guy!" 

I can only imagine the kind of conversations I would be having now on the back of that taxi. Because, what happens when your team is no longer running for the World Cup? Who do you support? Are you still supposed to watch the matches? Do you feel embarrassed by your nationality? Do you stop liking your country?

All the suffering and disappointments I save myself from by completely ignoring anything related to football!

Let's badge it!

Walking down the streets on any given day, a stampede of working souls, who can't seem to get home soon enough, rush in every direction. All with a distinctive feature: a label hanging from their necks. Literally, not metaphorically. Call it label, call it badge, call it what you want... It all serves the same purpose: openly displaying information.

Here is my proposal: if we are to disclose information, do it in a way that it'll benefit society as a whole. Tell the world something that will help them. It would save so much time and efforts! Efficiency, people, efficiency.

I'll illustrate this using myself as an example. My chest would proudly exhibit the following (not exclusively, but enough for you to get a sense of what I mean):

• Good with faces, terrible with names
• Don't care about the size - or number, for that matter - of your house, car, [enter material possession]
• People who are happy all of the time scare me
• Sometimes a glass of wine is the high of my day
• Happiness is a good book and a milky tea
• If you think you're better than someone else, don't come closer
• ...

Are you in? 

Think that it will work both ways. I sure know that my my life would have been so much better if I knew up-front some of the things I only got to learn the hard way... 

• "can't keep promises" 
• "will lie behind your back" 
• "my life is build around smoking"
• "fake"
• "will betray"
• ...

 

Let's make the world a better place, let's badge it!