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of change calling for basic human rights and respect - others as an end to a type of leadership which to many seems way out of date, positively medieval to many western eyes.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.

Beyond Polarisation

In a time of change, so many diverse ways of thinking are around ...often with quite contradictory approaches.

I came across what appears like a dilemma of thought today, in scanning a magazine of recent releases in the 'alternative thinking' scene.

There were loads of books advocating the kind of thoughts that how we think ( either positively or negatively) is the major contributory factor to health and well being. Then another book which was advocating the flaws of this apparently positive way of thinking...the fact that it can so easily make people feel guilty about being ill as they have 'caused' the problem, thus compounding their problems, the reality that there are millions of children born into adverse conditions before they even have time to form their thought processes and therefore their illnesses cannot possible be explained away in these terms.

It struck me yet again how easy it is for views to polarise, to become in direct opposition, one to the other ...that one must be right and one must be wrong. How easy it is to become dogmatic in the face of the flaws in the 'opposite' argument.

This caused me to review how important it is to realise that we only ever have parts of the picture, and that to stay open to the ever growing truth of life is embracing the reality that at best, we only ever have a fragmented and partial view....it may need many different overlays on the same situation to come close to any true appreciation...particularly in a time like today where out terms of reference are expanding so rapidly.

In this particular stand off,surely one can accept that our mental and emotional states does affect our health dramatically, whilst taking on board that our cultural, physical and genetic background are a huge influence too. Life ranges from the physical, the mental, the emotional, the spiritual ....we are all unique individuals, yet appear in a particular culture and moment in history. Perhaps,one could say, some are privileged in that they can explore the wider range of human individuality and possibility whilst many others are severely limited by the needs of physical survival because of the place and circumstance of their birth.

Being Aware in the Moment

My blog is all about living in times of change ...and of course it could be said - and it is said by many people - that that change is simply part of the cycle of life and living ....and this, in one sense, is very true. A month ago we were in the deep freeze of winter and now the snowdrops and daffodils are appearing with all the renewed vigour and energy of spring.

But that sort of change and cycle is expected, it's predictable, re-assuring and it tells us all is well, there is an underlying stability....

And that, of course, is so unlike much else that is happening today, like the changes currently unfolding in the Middle East, where events are unfolding with a kind of quicksilver re-activity..with protests and unrest contaging from one country to another with a rapidity which is extra-ordinary.

I had an email from a friend teaching in Bahrain with some of the local 'street' news he had heard there that doesn't necessarily appear on the screen here. Yes, we hear that protests are beginning in Bahrain too, but do we hear that The King in Bahrain has tried to bribe everyone by offering every household a thousand dinars (something like one and a half thousand pounds!!) Or that the Kuwaiti Emir has also offered every Kuwaiti individual a thousand Kuwaiti dinars (more than two thousand pounds?) Both offers in an attempt to keep the status quo!

What an extra-ordinary state of affairs! A world that communicates so quickly, that is reading the trends as best they can as they are happening ....and attempting to be pro-active. And as the above example show, pro-active both in attempting to prevent those changes or pro-active in bringing them about.

It is often said that history repeats itself, but surely the wonderful opportunity of today, is to learn from the past, understand today and to forge a better tomorrow.

The Search for Truth

I had an email back from a young friend in Australia on yesterday's blog ...here is part of what he wrote :-



"Nice article on this subject. I've been following what's happening too. It's clear how biased the news is toward the downfall of the government being positive. I have an Egyptian friend who probably also has his bias but sees this as a terrible event completely manipulated by the Muslim Brotherhood. I think it's one of the great challenges of having mass media and instant communications, not only for people looking on from outside but especially for people in the middle of events to distill the truth from the torrent of biased information. How does a young student know that she's lending authenticity to an extremist group by protesting rather than (as she believes) trying to bring an end to a dictatorship"

It's so true, isn't it?
Everyone has their bias...and we know that whatever we come across in the media has a slant...so how does one begin to make sense of what is going on in the world?

No easy answer to that one! But, somehow realising that one has to make the effort to cover different versions of the same event ( sky news channels from around the world are great for that!) , try to detect what the bias is in each one, and as best one can, subtract a bit of that bias from what one hears ....and even what one thinks, as we too have our personal bias ! Watching the trends as well as the individual events on the news ..looking for patterns, cycles...talking it through with friends
All these will help in some way get closer to the truth of the matter...and perhaps too, recognising that none of us has the whole picture ..so never getting too dogmatic that we're right ...that might keep us open to the ongoing search and the next insight..

From the Past or the Future?

Over the past week, the predominant story in the news is of Tunisia, Egypt and the knock on effects this may have on other places in the Middle East. I've had loads of conversations with friends about this and one of the aspects which jumps out is how differently people can add up the same events. Some see it to be the winds of change coming in from the future, beginning to knock down the fixed old ways of dictatorship and opening the doors of change to a way of government with more humanity, more dignity and more freedom. Others fear the events are being manipulated behind the scenes by Islamic extremists, and that what looks like a bid for freedom will be a lever for re-instituting fundamentalist values and be a pull back into the past. Others are of the view, probably both influences are at play ....and look on with uncertainty as to how events may unfold.

When you live in times of change,as we do now, with instant global communications at all levels from governments to the folks on the street, the speed and contagion with which events can happen is quite astonishing. Let's hope the current events lead to a really positive human outcome for the people living there.