21 levels of Self-Deception: THIRD EDITION by Tom Wallace - HTML preview

T W E N T Y - O N E L E V E L S

Walking through the streets of any town or city on a Friday or Saturday night in the UK does however suggest that there is a lot of celebrating going on! The intention of revellers is perhaps simply to forget the problems of work and life generally and to find a few hours of fun. It is easy to be dismissive of this as somehow just excess of alcohol, but maybe we should not be so quick to judge.

There is a great need for celebration in all aspects of life — from daily meals through school and work, to spirituality. Why is school not more fun? Why is work usually just about getting things done with the least effort and cost? Why can we not spend more time finding ways to be creative in work and turning that creativity into celebration? Or, if that is too big a stretch, why not at least find more time for relaxing and socialising with our colleagues? Our culture does not relate well to its Christian festivals of Christmas and Easter. The heavy interpretations put upon these celebrations by evangelical Christianity makes them difficult symbols for a largely secular society to relate to. Is there any way forward from this? Perhaps we could bring back the very long association of festivals with the seasons? Reminders of our connection to the Earth and our reliance on Earth’s providence might be more helpful than reminders of sin.

The money we are supposed to use to buy happiness — and presumably the chance for more play — never seems to arrive. Even if we ever have enough money, somehow play and celebration just refuse to be bought. The

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