Vox’s posts tagged ecology

Eat The Left – Ch III (con't)

nobody@vox.com(DollarMan) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:45:53 +0000

"The Left" seems intent on duplicating the present economic, social, and political structure. For some incomprehensible reason, this assumes that most people will continue to live in cities. Well, there were no cities in the Garden Of Eden. Come to think of it, there were no "jobs" either. Money IS the root of all evil. An entirely new system of exchange and value must be created. And "we" can't ask permission to do it.
This system must include the value of human life. The idea that people must spend their entire life "working" for a living is just a Capitalist/Colonialist/Calvinist dream. You can't eat money, and despite the hemp content, it makes poor clothing and shelter. Since most people in the world live without money, we smarty-pants Americans should be able to figure it out too.
Time to think outside the box.....

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Eat The Left – Ch III (con't)

nobody@vox.com(DollarMan) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:45:53 +0000

"The Left" seems intent on duplicating the present economic, social, and political structure. For some incomprehensible reason, this assumes that most people will continue to live in cities. Well, there were no cities in the Garden Of Eden. Come to think of it, there were no "jobs" either. Money IS the root of all evil. An entirely new system of exchange and value must be created. And "we" can't ask permission to do it.
This system must include the value of human life. The idea that people must spend their entire life "working" for a living is just a Capitalist/Colonialist/Calvinist dream. You can't eat money, and despite the hemp content, it makes poor clothing and shelter. Since most people in the world live without money, we smart Americans should be able to figure it out too.....

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CopperStrings.com – join the strings.

nobody@vox.com(copperstrings) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:00:03 +0000

This is a new spiritual home for people who consider themselves (or would like to consider themselves) alternative, holistic or green. Anyone with an interest in conscious living can now find a social networking home with CopperStrings.

CopperStrings is for anyone who cares about ecology, healing the planet and relationships; about peace, social justice and love; about self-actualisation, spirituality and self-expression. Even if one of these issues interests you join us as we are building an inclusive community.

We are a new social networking service and an easy way of meeting like-minded souls, wherever they are in the world, as well as a contributing force for change at this exciting time in human history.

With CopperStrings, an environmentalist in Perth, Scotland can find a friend with similar aims and motivations in Perth, Australia, and similarly, a fan of complementary therapies in York, UK can now find a soul mate in New York, USA.

So many people want to live more naturally, positively, sustainably and peacefully, but until now it’s been hard to find friends and acquaintances with similar interests.

THE VILLAGE: It’s said that It takes a village to raise a child. But what happens if you’re a grown up and you still want to grow? CopperStrings is more than a new social network – it’s what adults need to keep growing. It’s a social networking global village for grown-ups who need room to grow.

HOW LONG? How long is a piece of string? We know the answer. At CopperStrings, we’re making the distance between people a lot smaller. Now, the space between people is as big as you want it to be. CopperStrings – as long as you like it.

TEAMWORK: What could be better than a social network? A social network that operates like a TEAM dedicated to YOUR long-term goals and growth, not a hokey-cokey-write-on-my-wall-pokey gimmick. Get serious and have fun with a social network that meets real needs – CopperStrings.

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Derrick Jensen – ENDGAME

nobody@vox.com(Kingoftwilite) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:03:11 +0000

Endgame, Vol. 2: Resistance

Derrick Jensen

Endgame, Vol. 1: The Problem of Civilization

Derrick Jensen

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Geology Newz: The eerie (Erie) blue-green monster... (sorry)

nobody@vox.com(Geology Byotch) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 17:16:46 +0000

Great Lakes formation

Lake Erie, amongst the other Great Lakes, was formed by glaciers, which scraped and flattened out the land, and later melted and filled up the huge depressions with meltwater.

Some humans in America have an aching need to put golf courses wherever there is nature aplenty, and the Great Lakes are no exception.

Last year, Lake Erie suffered a severe and rampant bloom of blue-green algae, which kills fish when it dies (creating large oxygen depleted zones) and at the least for humans, causes skin rashes. Lake Erie is also used as a water supply and this has caused the water treatment facility a big challenge.

Sawmill Creek, Ohio golf course with Lake Erie in background

Blue-green algae aka photosynthesizing cyanobacteria, has been around for billions of years. It is an essential part of the marine food chain. However, when there is too much of it, it is trouble. It can produce neurotoxins, in addition to the aforementioned problem of deoxygenating the water.

