Looking back

It hardly seems a decade since we were being told to be worried about the Millennium bug. As a matter of fact, I wasn't at all worried and thought the whole thing was newspaper hype.

As I look back over the past decade what do I consider important? On a personal basis, I retired, I took up blogging and I developed cancer. I also achieved international recognition for my life's work on CLL. I had a couple of extra grandchildren. I joined a small group for Bible study. I watched my children succeed in their chosen careers.

In the world I have watched people get very upset about global warming. I have seen the AIDS epidemic subside slightly under the control of pharmaceutical intervention. I have seen bird flu and swine flu and SARS have a much less severe effect than the media led us to expect. I have watched wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have seen Tony Blair and George Bush fall; I have seen Gordon Brown rise and make a hash of almost everything he touches. I have seen Obama triumph and then watched as he disappointed people. I have seen the European Union squelch forward, suffocating all around it.

What effect has the last decade had on me? I have become more skeptical of what I read. I suspect that everything written has an agenda before it, often unconnected to the subject of the article. I am more conscious that we are all sinners. I have become alarmed for the evangelical faith; I suspect that many of the leaders have been 'got at' by unbelievers and compromised their message. I have become less concerned about personal wealth. As I see my children less dependent on me and my accounts all paid, I see no point in earning more. As one of the world's wealthiest 1% I am more concerned for those who have nothing.

I am learning the value of talking to people. Previously I had thought of conversation as a woman's thing. Men talk to communicate information; women talk to transmit mood. Perhaps transmitting mood is more important than I thought.