Back to the Future or Forward to the Past?

I watched a TV show recently on the concept of RE-WILDING, sometimes described as the return of natural habitats or the reversal of human 'domestication'. The program was highlighting various examples where top predators are re-introduced to an ecology to 're-balance' the eco system. The example of wolves in Yellowstone was cited as a very successful example. Other examples were re-introducing the panther to Florida to keep down the wild hog population, or brown bears back into the mountains of Northern Italy. Question is, how thoroughly has this been thought through? In the example of the brown bears, local villagers are furious as the bears are not only scavenging in the villages, destroying small businesses like bee-keeping and poultry farming by breaking in for bees and chickens to eat, but are now trying to break into houses too. Pretty scary stuff! But the thing which alarmed me most was another suggestion currently under serious debate as to whether they should re-introduce the African lion to Montana, USA. Can you believe that?It seems that there is such a large herd of wild horses that some scientists have come up with the bright idea that they should be 'controlled' by letting loose lions which in Africa like to eat zebras! There have not been lions roaming in the US for about 12,000 years!

I found this a very bizarre line of thinking ....surely if there is a population of wild horses, which can't sustain itself, then humans have the brains and ability to manage the situation? Haven't we, with all our technology and weaponry, already taken over as the 'top predator'? And if we won't do that, then hard as it is to say, nature will do it for us as the weakest horses will simply not survive and the herd will find a balance that works.

It struck me that humans love to play God in these situations, and even the examples which are currently cited as 'success' stories are only 15 years old....a blink of an eye in ecological terms.

The good news we don't hear!

I have friends who live around the recent quake affected areas in New Zealand. Devastating as the experience has been, there have been some fantastic stories about the 20,000 students who have been going around helping people clear up the sludge and mess left behind. In fact, 300,000 tonnes of liquefaction needed to be removed from properties..
that is a lot of ****!

People can be so fantastic, especially when they pull together in a good cause to help each other!

Hypocrisy or Truth

Like so many people, I've been closely following events on the world news on the unfolding situations in the Middle East and North Africa.Every news program I've watched has had people being interviewed who are talking about the double standards and hypocrisy of the world governments. I watched one very learned chap this morning who with all seriousness said that one of the ways to deal with the double standards was to ignore them! We have all become used to this double dealing and hypocrisy as normal...yet it is not so long ago where people ( rightly or wrongly!) actually believed politicians ..thought what they heard on the news was actually the facts. It seems today, everyone knows they have to read between the lines to try and work out for themselves just what the truth of the matter might be!

In rather stark contrast, I've been reading some of the writings of Laurens Van der Post where he draws evocative pictures of some of the ways of life and thinking in Old Africa. I found it so fresh and inspiring ..especially after the current news programs. Although an echo from the past, perhaps it could also be a call to the future? I certainly hope so! Here are some thoughts on 'truth' from 'A Story Like the Wind'

" No imagination has yet been great enough to invent improvements to the truth. Truth, however terrible, carries within itself its own strange comfort for the misery it is so often compelled to inflict on behalf of life. Sooner or later, it is not pretence but the truth which gives back with both hands what it has taken away with one"

The Japanese Earthquake

It really is so very tragic to witness the human suffering caused by the recent earthquake in Japan. Not something one wants to blog lightly about, but rather a time of quiet reflection and consideration as to how one might be able to send some support.

However, there is one conversation which I've had with numerous people, from neighbours to friends to the post lady. It stretches across two very current realisations.

One is the power of nature compared to that of us humans. A calamity like this earthquake shows so clearly how small we are in the face of the power of the planet. It really shrinks us down to a more realistic size. The other talking point is realising that there are so many nuclear power plants around the world, and that whilst every precaution is taken to safeguard them, when a calamity strikes, the dangers of our technology can immediately pose a threat to people all over the planet at one stroke. This is a feature of modern life which has only been the case for a few generations and once again highlights that life today is so interconnected around the globe.

The danger aspect is one side of the coin ...but of course the other side of this same picture is how there can be a world wide to support and help those suffering in Japan. It immediately rises above considerations of country or race and evokes a humanitarian response to other members of the global human family.

In Transition

Talking last week with one of my friends, we were talking over how helpful it is to view these times we live in, as a time of switchover, as a time of transition.

What does this imply ? It suggests we are at the end of one kind of civilisation and at the beginning of another. It means we are seeing the breakdown of many aspects of a way of life which is showing itself as no longer tenable or acceptable in these new global times. A good current example is the revolts against the old fixed ways of hereditary despotism and tyrannical leadership in the Middle East and North Africa. Some see it as a fresh and important new wind of change calling for basic human rights and respect - others as an end to a type of leadership which to many seems way out of date, positively medieval to many western eyes. Both a breakthrough and a breakdown.

To me, it's a nightmare watching the violence in Libya - but at least if I remember that it is part of the reality of transitional times, it gives a context in which to make some sense out of the chaos.

Forgiveness

I had a visit today from a good friend who is just back from Kenya, where she and other members of a womens group called 'Feminenza' have been working with 21 women on the area of Forgiveness. Each of the 21 women in training are themselves involved in practical community projects and keen to improve their skills in this area.

I thought it was incredibly inspiring in many different ways. Firstly, that these women train for a month in order to be able to promote peace and forgiveness in Africa. Secondly that the women who travelled there from the UK and Holland also believed enough in the importance of forgiveness in the world to travel all the way to Kenya.

And thirdly to know, that each of those 21 women are now travelling back to their own communities to promote in very practical ways the importance of forgiveness in building a peaceful future. In a continent which has suffered so much from violence and tribal warfare, it's brilliant to hear of such pro-active work.

Many Overlays

I remember studying history at school and university,and when learning about historical events or world crises, such as major wars, there were always clearly defined reasons and events which were recognised as being either the cause or the catalyst. A good example being the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, on 28 June 1914, which set in train a series of diplomatic events that was seen to lead inexorably to the outbreak of war in Europe at the end of July 1914.
In following the news today of unfolding events in the Middle East and North Africa,and having many discussions with people as to what is going on, it strikes me that we live in a time where there is such a range of interaction,
and intercommunication, where there is so much evidence of old patterns of social structure breaking down, and new ways appearing, that perhaps it is more sensible to stop looking for simple or single track answers.. So many people are arguing their viewpoint...for example, about the influence of Facebook , the influence of Islamic fundamentalists, the desire of the West for more oil, the bid for democracy, that the old despotic ways have had their time, the role of 'Anonomous' Hackers.... Perhaps it makes more sense to admit we really don't understand what is going on, but that the more we can appreciate the many overlays of influence in the situation, the more we can prompt new perception and perhaps get a glimpse into history in the making.