Already this year, the blue-green algae is at work multiplying in Lake Erie. "There has already been a fish die-off in Lake Erie this season," said John Hageman, laboratory manager at Ohio State University's Stone Lab.

I did a yellowpages search for golf courses in one of the cities by the lake, Rockford. Golf courses: One hundred and thirty-three. this peaked my curiosity and my hypothesis (that humans are to blame). 133, in one city alone (does anyone work in Rockville? kidding.). In Erie, Pennsylvania: 83 golf courses. St Thomas, Pennsylvania: 62. That is just a sampling. This means there must be upwards of 1,000 golf courses near Lake Erie.

Simple Math:

golf course = fertilizer

fertilizer = phosphorus

phosphorus = blue green algae blooming like mad

Blue-green bloom, Lake Erie

Irony: a news story about the blue green algae on cleveland.com has an advert for golf.

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Polar Defense Project

nobody@vox.com(mayalibre) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:17:54 +0000

Important news and footage from the Polar Defense Project. These kayakers are blogging every day now on what they are finding in the Arctic Sea -- ice so broken up they think they'll be able to reach the North Pole, something they should not be able to do. Take a look. For more information, see the Polar Defense Project's website.

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Louise: My Kinda Chick!

nobody@vox.com(mayalibre) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 05:50:46 +0000

Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken

Kate Dicamillo

Anyone who knows me knows I have this thing for chickens. And this new children's book, Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken, due to be released on September 23rd, seems right up my alley! I hope this redeems chickenkind for good!

She longed for adventure.

So she left her home and ventured out into the wide world.

The pleasures and perils she met proved plentiful: marauding pirates on the majestic seas, a ferocious lion under the bright lights of the big top, a mysterious stranger in an exotic and bustling bazaar.

Yet in the face of such daunting danger . . .

She was brave. She was fearless. She was feathered. She was a chicken. A not-so-chicken chicken. Her name? Louise!

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Educational Ecology

nobody@vox.com(mayalibre) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:51:33 +0000

School year begins again

I've been trying to figure out how to describe all my interests in one "ball," and I landed on the concept of "social ecology." By social ecology I mean our connection with each other, not only the planet, and how we do or don't sustain all aspects of ourselves -- physical, emotional, soulful/spiritual, mental/intellectual, and social/interactional.

I'm obviously interested in agriculture and livestock, which is where earth ecology meets humans.
I'm also interested in abuse and trauma, how it happens, what the results are, and how to heal.
I'm also interested in psychohistory and how the dynamics in our collective emotions have shaped our history.
There are spiritual questions under everything.
And then there's this desire to explore, to see, to experience things on my own, outside my normal bubble.

Throw it all in the pot and you have something like social ecology!

But if you Google "social ecology" the first thing that comes up is Wikipedia saying it's actually called "human ecology," and that it's studied and discussed in a handful of universities. So I went to some of the universities' websites and I was alternatively excited and dismayed by what I found. Several schools appear to have "consumer studies" and "industry studies" inside those departments. It felt like (in some cases not all) that these departments were the seedbed of where studies are done to manipulate the psychology of consumers in order to benefit industry.

And since I have HUGE issues with the educational system in our country, and since this is the time of year a lot of those issues get awakened because school is starting again, it made me wonder about something called "educational ecology," and whether something like that even exists.

Do we consider how educational systems may, or may not, be sustaining our lives -- or whether those systems may be in a state of degradation but that we are blind and in denial about the damage? Do our educational systems "feed" and "nourish" us (like good and healthy food) without harming the larger environment? Or is there now a lot of junk, radiation, and cloning in the system, so that the educational products "look good," but actually don't nourish us or in some cases may harm both us and the larger community?

Mega mono-farms produce a lot of food -- but the food is less healthy, the farming method both degrades the land and strips small family farmers of their livelihoods, and people in general become more amnesiac and disconnected from the earth. Rarely do people think about the consequences of buying canteloupe shipped from South Africa in February -- they just blindly buy it and say "oh goody!"

And I wonder if the same isn't also true for school systems. I've said for many years that at least when you work for a living you do the work and you get paid -- there's an honest exchange of work for money. But when you go to college you do all the work -AND- you give them all your money!! And colleges/universities never have to be accountable to students. Professors have tenure, and it's too bad if there's an abusive one who teaches a required course, students have to suffer through -and pay- if they want the end result -- a piece of paper that is marketed as "gold." Forget about the actual "education," the paper is what matters. Just like forget about the nutritive value of your food or the degradation of the land, a cheap supply of empty calories year round, pandered to the whim of manufactured taste (I *must* have strawberries in December, waaa!), is what matters.

