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I am grateful to Joel and Michele Levy for forwarding the following quote:
"An inspiring reflection from our friend and colleague Evolutionary
biologist Elizabet Sahtouris: "Estimates of how much the oceans will
rise and how long it will take vary... With most of our huge urban
complexes located in coastal areas, even the most conservative
scientific predictions for the end of this century imply that the
necessary relocation of hundreds of millions of people must happen.
The good news is that people are at their best, their most peacefully
cooperative behavior, in natural crises, and a crisis of this
unprecedented proportion will command all our resources. We have some
time to work on the international cooperation required to get those
great cities uphill and to deal with climate extremes, but we cannot
waste time getting this process underway... Global warming will ...
provide us the opportunity to start over on a higher plane-literally
and figuratively. I hope humanity at this century's end will see
global warming as the crisis that brought us together in peace at
last. I imagine that the new housing, health-care, and education
policies, economic activity, arts and entertainment, and ecosystem
restoration will be sustainable and awesome examples of our artistic
genius for elegant simplicity."
-- Explore her works at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabet_Sahtouris
http://www.ratical.org/LifeWeb/#CJSAvid
When I forwarded this to my personal list of perusers of passalongs, I had
the following back from Joe Maizlish, a friend from high school, many
decades ago:
"people are at their best":
A Katrina observer said that when people were in immediate need of water,
shelter, food they were at each other and most uncooperative, and even
violent. HOWEVER, once those basics were seen to, at least for the short
term, people showed the highest cooperative and planful behavior.
This provides a few lessons:
1. Let's see to the secure satisfaction of everyone's basics to help all of
us be at that best.
2. Might those who seem to have no end of greed actually be suffering from
an emergency signal which perhaps for reasons of poor learning does not shut
off even when what look to the rest of us like far more than their basics
are securely satisfied?
Joe
In these considerations, we're really getting down to questions about the
nitty-gritty of human existence and survival on our planet, which are among
my favorite topics for discussions.
Living in Canada, I am getting a different perspective on some of the
potentials for relationships between people. Toronto is one of the most
cosmopolitan cities in the world, counting 106 distinct ethnic communities
within its boundaries. In general, people get along well across their
communal, religious and ethnic boundaries. This is possible!
What I have experienced in my half year of living in this country is that
people on the street will stop to lend a hand to someone in need moreso
than I am used to seeing in the US. For example, when I first arrived here
and bought a sofabed at a garage sale, the stranger I approached at the same
sale who had a pickup truck was readily willing to help me haul it several
miles down the road to my new home. I felt uneasy as I drove in front of him
to show him the way, realizing I had not agreed a price with him for his
services, and worrying that he would charge me a handsome ransom for his
time. To my surprise, he wouldn¹t take a penny, and helped me carry it in as
well.
I believe Joe is right in his first observation. I find Canada is a gentler
place than the US. People in Canada pay very high taxes, but in return,
everyone has the right to receive health services. This removes a major
worry from people's lives. This is not to pretend that Canadian health
services are without serious problems such as areas where no doctors can
be found, due to a doctor-drain to the US; or that mental health services
are at a high level; among other challenges in this system. However, the
safety net is there.
As to Joe's second observation, I fully agree that the culture of
competitive striving that is fostered in the US produces insatiable
appetites. People in the US measure themselves by what they do and achieve,
not by who they are as people. Again, this is very different in Canada. The
" how " of interactions here is often more important than the " what." I
feel more a human being here than a human doing.
Blessings
Dan
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Wholistic Healing Publications
Daniel J. Benor, MD, ABHM, Editor
P.O. Box 76
Bellmawr, NJ 08099
Phone: (609) 714-1885 (866) 823-4214
Email: DB@WholisticHealingResearch.com
Web: www.WholisticHealingResearch.com
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