A quick look at today's news and you'd be forgiven for being downhearted. Apparently the UK has come to a standstill because we had a blanket of snow and £3 billion of business has been lost - at a time when we need as much economic output as possible. This, on top of news that some of the best known retailers and producers are reporting massive losses in the last quarter.
But surely getting out of a economic downturn was never going to be easy? It's a long path we have to tread, learning our lessons and moving forward. Every day I see signs that local businesses are still pressing hard and fairly optimistic about the future. It's these seeds we need to nuture - protecting our local communities by buying locally and keeping the money in the local community to recycle over and over again.
It's not just a business shift that's happening though. There are glimmers of a cultural shift in attitudes as people re-learn the art of make do and mend, of avoiding obvious excesses like new shiny cars, and focusing on the important things in life. It's these shoots of regeneration which will have a big impact on our happiness and wellbeing in times to come - if only we can keep hold of them. We welcome the news that people are happier now than they were earlier on in the decade, as long as it applies across the board to the wealthier and the poorer.
I really hope we're learning our lessons from this situation - not just the big bosses of multinational banks and corporations, but individuals too.