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Sometimes I stumble into random zoos

nobody@vox.com(Oysterboy) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:10:56 +0000

Today, I spend the entire day cleaning up the basement suite. it's completely re-done now and I almost like it too much to leave. Oh, the shame. I guess I'll just spend the next few years saving money.

Of interest today is the Eco Zoo from somewhere in Japan insanity. Check it out. I think we're supposed to learn something about the environment so I'm going to guess it's environment related.

The ECO Dobutsuen (Zoo)

Bonus coolness today includes finding out that Soma FM has expanded to include all sorts of music genres. Definitely one of the best radio stations out there.

Also, the bodysuit motorcycle

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LA Bans Fast Food Restaurants

nobody@vox.com(mayalibre) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:56:48 +0000

LA Bans Fast Food

Incredible news! From Slow Food

On July 30th Los Angeles City Council approved a yearlong ban on new fast food restaurants opening in South LA, the city’s poorest area where the concentration of fast food restaurants is the highest and obesity levels are above average.

The LA city council voted unanimously for the 12 month long moratorium - thought to be the first of its kind established by a major city in defense of public health – with the intention of encouraging the growth of healthier restaurants in the area.

Figures from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health have shown that thirty per cent of adults in South Los Angeles area are obese, compared with 19.1 per cent in the metropolitan area and 14.1 per cent in the affluent Westside.

The city mayor is still to sign the action into law, but once endorsed chains such as McDonald's will not be granted permission to open in this area of the city for one year. A report conducted by the Community Health Councils revealed that 73 per cent of restaurants in South Los Angeles are fast -food establishments compared with 42 per cent in West Los Angeles.

Representatives of major fast-food chain have stated they are in agreement with promoting better diets, but feel they are being unfairly targeted by this ban. They claim that healthier options have now been included on their menus.

The ban comes at a time when governments worldwide are considering restaurant menus as a public health matter much more. The California Restaurant Association and its members are currently debating whether to legally challenge the moratorium.

At a regional level, California became the first U.S state to ban trans fats from restaurants last Friday - deemed as lowering levels of good cholesterol and increasing bad cholesterol.

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Thrifting your way to happiness

nobody@vox.com(Maxvan) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 17:41:51 +0000

It is, of course, unassailably cool to get things from the second hand store when you're in College. You're broke, and self-aware, so buying second hand has to be rationalized, and somehow made to fit under the hipster umbrella you use to sheild yourself from your self-doubting fears. But, how come I still enjoy it at my advanced age? I mean, I could easily afford to do what other folks do, and buy new clothes at the department store. I could load up at JCPenney, because, after all, they're clearly trying to sell things to me; have you seen their Ads? All re-worked images from the Breakfast club, featuring their lines of clothes for teenagers; they clearly are trying to tell all us 40 somethings with memories manufactured by John Hughes, and teenaged children that we should consider JCPenney one of Us.

But, I don't really like John Hughes. Take a look at his iconic Brat Pack movies, and they're all efforts to get us to conform to greedhead 1980's conformity, couched in a guidance counsellor's steady attempt at being Hip. Well, take the Breakfast Club for starters. The set up is you've got 5 teens, each representative of their "clique", all sentenced to a day of Saturday dentention. After several hours of scenes from a buddy film, they have bonded to the point that they're supposedly some kind of unit. However, the "Brain" is still doing all the homework for them, The "Criminal' is still going to multiple saturday detentions, but he has the attention his bad boy charm is supposed to bring, as the Princess offers him an earring, The Jock is still going home to his abusive father, as is the brain, and he might have sex with the Basket case. In what way does this warrant the black power salute at the end? Because they've all learned to accept their fate, and that individual decisions don't mean anything. Lovely.

