June 22, 2008 at 1:50 am (Uncategorized)
All week I have been struggling with how to write about the food crisis in the world. Do I refer to the many articles I have about how this is manipulated by the agro-chemical companies, by the US Federal Reserve, by a few key players in the world, such as the Rockefellers? How do I bring it all together?
Today though, it seems I shall take a different tack. I decided to see what Google had to say on global hunger.
Results of Google search - Global Hunger = 602 hits of a possible 558,000. Now this seems a lot to me. This says to me that there is a huge investment in global hunger. Yes, people have invested themselves in continuing this state of affairs. Organisations are committed to it. What would happen if they were successful? They would no longer exist. So of course they are invested in it. I do not want to be complicit in their game, and I urge you to avoid them also.
As the old Chinese saying by Lao Tzu goes - “Give A Man A Fish, Feed Him For A Day. Teach A Man To Fish, Feed Him For A Lifetime”
This brings me to a woman I’ve met, and who was recently interviewed on local television, Mij Tanith.
http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/sa/content/2006/s2275611.htm
Urban Guerrillas - Mij Tanith
MIJ TANITH, GUERRILLA GARDENER:” I was a very politically active person and I have been for years but at the moment I think I’ve realised that the only acts of politics that are actually worth putting my energy into are those that literally bear fruit. So working at a grass roots level in a way that is practical and if you think about it, growing your own food is a highly political act.”
http://www.primalseeds.org/guerrilla.htm is a site where people can learn the ‘how to’.
OK, this is not going to change the world in an instant. It does follow the saying though to “Think globally, act locally.” And as Gandhi says - “ Be the change you wish to be in the world” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi
Another aspect, for those of us in this privileged world, where we know we shall eat each day, is to consider the 100 mile diet. http://100milediet.org/category/about/
Only consuming food which has been grown within a 100 miles of one’s home. It is another way to beat the corporate greed.
Because, when it all boils down to it, greed is the basis for the hunger in this world. Make no mistake about that!
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March 20, 2008 at 12:49 am (ecology, philosophy)
“THE MORE CLEARLY WE CAN FOCUS OUR ATTENTION ON THE WONDERS AND REALITIES OF THE UNIVERSE ABOUT US, THE LESS TASTE WE SHALL HAVE FOR DESTRUCTION”
Rachel Carson
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January 29, 2008 at 10:22 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: asking, cats
When my cats want something from me, they ask. It might be for food, for water, for a cuddle, or to play. But they ask. Sometimes quietly, sometimes noisy and demanding. But they ask. When my horse wants my attention, she calls out to me. When she is hungry, she tells me. She asks me to satisfy her needs.
Now if I do not comply with these requests, do the animals treat me badly? No, they do not. Do they behave the next day any differently? No, they do not. They know what they want/need and that is that. They will ask, again and again.
Yet people, myself included, are more inclined to not ask for what we really need, if we have a history of disappointment. Sometimes that painful memory will stop us from stating our needs, just in case we get disappointed again. Not always is this a conscious thought. It may have become simply a normal way of behaving for us. A habit. A habit which can prevent us from knowing what is deep in our heart, that for which we long, but dare not ask. Fear. Fear of disappointment.
It stops us from asking.
Well, I am going to ask. I am asking myself, what is it I long for…….
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January 26, 2008 at 7:54 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: horse, walking
Yesterday I went walking with my friend. She always shows me how to look at things from a different perspective. She sees the world differently and brings my notice to things I’d pass by without seeing. Sometimes she sees what I cannot, no matter how hard I try, and I have learnt to trust that she knows best. And it is fun, walking with another who is alert to it all, who doesn’t mind if I jump or skip or plod, depending on the time. She’ll adapt her pace to mine - well mostly….sometimes she’ll lag behind just so she can race up and past me with a triumph of delight. Or if I lag behind, she’ll stop and wait for me, patiently.
And yesterday was no exception. We had a great time. Good to break from our recent routine and just enjoy…..the simple pleasure of walking with a friend.
My friend, my horse.
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January 18, 2008 at 3:00 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: horse medicine
Today I received some excellent medicine. For the first time for too many days/weeks, I saddled up and went horse-riding again. Ahh, I could feel my spirits rise and my shoulders relax, as we swung into a trot. Lately I’ve had a focus elsewhere, and have spent less time with my friend, and we both seemed to feel the loss of that.
