We'll Be Fine!

"We’ll be fine," he said.

WE'LL be fine... meaning human beings I guess. Never mind all the species dying off. The rapid loss of species happening today is estimated to be between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate. A lot of leeway there, but apparently we're in the middle of a mass extinction according to scientists. As well, all these fires happening around the world have killed a lot of animals and destroyed their habitats too.

The ocean is warming, and the Great Barrier Reef is dying because of it, along with some ocean species. One respected biologist has said the oceans could be dead as soon as 2048. And as the ocean goes, so goes humanity. All manner of marine life is at risk from all the plastic we’ve dumped into the oceans as well. Whales are washing up on shore with bellies full of the stuff. All kinds of animals are at risk from our waste, including our shit from those floating toilets we call cruise ships and balloons released into the air.

 They do land somewhere, often where animals are at risk from what’s left of them. Then there’s melting glaciers and water rising over coastal cities and Pacific islands. And just for added fun, there’s glyphosate all over our food put there by the corporations that are actually running our world. I know, I know... little Mary Sunshine.

But take heart, WE’LL be fine, he said, with the calm assurance of an entitled old white man who doesn’t believe climate change is anything to be concerned about. He’s done the math. He says if the CO2 drops too low, all plant life will die. I have never heard anyone else point out the possibility of that before. I thought the problem was too much CO2, with more coming with the thawing of permafrost.

Anyway, there are quite a few of these creatures here on Earth... the old white men, I mean. Apparently they’re in no danger of extinction, especially to hear them tell it. You know the ones I mean. They don’t agree with the climate scientists. But most do not have the courage or integrity to criticize these scientists to their faces. Instead they go after those who believe the scientist’s predictions, the more vulnerable the better. Like school kids, for instance. They write open letters to a kid who’s been taught this science as fact in school. They don’t write to the scientists. They don’t write to the schools. They don’t go after the teachers and challenge them. Oh no, none of the people involved in teaching this science are approached. Nor do these climate change deniers hold a sign with their objections clearly stated outside the legislature, like the kids did. Nor did they have the gonads to go after the first messengers, Al Gore who produced a film on this, or Bill Nye, the Science Guy who also did a film on ice core research and climate change deniers.  No, they don't go after these people. Instead, school kids, and old ladies on Facebook, are fair game for the climate change deniers. And if you’re lucky enough to avoid the anger, accusations, threats, and the magnificent hyperbole, you get the old patronizing pat on the head from the all-knowing old man instead.

So no worries.  All those scientists are wrong. We’ll be fine.

Joie de Vivre

So I was listening to Michael A. Singer a couple of weeks ago. He was telling us how we needed to unburden ourselves from those less than happy memories because they really aren’t doing us any good hanging around.

Yesterday I was at the sink doing the dishes, just allowing my mind to meander as I scrubbed a pot, and suddenly, out of the depths came this memory of an older woman who’d really wanted to buy a set of my quilling art earrings.

This took place at an Inn where I used to sell my goods, and this woman was quite taken with this one pair of earrings. She went down the table and had a look at the other items, but came back to those earrings. Then she went and sat down with a couple of other seniors at a picnic table under the pavilion where we had our little market.

Other potential customers came and went, and then this woman came back again and stood in front of those earrings. I chatted with her about them, telling her how I made them, and that I laminate them to make them tough, and how they’re fitted with silver plate hooks, etc. She said she really liked them, and this was evident from her joyful smile. But she went back and sat down again.

After a while, a younger woman, who it became plain was her daughter, came in. The woman brought her daughter to show her the earrings she so liked. The daughter glanced at them and said, "but when would you ever wear them, Mom?"

The mom shrugged and said, "well, I don’t know, but they really are beautiful."

"But when would you ever wear them?" repeated the daughter.

After about the fourth time she said, "I just don’t know when you’d wear them," as if she was planning to keep Mom locked up in her room, my blood began to boil a little. I mean, why does anyone have to have a plan to wear something beautiful before buying it? You get it, then you work the thing into your life. Even confined to her room she could have put them on and danced around the room! And what difference did it make if she never got to wear them? They gave her pleasure and joy. They cost $15. for pitys sake. What’s the problem? But of course, it wasn’t my place to butt in, so I watched with interest as the younger woman talked her mother out of making this little purchase. And I watched as the mom walked away, glancing wistfully back at those earrings as they left the pavilion.

Well, I really scrubbed that pot, I tell you, and I wondered why, on a February afternoon, while doing dishes, all of this even occurred to me. It seemed an odd memory to dredge up out of the darker corners of my mind apropos of nothing. This, I thought, is the very sort of memory Michael Singer would encourage me to get rid of, since it was of little use.

