NEW BLOG ADDRESS

I've had a number of people tell me they've had difficulty getting to my new blog address. Either of the following addresses should do the trick:

craftedclarity.com

or

craftedclarity.com/blog

Thanks for sticking with me, and Happy New Year!

Michael

LANE CHANGE

PLEASE NOTE THAT, EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2009, THE NEW ADDRESS FOR THIS BLOG WILL BE:

craftedclarity.com

Please update your bookmarks accordingly.

Many thanks to all those who hit this blog more than 2000 times since it began six months ago. 2009 will be better than ever!

Michael

Recipe for Handling Tough Times

Times are tough, and will be for a while. You can't open the newspaper without reading the stories of people who are suffering through compelling personal economic crises. One of the core tenets of my faith, described in this AP article, really affords peace of mind in times such as this.

Take care of yourself...save for the rainy days...reach out and care for others...be wise in managing your finances. Use it up, wear it out, make it do. When times get tough, maybe the first thing to do is fire the servants and reconnect with the simple pleasures of caring for yourself, your family, your home.

I may be old fashioned, but I think conspicuous consumption, i.e., the addiction to spending on ever-more-expensive wants instead of fundamental needs, is a great curse in our society. It is evidenced by the length of time we supported a store like Sharper Image, where everything was outrageously overpriced and value was a mere afterthought.

Life style does, and ought to, shrivel into insignificance when life itself is jeopardized.

Some government officials have already begun the clamor for middle class America to "spend its way into prosperity." I think Churchill had an apt description of such a notion when he said, "it is like man standing in a bucket trying to lift himself up by the handle."

Well, sorry, but I'm not listening to that. I'm headed back to the farm. Maybe some of those people who were trying to make money out on the fourth decimal place of some "troubled asset" would do well to consider the same.