on specified dates once or twice a year has nothing to do with love.  In fact some people will limit their giving to the sending of cards – it’s the absolute minimum one can get away with and still maintain the public image that one is a generous person.  In reality it would be more generous to give of ourselves when it is not expected – at other times, and better to give to someone in need or to someone who deserves a reward or to a person who requires a little spiritual uplift at a low time.  But like making monetary donations to charities – it’s a lot easer than actually going out of our way to stand in a town centre collecting names for a petition or doing a few hours volunteering in a charity shop.  Token presents and donations can be used as a way to kid ourselves that we’re doing our bit and giving enough to the world.  But is it enough?  So the Jehovah’s Witnesses are bang-on right with their gift policy.  They actually do give gifts at other times – and have given to me.

On parting with the Witnesses the younger woman opened her Bible to give me a short passage which she considered appropriate; it was the one about beware of false prophets, I think her way of countering my affinity with the Dao.  I thought it was ironic, as I had clearly demonstrated her religion was not correct on various things; in other words, she herself was a false prophet.  Ironic too that she had made a life choice not to be a Daoist even though by her own admission she knew nothing about Daoism.  How can we dismiss something we don’t understand?  That is another example of ego – in the case of religion it is institutional ego.  Each member of the group by association feels threatened when the foundations of their belief system are shaken.  They feel themselves slipping down the social status ladder and will fight against all rational argument to protect themselves from the dangerous intrusion of common sense.  They also feel fear.  What would happen if the belief system which gives them hope for the future were suddenly smashed into little pieces?  When the belief system is proved wrong we lose our hope – our spirits flounder, fear sets in and the only way to survive is to be forced to think for ourselves. Many of us don’t understand what we observe because we have been so solidly deluded by globally accepted insanities like war and religion.  So what happens if we take the alternative approach and pin all our hopes on a foundation of reality?  Reality by definition cannot be destroyed – truth can only possibly remain the truth.  Such a reality-based belief system will therefore remain forever unshaken throughout our life.  When we realise reality is good, our hope can never be stolen away, and our spirits can exist in contentment.  If we endeavour from now on to instill reality into our children and make them realise that reality is good and will provide for us, our children will never have the insecurity which was created in past generations who were told to believe in fairy stories.  When we realise that to change our opinions is actually intelligent and to be praised as such – our egos can be freed:  we can give up outdated religious ties without the fear of appearing weak.  Change is power.  Change gives us hope.