Later the same afternoon, Bud, who was out shopping, called and asked if it was okay to buy a plush squeaky toy for the dog. It was really cute and Bud wanted to buy it for him, but wasn’t sure about it. The dog is old and has a heart condition, so we’re just loving him and taking care of him. He doesn’t play much anymore. But I instantly thought of the memory of the woman and the earrings and I said, "yes, buy him the toy. Even if he doesn’t play with it he’ll likely take great joy in just getting it."

So I’m not sure Michael Singer is quite right about these old, seemingly useless and negative memories. I mean, he says we’re supposed to ditch the memory and just keep the lesson, but there’s just something that seems a little incomplete about that, to me anyway. I’m thinking now that this experience came to my intuitive mind for a reason. The dog loved his new toy, and he even played with it a bit, even though it’s been a while since he "played." And then he snuggled down on his wee bed with it between his paws. 

It’s called joie de vivre. It matters people. Even if it takes the recollection of a challenging memory to get us there.

Sunshine and a Concept

I don’t know why, perhaps it’s a result of the sun shining this morning, but my mind migrated immediately to solving the problems of the world today. I tried to dismiss these notions with the old, "I’m just one person... can’t do a thing" thing. But of course, that’s a cop-out. Then the old jingle came to mind, which I guess dates me, "see the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet..."

 

along with pictures of people stampeding through store doors, crushing one another in an attempt to be among the lucky ones getting this new thing, or that fandangled what-have-you. 

And so it came to me what my subconscious was trying to tell me... almost time for Spring cleaning. I guess sunshine will do that.

So I allowed my thoughts to follow through on the whole thing. It’s time again to take a look around. I even did a Fall cleaning last year in an attempt to purge the house, but it didn’t get the job done. There’s still too much stuff in here. Time to look around and ask with brutal honestly, do I need this? And I’m not going to just send what I don’t need to landfill either... that’s not on.
Suddenly an image came to mind out of my past, an intellectually disabled person sitting in a corner of the thrift store gleefully cutting the buttons off old garments that no one would want and putting them into jars. These jars of buttons were then sold for sewing or crafting. And he created a lot of button bottles, so there’s a chap who went home at the end of the day feeling very productive indeed.

So for me, three piles: 1) legit garbage, 2) potential yard sale (one person’s trash and all that), 3) thrift shop give-aways. Okay, a small fourth pile... maybe I can sell this on Ebay? 

Maybe I can’t do much about all the conflict in the world except to speak the language of kindness, and I can't stop all the wars mostly waged against the dispossessed and helpless. And I guess all I can really do about all the refugees that result is support my government in their efforts to help as many as possible. But I *can* do something substantial about misguided consumerism in our society by simplifying my life, as many have already done. And by making sure that what I want and need is reasonable and will be used with satisfaction and joy, and what I get rid of doesn’t just burden the environment and finds as much useful new purpose as possible.

Mission impossible? Hehehe... we shall do it anyway.

Global Warming? Or Climate Change? Or...

It’s kind of amazing, to me, the number of people who are still arguing that "global warming" isn’t real. I’m wondering if where the scientists went wrong was to call it "global warming" rather than something easier to understand, like "climate change."
 
Of course, there is a warming trend, as evidenced by melting glaciers and the polar ice caps. But this does not mean it’s going to be steadily warmer where you live.... as in, giving those trousers to the local charity and stocking up on shorts for year-round wear. No, see, the "warming" in the warming trend is happening mostly to the oceans. When those great bodies of water get only a couple of degrees warmer, this is what starts melting ice at the poles. All that frozen water is fresh water too, which means when it melts, it changes the salinity of the oceans, in increasing amounts. All of this contributes to changes in currents and impacts on the worlds’ weather.
 
Warmer? Well yeah, some places, like where some glaciers hang out and where polar bears rely on ice floes to fish for food. But changes in the weather aren’t just about warmth. These changes are about weather extremes. That’s where hurricanes are more extreme and sometimes out of season, where more thunder storms result in tornadoes, where typhoons, like the one we just saw in the Philippines, are far more damaging than usual, where heat is hotter and dryer, as in drought, where cold is colder, and rains and winds far more damaging than they used to be. So no, "global warming" is not about just getting to rest longer into the season on the ol’ chaise lounge with that pina colada in hand.

But climate change is normal and natural, you say. And you’re right, it is. And if allowed to change at it’s own pace, we’d probably scarcely notice the changes happening around us and we’d have lots of time to make little adjustments over the longer term. As it is, mankind has accelerated the rate of climate change with our contribution of greenhouse gases, which means the weather is getting more extreme all around us... and it’s noticeable, especially to those whose homes have been washed or blown away by extreme weather and all those growers who’ve lost crops to unusual weather trends.