So, nope, I'm not interested in buying my identity at JcPenney, or Sears, or Target or Wal Mart. That's one reason for enjoying a thrift store. Another reason, probably even better, is that I still want nice stuff. I've got a closet full of designer wear, all bought at thrift. DKNY jeans, Kenneth Cole Shirts, Calvin Klein Jackets, I've got more designers than you'll find at Barney's. On top of that, the downside of buying designer stuff, normally, is that you're chasing after a fashion: everything has to be "this season" everything has to be disposably part of 'now". Well, it's certain that if i'm buying it at a thrift, it's 'last season" at least. So, I can indulge in shopping all the designers, without fear of looking like some fashion victim midlife crisis label poodle. It's Luxe without the baggage! Plus, it's not a prepackaged look. You can do things your own way, like wearing a pair of bowling shoes with Kenneth Cole Jeans and a swap meet t shirt. Because the prices are flat, and low, if you're going to spend $5 on a pair of pants, whether they were designed by a nameless person working for a brand you've never heard of, or whether it's a pair of Perry Ellis pants, you can look at quality over brand name. What's going to suit your needs exactly, versus what's in the store, today.

Finally, there are some considerations. Buying at thrift means nothing new had to be made for you. No new ecological damage because you want some jeans. Your money isn't going to make some corporate shareholder's stock rise, it's going to help (in most cases) a charity. You're not adding economically to the coffers of a sweatshop. Your money is being kept fairly local, and your dollar becomes a vote for a slightly more sustainable lifestyle (There's still plenty to do in that regard, but at least it's a step).

So, would I mind if everybody knew I shopped at thrift stores? Nope. I only hope y'all leave some good finds for me.

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Pedal-powered Washing Machine

nobody@vox.com(mayalibre) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 03:49:11 +0000

Get this, it is too fun! You could set it up somewhere, get your workouts in, and maybe collect a few dollars doing people's laundry! It's called Cyclean and is made in the UK.

Cyclean Washing Machine

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Chicago's Green Rooftop Gardens

nobody@vox.com(Inukshuk) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 23:54:15 +0000

From the Thursday, August 14, 2008, Toronto Star, Travel section, page T2, an article about Chicago's mayor and the city's rooftop gardens:

The Virtuous Traveller

CHICAGO'S GREEN REVOLUTION STARTS AT THE TOP

Rooftop gardens flourish in Windy City, thanks to Mayor Daly

Leslie Garrett

Special to the Star

Chicago - This city has worn many monikers throughout the years - Chi Town, the Windy City, Second City.

But the one it has worked hardest to earn might be the Emerald City. Turns out that the lakeside city built - at least anecdotally - on mob connections and industry has been busily greening up its act.

While the city has lagged behind other progressive cities in such eco-basics as household recycling (it only created an effective program in 2007), for the eco-minded tourist, Chicago is veritably verdant.

This green revolution is coming form the top down, led by the city's well-loved Mayor Richard Daley, whose love of trees (he was, after all, born on Arbor Day, 1942) spawned a plan to revitalize the city economically by regenerating it environmentally. This greening of the city has clearly worked, rooted in a $9-billion-a-year tourism industry and branching into many other eco-initiatives.

Sure you can fly there, though it's greener to drive.

An eight-hour drive will land you smack in the city's core at the Fairmont Hotel, a noted leader in eco-hospitality (find more eco-lodging at www.istaygreen.org) with views of Lake Michigan and a short walk to the city's Magnificent Mile along Michigan Ave.

From the 19th-floor windows of the Fairmont, the tourist sees not the tar or asphalt roofs we're accustomed to, but gardens of green.

Starting with City Hall, the mayor has transformed Chicago's rooftops into something of sustainable beauty.

Chicago has more than 186,000 square metres of those sky-high gardens, more than all other U.S. cities combined. Along with their aesthetic benefits, green roofs make buildings several degrees cooler in summer and act as insulation in winter. While travellers can't acccess City Hall's roof, they can take a gander from the Department of Energy, a nearby 30 N. Lasalle St.

But the largest green roof, perhaps in the world, belong's to the city's Millenium Park, a controversial project that ultimately resulted in 10 hectares of shrubs, trees, groundcover, perennials and more that blanket an underground garage and the old Illinois Central Track. Today, the park attracts close to 4 million visitors annually.

Indeed, Chicago offers a network of parks and wetlands that transport the urban traveller into a green oasis. Within Millenium Park is the 1-hectare Lurie Garden, which features more than 200 varieties of plants, most native to North America.

Jackson Park, close to the Museum of Science and Technology, boasts Osaka Garden with its Buddhist-inspired gardens and the Wooded Island, a stopover for many migratory birds.

Even along the city's premier shopping strip - Michigan Ave. - it's impossible to miss the meandering rivers that wind through the city centre.

