October 2015
From the Dragons’ Den
The final task to be carried out when clearing up after each Little Dragon Session is the removal of any disposable nappies that have been placed in the bin and to clear the rubbish bin from the kitchen area. For obvious reasons if we fail to carry out these tasks then there could be resulting unpleasantness. Huge thanks to the Big Dragon who diligently carries out this essential task.
Our society is big on disposal. Wrapping from food items, packaging from goods purchased are amongst the smaller, yet at the same time, huge areas of disposal. Large electrical white goods, televisions, technological wizardry are purchased and disposed of with frightening, lightning speed. Smaller equipment barely has time to be placed in our homes or about our persons before it is consigned to the rubbish bin and hence to disposal.
I well remember, as a child, longing for, and eventually to my great delight being the proud recipient of a ‘real’ pen, a fountain pen. You may remember – Platignum, Waterman and, coveted above all in my eyes, Conway Stuart. I remember becoming the proud possessor of a mottled, green Conway Stuart fountain pen, with a gold nib. I can evoke the memory of the skilled writing that leapt from that pen nib. I was so proud of the pen and the writing produced and I kept it for many years even after its practical usefulness had long expired.
Nowadays, we are more likely to purchase a pack of our chosen easy-write pens be they ball point, gel pens or whatever else has been developed for our use. Use it – dispose of it – no more thought given.
We dispose of consumer goods with such little thought but more worrying is the way in which we sometimes dispose of relationships. In our busy, busy lives, coloured by the importance of ourselves, our wants, our urges and those vital, essential needs that must be answered immediately, we sometimes forget those who need us most; those who depend on the warm smile, the friendly word, the interest in another life other than our own.
Luckily, relationships can be recovered, unlike the goods that we dispose of so easily. We can, if we try hard enough, make the time, rescue the relationship, give of ourselves to someone whose need could be much greater than our own. There is nothing more rewarding than the returned smile of a Little Dragon as they enter on a Tuesday morning – except perhaps, the smile of someone we have sought out, given time to and cared about.
Val Butterworth
