On the Turning Away…

Here is a song about attitude…the tendency of people to turn away from those who need help… the modern-day attitude of  “it’s not my problem”.

Sorry for the harsh picture, but how can this happen on our Earth, where there is enough food?

The song references issues of poverty and oppression, lamenting on the tendency of people to turn away from those afflicted with such conditions. We have to let go of such attitudes and move twards a new paradigm!

 The “new humankind” embraces all human beings, the Earth and all plants and animals as a part of one’s own family. There is no discrimination between one’s own blood ties and others. All life is seen as valuable and precious and love is extended all around.

I like this song, because it ends with a hopeful note: “no more turning away….”

It’s a seriously beautiful song…enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRJjqQtW9FE

 

On the turning away
From the pale and downtrodden
And the words they say
Which we wont understand
Don’t accept that whats happening
Is just a case of others suffering
Or you’ll find that you’re joining in
The turning away

It’s a sin that somehow
Light is changing to shadow
And casting its shroud
Over all we have known
Unaware how the ranks have grown
Driven on by a heart of stone
We could find that were all alone
In the dream of the proud

On the wings of the night
As the daytime is stirring
Where the speechless unite
In a silent accord
Using words you will find are strange
And mesmerized as they light the flame
Feel the new wind of change
On the wings of the night

No more turning away
From the weak and the weary
No more turning away
From the coldness inside
Just a world that we all must share
It’s not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that there’ll be
No more turning away?

 

 

How can poor Earth carry the Great 8 in its current condition?

True Leaders of our Earth ~ African Inspiration

 

I think that many of the current heads of State in Africa will not be so helpful in the difficult years which are beginning from now.

I think that way because most of them have personal agendas which do not place the human lives ahead of their own interests. In the past, much help which was offered by other countries in times of famine, for example, were stolen by corrupt leading figures. And even if our leaders were not corrupt, the rest of the world is also going to endure economic and physical natural disasters over the next few years and won’t be able to help Africa much this time…

So, who is really going to lead the world through this crisis?

For all crises in Earth’s history, there are people who have been prepared for some time before the fact. Some people have been  born specifically at this time with a life plan to serve people  and see them through the crisis. Even right now, across the world there are scientists, public personalities, farmers, environmental activists and even some presidents who have become more outspoken in urging global action to counter climate change and help poor countries to cope with its varied impacts. You will find that each one of them can play their roles beautifully and each will offer something special, especially towards the changing of consciousness of the Earth’s people. The leaders of the future are ordinary people, not presidents of countries necessarily, because changes in consciousness should occur at every level of society and in many different areas, such as farming, science, social policy and definitely in terms of attitude. It is not enough for Africans to take a victim stance, and to complain that they did not benefit from industrialization but are paying the biggest price. Even though it is a fact, focusing on that aspect will only encourage anger instead of focusing one’s energy towards constructive changes to help the current situation. Placing blame is not the solution.

 Who are our future leaders? Are there any special trends amongst them? Do they have anything in common and how can we recognize them?

 The future leaders of  the world will be those who are not motivated by material gain, by fame or by power, but rather, they serve some ideal that is in support of nature in particular and who show great love for human beings. They will be easy to see because they will naturally float to the surface when the timing is right. Many, even most of them are going to be females who naturally have a more nurturing motherly instinct.

One woman who I have always thought of as someone who is playing such a special role,  is a lady from Kenya called Wangari Maathai – she is the founder of the Greenbelt Movement and she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.

The work she has done in the field of environmental sustainability is extremely important example of how people can survive in the future, by changing the way they use natural resources and by planting trees to replace on they use up. She is certainly a role model for Africa’s future and she has laid down a foundation and has been a female pioneer in male-dominated Africa, which will make the road a little easier for this new generation of Women to be accepted more easily by people.

 She represents many “firsts” for women in Africa. She was the first woman in central or eastern Africa to hold a Ph.D., the first woman head of a university department in Kenya, the first African woman to win the Nobel Prize in Peace… and more than that, she also served as national chairperson for the National Council of Women of Kenya.

I think it can’t be a coincidence that her area of interest is environmental matters, in this era where the Earth is fighting for its life against humans’ destructive influence….. it is her role to send the message about sustainability, especially to women who will be the leaders in terms of making the cultural changes necessary to live sustainably. It is mostly the women in Africa who do the farming, who gather the firewood and who prepare the food, so when the women make the changes in African society, there is the potential for the culture to  change very fast into a good direction.Her role as a leader to woman is exceptionally admirable because she warned that educated women should avoid becoming an elite, and instead, should do work for the planet. She has encouraged the woman to stay connected to the land and stresses to them that nobody can afford to separate themselves from the earth, because all humans have to eat and depend on the soil. She is a truly noble leader and is exactly the type of person I believe will lead the world through the next few difficult years

I heard that her former husband, whom she divorced in the 1980s, was said to have remarked that she was “too educated, too strong, too successful, too stubborn and too hard to control”.  🙂

Anyway, I respect her a lot and have sympathy for her poor husband^^

I guess she would have had to be all of those things to fulfill her mission! She is a special lady indeed.