You're never far from a whiff of nature here. And you can rent a kayak or canoe to travel the inner-city waterways, rent a bike to navigate the streets, or just rely on your feet or mass transportation (subways and buses) to get arond.

Navy Pier, a Chicago landmark that juts out into Lake Michigan, is perhaps, more ego than eco. But it's worth a visit in part because you won't want to miss Shedd Aquarium, noted for its dedication to conservation, preservation and under-valued marine species.

The largest indoor aquarium in the world, Sheed Aquarium was the first cultural institution in Chicago with a soy-based roof.

Made from the equivalent of 14.5 hectares of soybeans, the roof keeps the building's heating/cooling in check. And indoors, the aquarium has some truly innovative programs, including its Right Bite Dinners, which offer up sustainable seafood and guest speakers to let us know why we have to fish carefully for what's on our plates. To find out more, visit www.sheddaquarium.org

Speaking of food, Chicago is on its way to becoming a leader in urban organic farming - led by Daley's Chicago Organic Plan which aims to get local organic food into the hands of Chicagoans.

One place to visit is City Farm, located between Cabrini Green and the Gold Coast. The farm is bursting with local produce, providing plenty for the city's beset chefs, but offering up a stand where visitors can pick up any one of the farm's 30 varieties of tomatoes, among other prize-winning offerings. There are also dozens of farmers' markets throughout the city.

While Chicago may lack the certifiable "greenness" of such cities as San Francisco or Seattle, it's well on its way to getting considerable eco-cred for its progressive steps.

Leslie Garrett is a freelance writer based in Toronto. Contact her at virtuous-@sympatico.ca

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Freerange

nobody@vox.com(Adie) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 01:51:47 +0000

Freerange eggs sold more than battery farmed for first time ever in the UK (Mar 08).

Since then however, sales of organic foods have fallen, apparently in response to the credit crunch.

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Prayer is About Belonging

nobody@vox.com(mayalibre) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:24:28 +0000

Prayer is About Belonging

When we look out through a telescope into the far reaches of our universe,
we see a vast reality beyond ourselves,
and beyond the reaches of our minds
or even our imagination --
yet we are a part of that reality.
We belong to it.
We live and move and have our being within it.
When we gaze into a microscope, at just a single cell
in our own body,
we also see an immensity of life and interrelatedness
beyond our wildest dreams,
a world of its own, a miniscule microcosm of that
vast outer reality.
It lives and moves and has its being in us.
It is a living part of who we are.
Whether we look outwards, or inwards,
everything belongs.
Everything is in relationship with everything else.
This reality is what many people would call 'God;
God who holds everything in being,
continually impelling all creation in the direction of Life.
Prayer is our response to this reality,
our expression of our deep desire to be in right relationship
with its Source and Sustainer.
This in turn can lead us into right relationship with
each other and with the world.

-- Margaret Silf, from The Gift of Prayer

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To Be of the Earth

nobody@vox.com(mayalibre) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:22:32 +0000

To Be of the Earth

To be of the earth is to know
the restlessness of being a seed
the darkness of being planted
the struggle toward the light
the pain of growth into the light
the joy of bursting and bearing fruit
the love of being food for someone
the scattering of your seeds
the decay of the seasons
the mystery of death
and the miracle of birth.
-- John Soos

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Ontario Skies

nobody@vox.com(mayalibre) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:58:02 +0000

Ontario Skies

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My Outside-In Place

nobody@vox.com(mayalibre) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:57:42 +0000

My Outside-In Place

In our group today, we were encouraged to consider places, the energies they carry, and how we are attracted to different kinds. And it made me reflect on how, although I love beautiful places, I often prefer desolate, ugly, wrecked, down-and-out, and abandoned places.

I have been aware for some time that I seem to be able to 'relate' to places like this -- that they evoke in me a sense of both compassion and freedom, and when I am in these desolate, abandoned, or depressed places, my urge is simply to be there, be present, be open, and seek something loveable, something magical -- and I rarely fail. There is almost always something that previous visitors or residents overlooked or left behind -- something worth loving.

I also always hope that my attention nurtures or eases that place's wound or sorrow in some way, and I rarely walk away without feeling blessed, as if the place were grateful that somebody cared. I always find this 'exchange' inexplicably satisfying.

