Saturday, July 26, 2008

About bir(d)severance

Yesterday I received in my inbox an email with a ppt slideshow with some nice pictures of birds and an accompanying text. The text was refering to how birds build their nests, twig after twig, carrying them some distance. What happens when a wind or another cause destroys the nest? What they do is - they begin again and go for one twig after another until they re-build their nest. They don't languish in sadness, nostalgy, regrets, anger, disappointment - as much as we know at least. They follow their vision and re-build.
That message, so simple, was however a "just-in-time" for me, since I was mourning a disappointment from the day before. Then I thought - if a bird can do it, why can't I?
I shared this with a few and they liked it so much, that I decided to share it with you.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Pain or fun?

A week ago I read about the new message of "wecansolveit.org", and I liked the positive approach. A few days later I talked to Roger Saillant who just finished a fiction novel, where he and a colleague write a fun, yet educational piece about use of energy in our times. He explained to me that he wanted to bring the message to youth in a different way. I was reflecting on both episodes and realized that they were suggesting that awareness can be fostered with creativity and lightness, with joy and hope.
But I also think that unless we don't feel the pain, we don't change habits. Hm.
And then again, we do so many things for pleasure, for going after what we like, every day... I am curious if we were to list the daily things we do, do we do more to avoid problems and pain than to have joy, feel pleasure, satisfaction or joy? Or the other way around?
Given the choice I think I would rather go for the joy than for avoiding pain. When we are avoiding problems or pain we are gray, tense, like a compact folded paper. When we go after joy and fun we are light, shiny, radiant, like colored feathers floating in the sun.
Yes, I guess it does make sense to seek to connect the awareness of the legacy we should work on - with the joy and fun.
The answers are in Nature, they say. I see.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

What are we doing

Yesterday I listed to a disquieting report on National Public Radio: A new research published in the journal Science indicates that a third of the world's coral species may now be headed toward extinction. The reasons found so far are destructive fishing boats and warming ocean waters because of global climate change. The reefs hold 25% of the world's marine species, and are considered the rain forest of the ocean. Warming waters create diseases and multiply algae that kills the coral. Ocean waters are becoming more acidic because they absorb carbon dioxide, and coral reefs cannot survive in more acidic water. Commercial fishing and global warming. And the G8 are talking about reducing carbon emissions by... 2050!???? May be we need to be more aware of where we, each one, is contributing to global warming in the every day. And where the fish come that we are buying.

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