While I am long past the age where personal New Year resolutions are anything other than exercises in futility, I can't help but think that a few well-placed aspirations for both Canada and the world would improve everyone's lives tremendously. Although some of the following may sound a tad sanctimonious, they are bound by a common theme: less can be more.
So, for 2015 and beyond, may we all strive for:
Less consumption of the world's resources, and more respect for the limits of the earth.
Less material pursuits, and more spiritual ones.
Less self-centredness, and more concern for the collective.
Less engagement with our technology, and more engagement with the world.
And finally, most importantly for the well-being of Canada,
Less Stephen Harper and his reactionary, divisive and vote-pandering policies, and more politics based on critical thinking, compassion and real leadership.
I end this brief post with a quote from one of my favourite poems, Tennyson's Ulysses:
Come, my friends,
‘Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
May 2015 be a good year for Canada and the world.
