Path Finding New Ways

One of the challenges for being a pioneer of finding new ways forward is not sliding back into the past. This is one of these really interesting areas to explore as I opened up in of of my earlier blogs about recent events in the Middle East. New ideas, fresh winds blow through and create a vacuum, but as soon as a space appears, the old establishments rush in to fill the void!

One of the things I've discovered is that there is a lot more energy, more 'oomph' attached connecting to genuinely positive new influences, than when something is merely a kick against the past. You might say one is evolutionary, with that extra something else from the future whilst the kick against the past, is revolutionary with all the pitfalls of revolution which we have seen from history.

Thanks for all this sun!!

Talking to one of my environmental friends yesterday threw out another reason to be grateful for all this gorgeous sun we've been having in the UK.

And it relates to the nuclear leaks at Fukushima in Japan after the recent shocking earthquake. Rain is carrying weak amounts of radioactivity into the eco system in various parts of the world ..but by default, that means the absence of rain here in the UK has been a real life saver for us, in that we have not had that same exposure so far.

The other interesting fact that came up in this conversation was that he and his family have been taking daily doses of Potassium Iodide , which he said builds up in the system as a protection against the body absorbing radioactivity. Not being much of a science buff, I headed straight for Google! And there is some interesting information on there, about how it was given out to 10.5 million children and 7 million adults around Chernobyl after the nuclear disaster there in 1986, as a protection against the thyroid absorbing radioactivity ...well worth a research.

To watch or not to watch?

To watch or not to watch ?

Speaking to various friends recently, it seems some are absolutely glued to the international news programmes, eager to understand and follow events as they unfold. Others are frankly just finding it too much...too depressing and have decided to give it a miss for a while. As one friend put it.....just too much doom and gloom and nothing I can do anything about !

From the perspective of living in times of change, with the view that we are in times of both endings and new beginnings, the news very often highlights the breakdown of old ways and old patterns ...a necessary part of moving into something new.

The problem is that the influence of new thinking is often subtle to perceive, because it is very often quickly taken over by old thinking ....take for instance the wave of demands for reforms through the middle east. It certainly felt like a wind of change washing through country after country, often with the voice of young intellectuals talking about the need for respect, for humanity, for fairness. However, very quickly, as a vacuum appears in the establishment, other factions, whether they be religious, economical, military or political quickly step up to the mark and want to impose their views, their ways.

It's a real challenge in today's world, to find ways forward that are really new, bring fresh hope, have learned from the past and do not simply fall into a re-run of previous history with various vested interests looking to improve their own situations at the expense of others.

But then, isn't that the greatest challenge of our times?

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.