Of course, you don’t have much patience for those tree-huggers either ~ the ones who claim we’re damaging Mother Earth. And you’re probably right again. I mean, she has been a raging inferno and she has been a ball of ice, and everything in between. Species that can adapt do, and those that can’t are chewed up and spit out. There have even been mass extinctions as a matter of course on this planet and there no doubt will continue to be.

No, even though we’ve made several messes on her and continue to strip her method of breathing from her, Mother Earth is not really in trouble.


We are.


Hey, let’s face it, we’re kind of a precious namby-pamby bunch, making us NOT the most adaptable creatures on the face of this good Earth. And at the rate we’re going, we’re going to be among the many species that future creatures will only find traces of in fossils. If you think what we’ve built here will last once we’re gone, think again. Possibly the only sign we were ever here will be our untidy piles and ocean islands of discarded plastic, and who knows, perhaps Mother Earth will send magma bubbling up to swallow and reclaim it all, and make it back into fossil fuels for another species down the line.

If this doesn’t bother you, keep denying "global warming" and just keep doing what you’re doing. If you’re one of those hopeful, picky types who would object to having your home and other means of shelter destroyed and your food security threatened by extreme weather, you might give the matter some thought. But don’t be worrying about Mother Earth. You need to be worrying about your own butt instead. Because the floods, droughts, hurricanes, typhoons, and other forms of extreme weather aren’t figments of your imagination. Just sayin’.

Turtle Island and Cultural Diversity

Turtle Island is my home too. I call it that even though my ancestors are not first nations, because I like it. It speaks to me.

I have learned much of first nations traditions since my teen years, so I don’t appreciate it when I’m lumped in with others of my race or heritage who do not know or understand other cultures. In fact, I think it’s a bad idea to paint all people of any race or cultural heritage with the same wide brush, no matter who you or they are. 

If you wish to divide people, start by dividing them this way: there are those who seek knowledge, understanding and enlightenment amongst all peoples, and celebrate cultural diversity. Then there those who are ignorant and fearful of anything that differs from the narrow confines of the comfortable world with which they are intimately familiar. This division is not racial or cultural, it is spiritual.

There are many ways in which all peoples are the same: we all want peace, prosperity, and love. And there are many ways we differ, because we have grown up in different cultures, with different beliefs, different foods and habits because of differing climates and different life experiences. We do not need to be divided. This is a choice; most often the choice of those who fear differences.

There are good and bad people in every race and culture in the world. Racism is not the purview of one race.  I have heard it uttered from the mouths of haters of several races, including first nations people, like the ones who call those interested in their culture "wannabes." You know, just because someone tries to learn something about other cultures does not mean they are attempting to change who they are. As I said at the outset, I have learned a lot about native culture. It interests me because there are many similarities with the culture of my Celtic ancestors. I am proud of my heritage and I would trade it for no other. But see, the sacred circle isn’t unique to native American culture. Have you ever heard of Stonehenge? That was my people.

I don’t understand why some people guard their culture so jealously. Out of one side of their mouths, they may say they want people to learn more about them. But out of the other, they accuse people of plagiarism if they have learned something they wish to embrace in their own lives. Ok, I get how annoying it is when the important symbols of a culture are cheaply copied and misused, like those dream-catchers that are made in China and sold in dollar stores.  But see, neither the manufacturers of those, nor the people who buy those, have any spirit.  At least, they haven't found theirs.  And that is their problem.  The rest of us who know better need to keep moving ahead.  So really, you can’t have it both ways.  Either you want to be appreciated, or you want to hide yourself away.  Leadership is about sharing and guiding, not about controlling and dividing others.

I come from a culture that was doing very well until another culture invaded from the south. Adopting the ways of these new people was not a matter of learning and choice, it was forced upon my ancestors. And then along came a new religion, also from the south, and my ancestors were told that their beliefs, talismans, observance of the earth’s seasons, was somehow wrong. Bishop Desmond Tutu has been quoted as saying, "When the missionaries came to Africa, they had the Bible and we had the land. They said ‘let us pray.’ We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the Bible and they had the land."

The same thing happened to my ancestors too.  The first nations people of Turtle Island are not unique in this.  There has been much suffering all over the world because one culture has oppressed and/or enslaved others, sometimes in the name of prophets who were actually all about peace and love.

Choice. It’s something most of us have. We can embrace each other as brothers and sisters and celebrate our samenesses and our differences, or we can be ill-informed, fearful, jealous and hateful. Choice.

Leadership. It’s about caring. I would be living now near a great ugly garbage dump built on farm land over an aquifer of pure water, were it not for the leadership of the local first nations people who took up the fight against this travesty with spirit and determination and carried the protest to a successful conclusion. That’s leadership.

