Fundamentally this would be an opportunity to see that oneness can be a reality, rather than this notion of financial independence. One of the things that is bringing stress to some happens to be the Christmas holiday, and this can be an opportunity to realize the 'true spirit of Christmas' rather than indulge in unsustainable consumerism.

And to be frank, it is an opportunity to live by love rather than money - which is rather like putting the cart before the horse. We have forgotten that money is basically an agreement, and the spirit of agreement is the spirit of love and cooperation. More than a nice concept, realizing this can open us up to relating on the basis of love rather than transactional dynamics - and that love is the natural state of things.

As the bible says: "Man does not live by bread alone." ;-)

I believe it is showing humanity to look inside themselves for truth. The crunch brings us all together. We can choose isolation or we can choose to live cooperatively.

The death of materialism means the birth of spiritualism. When material things can no longer bring anything of value then the soul is awakened.

All the strength to all on this wonderful day.

This is a great opportunity to decide for ourselves what is most important in our lives. A re-evaluation, as the other writers noted, is essential at this time. In the US especially, there is so much waste and selfishness. This crisis can serve as a turning point for the world to unite toward progress on a humanitarian scale. For each of us to realize what is really worthwhile.

I live in Paris, France. A beautiful city, indeed.
10 years ago (so to speak), one would be bumped over because people were always running "somewhere". Over the last few years, I have noticed that I'm being bumped over by persons whilst we are only 2 on the sidewalk!
In the last 4 years, 10 times I have not been able to get off the metropolitan because other human beings wouldn't move and let way. I do not blame them; it's just a fact.

We have come to a society where one exists only because he can buy and show: his labelled clothes, his mobile phone, his i-pod, etc... but most people don't know who they are and where they are.
When they are somewhere, they are always "communicating" with someone somewhere else, closing themselves up from their present.

We are told : work more, then you will earn more, then you can buy more. And that will heal our economy.
I don't know. My gut feelings tell me that is not the solution.

For the last 10 years, I have observed young people unwilling to "play the game", chosing their lifes -despite of long studies- to match their values based on human and nature relationship.
This appears to me as an opportunity.

Work vs. activity(ies)
Social place through work vs. what you are and bring to your community.

I think that the crisis that we START to experience right now brings us the opportunity to change the rules of how we envision our lives, as individuals, as communities, as nations (if that is ever pertinent, nowadays).
It brings us the opportunity to allow each individual to find his place in his environment, regardless of education.

We have thought that "mondialism" was about being able to make money worldwide. We have therefore eargerly involved the technology. But what we can learn from it is that : looking at the world as a whole makes us also more responsible for what happens elsewhere.

Will we be able to take on the challenge?
Time will say.

The opportunity is to change the game AND the cards. But are we willing and able to change the cards?

Cheers.

For me the opportunity is to remember that giving doesn't necessarily involve buying. I find that giving of myself is something that I can do no matter how much money I have. Several years ago, I began visiting older people as part of an effort to bring community to those who are homebound. The commitment was only an hour a week and at first it seemed like a lot. But over time I became so attached to the woman I visited that an hour a week was not enough. I cooked with her, ate with her, prayed with her, and sat with her in the last days of her life. The experience was rich and humbling.

For about a year now, my daughter and I have been visiting two women who are living in a nursing home after having severe strokes. Neither has family or friends who visit. We wanted to bring them to our house for Christmas dinner but weren't sure if we could make it happen. Yesterday we were finally able to meet with the social worker who is helping us arrange transportation, because they both use wheelchairs. When we officially invited them to our Christmas dinner, they were thrilled and so were we. It's hard to explain, but I love both of those women as though they were my very own sisters. We are all broken in some way, but together we can be whole again.

The recent economic downturn has impacted lives around the world. Living in Canada, I long presumed that I would be sheltered from harm, but alas, the development company that I had been working for was cornered into suspending operations and laying off staff, including myself. I took this opportunity to diversify my skills and launch into a "career" of self-employed entrepreneurship. Being an entrepreneur has allowed me to become flexible enough to survive this crisis because I can now tackle any opportunity that comes along. And make no mistake - the current crisis is lined with opportunity.

The business of "problem solving" has never looked better. You can always make money when your clients are doing well, but now is a time to look at opportunities to take advantage on the downside. For example, most organizations would gladly pay a 50% commission on gross revenue that you bring in if you're cutting their losses. Everybody wins and you forge lasting relationships in tough times.

Now, several months later, I see my peers going through similar situations with their employers and floundering to figure out their next steps. If you want to best prepare yourself for the impending market UPswing, I recommend employing yourself in these hard times. It takes a leap of faith, but that leap looks easier everyday when traditionally stable institutions and industries are collapsing like castles made of sand.

Peace and Love!