OF PEOPLE, PICTURES AND THOUGHTS
Photo by NASA
The first thing I wondered was how did they get the shot. Talk about a point of view.
It was the Russian Soyuz craft that offered this unique view of the shuttle and the international space station.
It's an appropriate image to trigger a series of random thoughts about the nature of relationships and points of view.
WORDS ACROSS THE CULTURE
As the Friday Lunch Flash Mob enjoyed the breaking of bread and the breaking out of the sun, a visiting couple dining near by remarked as to a statement made about Germany. Turns out they are German. That launched two our flash mob. Both are fluent, having lived in Germany. A wonderful conversation then ensued.
I was struck by what a remarkable bit of "hospitality," unique though it might be. As a rule Americans do not do well with a second language. Our Flash Mob pals were an obvious exception and certainly must have added to the experience of the German visitors. That would not have happened in many places, but then as people here say "Cambria is not the real world."
LESSONS LEARNED FROM A DAUGHTER
A career as a journalist made me a good listener. I listen to all points of view and reason that I can never have "too much" information. I think I must be exasperating to friends who have passionate points of view, because I usually always counter a perspective with, if not a a counter point, at least an alternative view. Sustainability, though, is a topic where I have put down a stake.
I think we must all learn to live in a sustainable way. It is not a political ideology. In fact it cuts across all ideological views. Sustainable, in my mind equals, survivable. Humans are intelligent creatures and we must begin to apply intelligence to our choices of how we live.
I was chilled by the reality of a portion of a recent article by the New York Times writer Thomas Friedman.
This is not science fiction. This is what happens when our system of growth and the system of nature hit the wall at once. While in Yemen last year, I saw a tanker truck delivering water in the capital, Sana. Why? Because Sana could be the first big city in the world to run out of water, within a decade. That is what happens when one generation in one country lives at 150 percent of sustainable capacity.
A city, a capitol city, without water? As Friedman implies, it was once the province only of science fiction. Now political, military and diplomatic "war gaming" must anticipate the reality.
I appreciate a diversity of view and realize some do not agree with Friedman's ideas. But I urge an open mind.
I like people who approach reality with a sense of "can do." Pragmatists of all ideological stripes have moved humans through previous difficult passages. I think they will again.
SPEAKING OF COOPERATION
Photo by Tom Warren Daily Mail
See you down the trail.
Re: Thomas Freidman article...in 1946 when I came about, there were 2 billion people on the entire planet. It took since the beginning of this civilization to reach that number. Today, at 65, not even a blink of time, I am living on a planet approaching 7 billion. Yet we will not see even a mention of population in the next two years of Presidential debates!
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