Thank you Wangari Maathai! I love you!

 

 

“I don’t really know why I care so much. I just have something inside me that tells me that there is a problem, and I have got to do something about it. I think that is what I would call the God in me.

All of us have a God in us, and that God is the spirit that unites all life, everything that is on this planet. It must be this voice that is telling me to do something, and I am sure it’s the same voice that is speaking to everybody on this planet – at least everybody who seems to be concerned about the fate of the world, the fate of this planet.”

– Wangari Maathai

 

 

 

 

 

Earth is on loan to us…

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors,

we borrow it from our children.

~Native American Proverb~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have You Noticed…?

The Economic Crisis is worsening all over the world, driven by high fuel / gas /petrol /diesel /natural gas price hikes.

THIS SITUATION IS NOT GOING TO RECOVER!

Even if tghe price goes down a bit, within a short time it will double again.

Peak Oil, we have heard this catch phrase over and over.

DO you really know what this means?

It basically means that we have already passed the point where we have pumped all the easy to get at oil, and the extraction will get progressively more expensive.

Because almost all goods and serives are dependent on oil for their production and also for their transportation, the rising oil prices affect the price of not only the petrol for your car, but also all goods…especially our food production and transportation is heavily oil-reliant. Food prices will increase in proportion to the increase in oil, and populations are increasing faster than we can pump oil…

it is an inevitable equation…we are heading for global economic disasters…

What can we do?

We should become self-sufficient as soon as possible. It is not necessary or advisable to allow yourslef to be completley dependent on the modern way of living. If fuel supplies were to run out due to demand or due to some other reason, like natural disaster, you cannot imagine how vulnerable city-dwellers in particular are. Most stores turnover all the food int heir stor within 3 days. This means, there are constant deliveries to replenish their stocks.

If there were no deliveries, you would have no chance of buying food after 3 days…then, what would you be able to do then? Drive to the countryside? But if the food transport trucks have no fuel to bring the food, then needless to say, it would be almost impossible to get fuel for your car,s o how would you get out of the city?

Feeling insecure and claustrophobic yet?

I am telling you, this is the future, unless we voluntarily make our solutions now in advance. It will be too late to do anything when we hit this crisis and we can expect a huge loss of life, after an ugly fight for survival.

WAKE UP! This is real!

Can’t you feel the urgency?

We have to form sustainable intentional communities and learn how to live “off the grid” as they say. We have to grow our own food and find ways to live differently. It is not only possible, but is positive in terms of our health, the health of society and life-style.

After a period of adjustment, we will have more leisure time and more stability than ever before as we work together to share resources and skills. In modern society, people are working endless hours, eating badly, living lonely and miserable existences anyway, with permanent financial stress, created by an artificial financial system which is designed to keep you in debt.

HEY! Nature gives us everything for free in reality. We need to find that reality.

That is the truth. Mother nature does not send you water bills and rental bills

What have we got to lose…?

Only everything to gain, I think.

Only when the last tree has been cut down…

 

Only when the last tree has been cut down

Only when the last river has been poisoned

Only when the last fish has been caught

Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten

 

– Native American Cree Tribe Prophecy

The Secret of How to Survive and Thrive as Our world Changes

Our Earth is destined to endure natural disasters over the next few years. The fact is, there will not be many places which are totally unaffected. This means that the food storage and emergency medical supplies are likely to run out at some point in time, and it is not wise to think you can rely on humanitarian organizations in the long-term future. The countries that can afford to help affected areas now will soon have their own serious issues to deal with, so no one can expect support from them in future…

The best mind attitude is to think you should prepare in advance and the best option is to choose to do so willingly, ahead of the time, by arranging ourselves into eco-villages and intentional communities. Why wait for disasters which eventually come? You could do so right now in a manner which you can plan for, or you might have the decision suddenly taken away from you through a natural disaster or weather event and will have to go along that way without having the buffer or the dignity of being prepared for it. Things are changing very quickly and the economic situation is already becoming unbearable. Governments are not going to be able to make enough of a difference in times of disaster, as they have not prepared enough and because the corruption in the world will ensure that the necessities will not reach the ones who really need them. Also, even if the governments were somewhat prepared (which they are not), disasters may result in a complete breakdown of infrastructure where hospitals, bridges, roads, railway lines could be either washed away by floods or destroyed by volcanic eruptions, bringing the communication system to a standstill. In such situations medicines and others relief supplies may not reach the affected communities in time, resulting in a high numbers of casualties. It is obvious how vulnerable people who live in cities are. If something happens to disrupt the delivery of fresh water, for example, human beings have no option but to become refugees immediately in the search for water, or they will die after 3 days.