Sometimes I feel like a circus act. A juggler- how many balls can I manage this time…..some days I can manage more than other days. A clown on a unicycle. Or walking the high trapeze. Yet today I was reminded that maybe if I simply open my arms, and allow my heart to speak, I will find the balance I seek.
It can be too easy for me to get caught up in my head, and be thinking of what needs to be done, rather than be feeling what to do next. This stems from my old avoidance of feeling, but now I’d rather risk the highs and lows of feeling than to return to the state of numbness.
So once again, the animals around me bring me back to my senses. To them I have enormous gratitude.
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January 14, 2008 at 3:10 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: grasshopper
Today a grasshopper gave me a beautiful gift. It taught me about conditioning. About how conditioned I had been into good/bad, right/wrong thinking, judging everything according to how it fitted into my world. What it could do for me. Or not, as the case may be. I had been conditioned into thinking that grasshoppers were bad. Dragonflies are good, praying mantis are good. Yet, as I saw today when I invited a grasshopper to sit on my finger so that I could examine it closely, there is so little difference between those three. I could add a caterpillar to the list, as the body of the grasshopper reminded me of one, and butterflies are thought of as good. Yet caterpillars are thought of as bad…..
This grasshopper returned my gaze, repositioning itself to look at me if I moved my finger away. And then it slowly rotated itself while I gazed, amazed. As much as to say, all you have to do is ask, and I will do it. This tiny creature of God, was much more tuned into me than I was it, and yet, I could feel welling up in me, the memory of a time when we all were of the same Mind.
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January 6, 2008 at 12:31 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: very hot
Lately, it has been hot. Very hot. Daytime temperatures of 40C in the shade. Real scorchers. The sparrows and willy-wag-tails have sought relief on my front verandah. I’m kept busy refilling water bowls of different sizes for the various animals and insects that live about here. Early mornings and late evenings are the only times when there is much activity. Even the galahs take refuge in the trees during the heat of the day.
The river flow is much reduced. As has been my own flow of words. I feel I’m drying up. It won’t last forever. It is just the season. One day there will be a flood again. Or at least more than a trickle. This is just the normal ebb and flow of life.
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December 25, 2007 at 12:02 pm (Uncategorized)
Tags: miracles, plant
Last winter my pot plants had to endure much colder temperatures than they were used to. Too many nights below freezing point resulted in considerable damage to many, and even death to some. Now it is summer. Those that were able to, recovered. Others were removed when all that was left was rotted remains. I had not got around to replacing the plant in one particular pot, just cut down the dead stems and had placed a cutting of another on the side of the pot, as a temporary measure. A weed grew up in the centre of the pot. Well, finally it was time to tidy up. For some reason, instead of just pulling out the weed, I chose to trim it back first. And lo, what did I see, to my absolute joy and amazement, but new growth springing forth from the “dead” plant! Sheltered by the weed it had grown unnoticed. For months before, the stump had shown no sign of life. But somewhere, deep within it, was the life force, just waiting for the right time to re-appear.
To me, it is the miracle of Life.
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December 18, 2007 at 11:45 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: dragonfly, trust
Peering out of the window I could see the kitten playing with something in the paddock. Upon investigation, I found a dragonfly, which I rescued. It seemed shocked as much as anything else but was able to climb onto and cling to my finger. I carefully walked to a quiet spot in the garden and sat down. It moved onto my open palm, washed it’s face, then seemed to go into a prayer position, wings folded. I could feel the life force of this delicate creature radiating onto my palm. Normally they move to quickly for me to be able to see their exquisitely detailed markings. Now I could gaze at it, right up close, an inch or two from my face. What a beautiful amazing creature!
So I sat while it rested and recovered. A while later it opened it’s wings a little then folded them again. By this time, there were other animals waiting for me, so I transferred the dragonfly to a flower, in a sheltered position. It hung there quietly and later on when I checked, it was still there. The following day it was gone. All I can hope for, is that it was able to proceed with it’s proper cycle after this interruption.
I felt very blessed to have received the trust from this tiny creature. It gave me an experience I shall always remember.
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December 17, 2007 at 11:38 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: flow of life
For weeks now there has been no rain. The river has settled down into it’s own rhythm, the water flowing quietly. When it rains, the mud gushes into the river and the water stays cloudy for some time. Now all that has settled, and I can see clearly the rocks under the surface of the water at the shallow crossing. I can see where to step next.
A bit like life I suppose. When it is rushing past us, we are all stirred up and it is not until the flow changes into a slower tempo, that we can see clearly to the depths of our soul.
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