Time for a change

The time has come, the time for a serious make-over on a planetary scale. A time for people to get over themselves, on every level, starting with the religious first and foremost. The age when we killed each other over ideas, especially differences in religious ideas is fast coming to an end. While the despots, Queens, moguls and rulers of every ilk mightcontinue to send us to fight, kill and die for their "interests", I propose we take a page from George Carlin's book and "don't show up. Yes, what would happen if they declared a war and no one showed up?" A few measly consiousess objectors might get some minimal air time on the local news, but imagine what kind of coverage CNN would provide to an all out, international, complete and total absence of military might on all sides. Imagine, fields and fields of insanely expensive tanks, guns and other heavy equipment, sitting there, not moving, just sitting, with not one human in sight. I will die happy to have lived to see that day. But enough about me. There are more similarities between the world's religions than differences, so why do we go on needing to kill the other guy because they don't worship their God with the same traditions that I do? Because when you boil it all down, that's all it is, just differences in rituals and traditions. How many times to I need to hear Catholic, Muslim, Hebrew or Christian tell me how their God is one of love, peace and understanding before they realize they are all the same God they are killing for? Prove it, show me how understanding, loving and peaceful your God is and his teachings to you are. Demostrate his empathy, and be a vehicle for his love on the planet. I won't stop you. Not if you wear a cross on a chain around your neck, or pray on a mat facing East, or praise your God in a ancient language I don't understand.
That's the specific, for the general, people overall need to better re-align their Chi. Now, now, don't go chuckling, you can call it whatever you like, but you know the energy I speak of. We (humans) are seriously out-of-whack with our environment. And not just Mr. Gore's "Inconvenient Truth" but EVERYTHING. How we think of ourselves, what we deem important and worthy of our time and resources. The world we are creating and ultimately leaving our children is not a nice place. Our we were put here to be caretakers of our planet, and well folks, the report card is seriously covered in "F's" .
If we are to evolve, we need to come together and share and teach and learn and grow. We waste unimaginable quantities of resources on the most silly things.
I read a book once, and surprisingly it was by an economist, and he talked about how there really is no such thing as "shortages" and how we really can't "run out of ___________" because it is us people that decide what is precious, useful, and what is not. e.g. when in the 70's during the gas crisis, the pundits and expert talking heads talked about how in 20 years we would run out of oil." The economist went on to share a laugh with the audience since this was 2000 and still plenty of gas around. He did explain how when they (the experts in the 70's) predicted the end of oil, they simply calculated the known results, divided by the known number of barrels consumed at that time, and presto! in 20 years we would run out. Sure, yes, based on that known facts of the day, that might have come to pass. But what happened? How come we didn't run out? Well, a combination of factors contributed to our on-going oil-gluttany.
1. The oil engineers developed methods to drill deeper
2. The oil engineers developed better methods to drill off-shore further North.
3. The advent of the fuel injector made cars more effecient consumers of gas
4. Smaller cars we made and marketed, resulting in lesser consumption
and on and on
The point I am trying to make is that we create it all. We can create whatever we put our minds to. To continue with the gas analogy, remember, there was a time no so long ago when gas was thought to be a nasty waste bi-product of oil and thrown out. (We won't talk about the disposal methods, they're too scary.)
Until someone made a use for it. That's right, it was waste until it became the centre (and bane) of our modern existence.
We can make anything we can imagine. What we seem to have happened is "we're stuck on stupid". We have lost the creativity, the drive and ambition to create truly new, great, useful things. We have become mired in cheap, fast and easy.
We can do better, I know we can. I see signs of hope everywhere, and believe in my heart of hearts, that if enough of these like-minded people get together, what they can collectively create, will be revolutionary, extraordinary and perhaps just a tad life changing. And all for the better. The single-minded, profit driven mentality has got to go. We can do much better than that. We need to do much better, to ensure our survival as a species.

Podcasts

They are some of the coolest bits of entertainment on the internet!!!! I am just in heaven with these podcasts!!!
And it doesn't matter if you are on a Mac or PC, iTunes works with both. Just when I think Apple has once again gone and done the coolest thing I could want, they come out with yet another one. Brilliant quality, downloadable, varied content, it's just like your own personal television, without the commercials or the annoying talking heads.
Now I will grant you that not ALL the content is brilliant, but that's just a matter of opinion I guess, and so, I stick with what I like. National Geographic has got to be one of those favourites. Their content is truly worthy of their name, and I look forward to the next download.
Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Random Acts of Kindness

That picture is to help provide perspective for this posting, because that's about how big and how important we are individually in the universe. And so I muse about how we can all do one tiny thing to help us all. We don't have to invite the next stranger home to dinner, or even give money to the panhandler. Just tiny, almost insignificant acts of kindness. Holding the door open another second longer for the person behind you, not wearing your backpack or other luggage-sized purses etc., on public transit and smacking people in the face with it every time you turn to talk on your cell phone. And yes, cell phones, can we talk for a minute about cell phone usage? Is what you have to say (or hear - though more often than not it's about the talking) so important and time-sensitive that you need to use the cellphone everywhere?
Random acts of kindness people, don't have to be anything grandiose, largesse, just consideration and something the old folks use to talk about, common sense. It seems to be in use less and less these days, and that is becoming worrisome. Yes, it's alright to help a little old lady across the street, but not ok to cut in front of her and slow her down.
Being neighbourly is not difficult either. Keep your stuff on your own lawn, make sure it doesn't blow on the other side and shovel your entire portion of the side walk. And for the city dwellers that don't have miles of property to shovel, it's alright to shovel or assist the old couple next door. Call it Karma, call it whatever you like. Let's not get so caught up in the hurly burly of the workday that we forget the small acts that get us through that workday.

We don't have to love each other, that would be just too much to expect. But perhaps, we can put up better with each other? Just a nod and "hi" as we pass, doesn't hurt anybody.

Peace

New and improved.....

we'll see I guess how much this new Blogger has been "improved" for enduser easy-of-use and how much for the makers ease. I will be patient and fair, and since I haven't posted on here in a long time, I will think of it as just "new to me".