Wouldn’t it be better to form rural intentional communities in advance? In doing so, you would be safe from most kinds of disasters and you would be self-sufficient. Especially, you would be moving toward the direction of living the way nature intended, thereby lessening the necessity of the earth to clean itself as violently as it would have. In other words, moving into intentional rural communities could prevent natural disasters in advance if enough people would wake up to this fact. For these reasons, they will have to take responsibility for their own survival, and the best chance of survival is to form an intentional community where work and resources are shared, wherever it is possible. It would be best to do this now…as soon as possible so that more people can become self-sufficient soon.

Eco-villages are the best alternative not only for short-term survival, but to really live properly as human beings in a nature-friendly manner….TO SURIVE AND TO THRIVE – THIS IS THE ONLY WAY FORWARD! I think It is difficult for people to move themselves unless a disaster is right on top of them already… The truth is, you are already in a disaster, in terms of your social problems, your individual mental health due to the stress of living in the modern world and in terms of your physical health, you suffer from allergies and illnesses as our bodies react to the poisonous environment you have created. There is so little love, peace or harmony in the way you are living. Despite living in cramped condition in cities…it is cities that have the largest concentration of alienated, lonely people. I am concerned because so many African people are already vulnerable and most don’t even have the financial resources to prepare for even a simple emergency pack…never mind to pay for land for and ecovillage… It is an unfortunate problem that in an emergency situation, in the short-term, the poorest people are the hardest hit because their economic resources affect preparedness, reaction and their ability to recover quickly. Poor people are less likely to find the resources to evacuate or make shelters or they might not leave in time, because they have no place to go. Wealthy people might be able to stay in hotels and pay for transport to unaffected areas. They also might be better educated and have access to more powerful social contacts. Although you might think that everybody suffers the same in times of disaster, at first the social inequalities which are already present in a society are exposed and enhanced. However, if the disaster is extended for a period of time, eventually you will come down to the basics…That is because repeated disasters and continuing floods and droughts will eventually cause money to become worthless, and when that happens it comes down to the basics… people need food, water and all the other treasures, which natures was providing for free in the first place. Since natural disasters like floods and droughts are going to occur continuously over the next few years, the way to survive will be having all people from all different backgrounds finding the ways to cooperate with one another for survival, by working with the land together. If you are not evacuated, just start your eco-community where you are, or join others nearby who have formed this type of community.

What is Success?

 

What is REAL success in life?

We are having to ask ourselves this question anew, now that material wealth has gone out of fashion 🙂

There is a lovely quote which somehow sums it up by Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty,
to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.

 

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

A human being is part of the whole…

 

 

A human being is part of the whole,
called by us “Universe,”
a part limited in time and space.
He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings
as something separated from the rest
– a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.
This delusion is a kind of prison for us,
restricting us to our personal desires and
to affection for a few persons nearest to us.
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison
by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures
and the whole of nature in its beauty.
~ Albert Einstein~

 

 

 

 

Own the Earth!

Own the Earth – Treat it like it’s yours! And be the “Host” for Others who can’t see from that viewpoint yet…

If you have this attitude, only then can you be in the position of wanting to do something about Earth’s situation.

 You have to be the change you want to see…that is the ways things always happen throughout history.

One moves first – they take action first – that is the mark of a leader…

If you want to make a difference in this world, you have to make your own life an example of the change you want to see.

You can be a light for others to follow!

Here ‘s the thing…

If you decide to wait until someone else changes the circumstances of the earth, and if everybody decides to wait until someone else does something, then it’s an obvious equation that nothing will change for the better.

Unfortunately for us, at this present moment in the history of the earth, standing still is not merely standing still, but it means going backwards. This is because circumstances on the earth are changing very very fast and if you make no effort to try to change yourself, it is obvious you will be left behind and won’t be able to keep up!!

It is a matter of taking responsibility for the earth as if you are the owner of the Earth. For as long as we think the Earth’s difficulties are “someone else’s problem”, we are doomed.

So, I advise, if you can’t avoid it, you should just decide to enjoy it!

It really is a great and exciting adventure, learning all the ways to do things differently, in an earth friendly way.

“OWNERS” OF THE EARTH! OUR RANKS ARE GROWING!