But today we were led into a meditation I found surprisingly hard. In order to increase our intimacy with nature (and thus God), we had a presentation on horticultural therapy and aromatherapy. The scents of plants stimulate our olfactory system, the oldest and most ancient of our senses, which connects directly to our limbic system, also known as our 'reptilian brain', the home of unconscious feelings, physical and emotional reactions, and moods. This reptilian part of our brain is also the planned, intentional and admitted target of intense and unceasing manipulation by the media and advertising.

In the exercise we were each given a freshly-cut sprig of lemon balm, straight from the plant, and we were directed to observe it mindfully first, then close our eyes and experience the scent, letting it seep into us, and deeper, into our soul. The smell was lovely, but when I tried to let it go into my soul I couldn't. I had a lot of resistence. I found a wall that I hadn't realized was there.

As much as I love nature, and as rich as my mystical experiences may be, I did not want to be intimate with this plant -- or any plant! It was not about the aroma per se, it was about intimacy. Intimacy to me is about pain and struggle and abuse. It's about slavery, control, and annihiliation -- I have never experienced it any differently. Why would I want intimacy? There is nothing nurturing, comforting, healing, loving, or life-enhancing in it, as far as my heart and soul currently know.

So once again I am on the "front line," having uncovered an Enemy nest (if you will) which sows death, saps energy, and inhibits connection and healing -- a fortuitous discovery in the spiritual war. And I find myself wondering about the word 'infantry', related to the word infant. Infantry (and infants?) are always on the front line, and if my reading on the long, historical, and widespread tradition of child abuse is any indication, Jesus's admonishment to "be as little children" may have many more dimensions than at first appear, not the least of which would be a call to empathy, to acknowledge what others feel, and as Christians, to stop the abuse.

An 'aha' then came, as I realized the evolutionary mechanism of projection at play. I have been appreciating and nurturing unloved, wounded and abandoned places on the 'outside' because it's easier than contacting the unloved, wounded and abandoned places on the inside, unleashing all that rage and pain. Thus I've been externalizing -- embracing the magic and beauty in abandoned places as a substitute for embracing the magic and beauty inside my aborted, abused self. Because deep down, I still feel it's my fault that no one cared for me -- that it's because something is wrong with me, and that that flaw, or flaws, makes me not worth loving.

So what I am drawn to on the outside is really a place on the inside -- a desolate place of pain, rage, and hopelessness, walled off and forgotten, but where evil lies still do their dirtywork.

Thank you God for holding me in your arms and giving me the opportunity to see this Truth, finally, at a deeper and clearer level. I will probably always have a soft spot for down-and-out places, but I know the "front line" is to go through the wall and receive the grace of a healing connection with life. As always, I appreciate your love, guidance, and protection.

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Breathing Diamonds

nobody@vox.com(mayalibre) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:53:41 +0000

Breathing Diamonds

"Scientists find universe awash in tiny diamonds"

But haven't we always known?
The shimmer of trees, the shaking of flames
every cloud lined with something
clean water sings
right to the belly
scouring us with its purity
it too awash with diamonds

"so small that trillions could rest
on the head of a pin."

it is not unwise then to say
that the air is hung close with diamonds
that we breathe diamond
our lungs hoarding, exchanging
our blood sowing them rich and thick
along every course it takes.

Does this explain
why some of us are so hard
why some of us shine
why we are all precious

that we are awash in creation
spumed with diamonds
shot through with beauty
that survived the deaths of stars.

-- Pat Mayne Ellis, from Cries of the Spirit

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Gelassenheit

nobody@vox.com(mayalibre) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:11:41 +0000

Gelassenheit

In true leisure there is mastery. If the enemy of self-direction is passion and impulse, its ally is quiet repose, mindfullness, perceptivity. Yet the act of reflection transcends the rational; it follows a course that can not be entirely foreseen, yielding conclusions that can not be reached if too deliberately pursued. From this quiet, something surfaces -- a reserve store of living experience, a world of subtle connections and insights.
Meditate before you act.

Our modern technological world has ultimately grown out of a certain way of thinking, a compulsion to reduce reality to simple, easy-to-manipulate components, and thereby control it. To this mistrust might be opposed the Anabaptist term 'Gelassenheit', or self-surrender: the acknowledgement that not everything can, or should, be controlled, and that the deeper mysteries of life must be savored and pondered. Openness to observation, willingness to adapt, and humility before the complex tangle that constitutes Truth, should be our lesson.
-Eric Brende, from Better Off

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