First of two parts''TWAS the night before Christmas and all through the house nothing was stirring, not even a mouse.'Obviously, a Filipino didn't write this. In Filipino homes, the mice were hiding from the boisterous family overflowing the house. Joyfully laughing together as they consume the goodies on the table. Our Christmas lunch has been unvaried since birth, and we eagerly looked forward to it. Christmas lunch reminds me of the old saw 'I'm full, what's for dessert.'I started this piece way back in September when the official Filipino Christmas season began. Christmas is a magical time that even non-Christians like me celebrate. There's no other time quite like it. Birthdays bring family and friends together, but no one else unless you're a king or queen. Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha bring the world's Muslims together, but no one else. Easter brings together the Christian religion, but not others. And similarly, with other religions, they are isolated to that religious group. While national holidays are just that: national. Christmas is enjoyed by all, and signals to us that another year is coming. A week of merriment and goodwill is before us. It's a time when we're kind to each other, like at no other time.A week when the miseries of the past are forgotten, and the joys of the future anticipated. A year in which a birthday has reminded us of age is capturing our bodies and our minds (it's taken over mine, but I'm content with what I have today).A year in which we've suffered trials and tribulations, but also successes and joys. A world in which some friends have gone — for us older folks — but many remain.All of it in a world sinking into ever more chaos: wars proliferating and at an increasingly worrying level; democracies succumbing to dictators; an ever hotter climate creating environmental calamities exceeding anything witnessed in past millennia; a world where too many are in abject poverty. Donald Trump is about to destroy the world order. All within an IT revolution that's going to create heaven knows what. We're heading into a new world order, and it's hard to see that it will be a better one. But humans are an optimistic lot, and good eventually triumphs over bad — doesn't it? Actually, I don't think it does. We're living in a world today that is worse than the one I grew up in. Just one simple example. When I was young, you dressed nicely and walked onto the plane. Today, any old, dilapidated clothes will do. And you face waiting ever so long to have your body and belongings scrutinized in the most annoying, intrusive detail. 'No, I'm not going to stab someone to death with a three-inch long pair of scissors' — they confiscated them. It may be the reminiscence of old age, but I don't think so. The world is a less pleasant place to live in. Oh, mind you, the technological marvels of the past half century have certainly made for a world of greater convenience and comfort — for those who can afford it. And we live longer. But it's a less civil world.But enough of that, it's Christmas, when the world is put aside and the child in us arises — for the better, briefest of moments. I remember the thrill of Christmas, the excitement of tearing off the wrapping paper. The feast at lunch. The rarely seen relatives crowding around. The long break from the daily, all too consuming work. On this, though, there's the beginning of an interesting trend toward a more balanced life. Something we certainly need. Thirty-hour workweeks are in discussion. Belgium, Spain and the UK have trialed four-day workweeks using models that maintain full-time pay while reducing hours. The ability to reject a boss' call outside the workday is emerging; it was recently brought into law in Australia. It may well be that artificial intelligence will free us all up for a more leisurely, balanced life.As I come to the end of life, I must admit long hours at work were fine with me. I've thoroughly enjoyed my ever so many years of business. But I'm probably something of an exception on this as most of my business life has been at the top. From running the subsidiaries of large corporations to creating and running my own. The challenge of it all stimulates life. On top of that, I've had a hobby that consumes me. Fixing, repairing, creating things in a wonderfully equipped (probably the best private one in the Philippines) workshop has kept me happy in the off hours. As has two sports: sailing and in earlier years, motor racing. I've never had a day of loneliness or idleness.I recommend all of you, have an activity outside of business that consumes you, challenges you, excites you. Add it to a loving family, and challenges to conquer, and life can be a truly memorable experience. I wish you all one. I wish everyone could have one.To be concluded on Dec. 20, 2024wallace.likeitis@gmail.com