I choose the way of enlightenment. I do not fear other cultures. I learn all I can because there are many things the same that all our ancestors have gone through, and there are exciting, fascinating, and dare I say, delicious differences to celebrate. I do not care what other people believe or who or what they worship, it is their choice. But my choice is to go unlabelled through this life, unburdened by the yoke of a religion whose followers often twist the words and image of their prophets into something they were not, just to further their own selfish agendas. I take joy in observing the seasons of this great gift of Earth and I have a deep, unshakable faith that all things are possible. My spirit soars when I am in the moment of observing the beauty around me. I am saddened that some people are blind to it, or in fact, choose to spread ugliness.

The problem is not cultural diversity. The problem is ignorance. Only when we abandon that will people of all cultures rise to celebrate together.

Post Script: 
The above was written in response to a specific post, but while I'm on the subject of cultural diversity, I wish to express my sadness toward those who insist upon blaming all of Islam for the actions of a relative few Islamic terrorists.  Islamic terrorists are to Islam what the KKK is to Christianity.  Fear and hatred can only stop with YOU.  Credit to The West Wing for the analogy. 

On Stupidity

I think it’s just interesting the way this word gets used these days... as a weapon. Like the way one group of people will refer to another specific group of people, with whom they disagree, as being "stupid." 

Stupid, in the dictionary, means someone who is slow at learning or understanding/someone possibly incapable of learning/someone in a stupor. Ignorant, another fun word, means someone who is quite capable of learning, but really hasn’t bothered.

Newsflash: not agreeing with you does not make that other group of people stupid. Chances are they are just people with different points of view, experiences and concerns than you. Perhaps these are even agonizing concerns that have had them dealing with information, problems and worries about which you are completely ignorant.

If this is the case, the only stupid thing here is the intentional and mean-spirited misuse of the word, "stupid," especially when it comes out of people who should know better, but apparently don’t mind demonstrating that they do not know, and are indeed, not capable of better.

Another thing I’ve seen from some people, who are supposed to be intelligent, is intentionally posting very mean-spirited, uncomplimentary, accusatory pictures, targeting those with whom they disagree.

Does the personal attack of how someone looks, or what they do for a living, or what they believe in, add a convincing element to any argument, or to the issues at hand? I think not. Mean, is just mean. And bullying is just bullying. And yes, meanness is not just stupid, but downright mindless. And bullying is never justified.

So here’s an idea: before you lecture someone else on what’s what in your tiny, perfect world, step outside yourself enough to at least appreciate what the other person may be going for, or may even be going through. The former is called "grasp." That’s the ability to see what the other person is actually trying to say, not just what your narrow perceptions tell you they’re trying to say. The latter is about compassion. Ok, look that one up. You may indeed be ignorant, but we’re supposed to believe you aren’t actually stupid.

　

Scientific Priorities ~ Take a Wee Bite of This Apple, My Pretty

It’s funny how you can go online, research almost anything, and not only will there be information on the thing that interests you, there will be arguments pro and con, containing all kinds of accusations toward those arguing the other side. So it’s take your pick: squishy science, or ridiculous priorities.

Ridiculous? Well, yeah. See, right now someone is dying of pneumonia. Yeah, we used to be able to cure that with an advent known as antibiotics. But what happens when you invent a medicine that kills a germ, is that the germ gets stronger to the point where the medicine no longer works. So then you have to invent a stronger medicine, or you’re right back where you started.

Problem is, no pharmaceutical company is working on that stronger, better antibiotic right now. At least, this according to a news story I watched on television a few nights ago. Why? Because there’s no money in it. Wide-eyed, the reporter said, "you’d think someone would want to also consider the good of humanity, but it appears that the bottom line, is just about profit."

Yeah. But hey, take heart, because your apples will no longer turn brown when you cut them and leave them exposed to air. Of course, all you had to do to prevent this before was sprinkle them with a little lemon juice, but that’s too much like work, right? So now you don’t have to knock yourself out ~ you can leave that franken apple sit around as long as you like and it will remain pristine. And that’s important. Right?

I guess it must be. And I guess there’s money in that. It must seem awfully appetizing to somebody. Of course, I’m not one of the people who’ll be buying franken apples, because I keep lemon juice in my fridge. I’m also on a vegan diet, of necessity, so the prospect of eating fruit that’s been crossed with the DNA of a snake’s belly or something equally fun, is just not attractive to me. I’d also much rather see these scientists working on a better antibiotic, or trying to figure out how to get aluminum and formaldehyde out of vaccines. Alas, there’s no profit in that.

 

Enjoying good health? Good for you. Unafraid of GMO foods? Stick to your guns. And take a wee bite of this apple, my pretty.