Now that the Government has handed our collective fate to poverty-pushing outsiders for the next four years, it is time we hatched a retaliatory four-year plan of our own. Let’s call it the ‘four-year I ain’t gonna go down without a fight plan’ — a bit of a mouthful, yes, but at least it’s plain English we can all make sense of.
Before we begin, let’s just check for a pulse. Is it there? It is? Wonderful, you are alive and kicking. Congratulations on a great start.
Next, take a second reading and gauge the strength of those rhythmic blood-flowing throbs. How would you describe yours? Nice and strong? Terrific, kindly proceed to level two. What’s that you say — barely there? Do not pass go.
If the life in your body isn’t up to scratch, you cannot possibly expect to make progress. Your health is your wealth as we all know only too well these days, and fitness is the name of the game. Possibly one of the only good points about this hellish recession is that it has turned exercise into a hobby. Everyone’s at it, whether sweating blood and tears on static bikes in 600 calorie 45-minute character-building spinning classes or going for burnout with back-to-back pool lengths all in front crawl and multiples of 100. Heck, if you haven’t run a marathon by now or you’re not training for one, call a doctor. You’re an endangered species, but take heart! You have a generously wide berth of four years to get sorted on that front. Improvements should be gradual but cumulative.
Once the health is getting the treatment it deserves next thing needing checking is the family. Are the kiddies/young adults ok, showing lots of happy smiles throughout the day? Are Mam and Dad still blessedly in the picture and keeping hale and hearty? Is lover-boy/girl still as loved up as ever? Sensational. Keep on top of these things by ensuring spirits are high and hugs and kisses frequency even higher. You won’t believe the return on investment to be had.
Moving on now to matters potentially highly sensitive, let’s talk finances. Here’s the rub. We all need cash to survive, but most of us want oodles of cash to make life that bit sweeter. Right now of course cash is in very short supply, such that despite working harder over longer hours, many of us are coming home with less than ever before. Stop right there.
Having money in the bank is no longer the litmus test it used to be, considering, number one, banks now have more meaning as those nice grass borders on either side of a river, and number two, nobody trusts them any more; furthermore, the massive savings mountain now jamming up bank reserves are starving the local economies where they should be spent, in turn shattering business people’s confidence to create jobs.
What is required therefore is that we get spending again and investing in our local businesses, in order to make them grow and help more of us generate an income once more. All quite simple really. No master’s economics degree necessary. Just teamwork — and don’t forget there’s no 'I' in team, as the Mayo Advertiser team here is regularly wont to declare.
Finally, with the health, family, and finances all sorted, the fourth remaining pillar to be safeguarded in our personal recovery plan is Christmas 2010.
Christmas is sacrosanct in Ireland this year. It must not be played down, dreaded, or complained about to even the slightest degree. It is the icing on the cake; the risen cream at the top; the crème de la crème of all that is good in life. Its symbolism far outweighs its commercial profile. It is a time of celebration. It's that one time in the year when we see long-lost pals and familiar faces from yonks back; it's also the time of year we register who has gone since the Christmas before, who we miss and always will, and who we cherish in our day-to-day lives.
Keep a tab on these four things over the next four years and any question of survival will disappear. We must rise and fight to the last now like never before so that come 2014/2015 amid marathons/cashflow and loving relationships, we'll have the first hand skills and expertise to ensure we never, ever, allow this country fail so entirely again.
