Resist hypocrisy

Young people have been good at recognizing hypocrisy in the previous generation.

I hope they continue to speak up on this because my generation is no different from previous - we have areas where we just PRETEND to be doing the right thing.  And we hate to admit its true -

One area I know this to be true because my wonderful work area no longer functions as a key cutting edge area, is in alleviating stress amongst eco-communities. The thing you should keep in mind if you are an observer ( not closely involved ) is that

1.  -many who live with risk ignore the risk and therefore aren't able to lift themselves OUT of the situations.One reason why farmers round the world need informed friends like YOU 
2. -the age old enemy of patronizing incompetence is increasing --not decreasing because less caring onsite people are out there .Less willing to stop and listen travellers on the Jericho Road  
3. - we need scientists again to go on site and study biodiversity and ecosystem threats in conjunction with industry ( not acting outside of that relationship!) 
4. - instead of tackling the hard jobs ( our job) we have wannabes solving the problems at a political level ( Something that is just quick fix , has popular appeal and gives the impression that they/ we are "doing something about it". 

Do something good ----study resilience science .The need is huge, the opportunity growing, the work rewarding.  Bless you as you strive to be your best!

Here is my original post to a discussion about the money we spend on specific areas of space research.The same could be said about the way we spend our money in Iraq and Afganistan, buy tanks and armaments of war , instead of armaments for peace - resilience capacity builders  I also posted yesterday on this dilemma as it affects Australian farmers in particular here .

Disturbs me deeply that we talk up spending billions to test whether life would survive outside our planet,  when we clearly ignore the lack of resilience amongst the poor in our own.
Point is---we can do something about this ( my work area) but we chose not to .
You see, we can't as a generation say we  care for animals and the earth if we don't care to share the earths enormous resources with each other- similiar mindset required to BE seriuosly effective here. Just remember too that soem careless talk is using false premise about scarcity ( it occurs and provides limits) to justify indifference to the real and proper challenges here.

When our minds are a mess

Sure , big call . lets' just start with one place when we can all lose our minds - when we are angry ..Things said in anger and accusations about a person and their character (as opposed to their actions ) can be easily confused - the shorthand can be shocking and wrong . Thinking calm collected people ( rare breed not the qualification ) can make a distinction between the sin and the sinner  but angry people ( that can be us )can't ----which is why its a bit stupid to take all the careless talk about misogny in Parliament this week too seriously.She said He said;  He's a "mis......" She's  a "miss....." is not only childish - its totally mistaken identity.
There is a fine line between the pleasure and pain of words; Our theologically at sea left groups are showing it .
There is thankfully and theologically a clear line between hating the sin and hating the sinner;  keeping that distinction in mind will help you ; it will help you not only speak well when you are sober but also help you see reason and change your mind after you lose it. A half baked faith ( say in the rule of laws) , if it doesn't cover all the territory of life ,  is useless. Our antecedents had a fuller view of these issues more here 

Rallying for change

Seen two good rallies this weekend rallying for change . the point is though "what change". If rallies aren't just to be frustration indicators ( Egypt )the trumpets need to be clear.
The Whyalla protestors are right to advocate for consideration of alternative power sources but if the children do it ,like they did in Victoria all we we will have is more expensive power and water - more jobs for someone but PC quickfiz jobs - not careers?. Great maturity and wisdom is required because the greatest job we can give our kids is the job to sort it out: when solar ,which solar, when gas, where tidal  and when coal . To just join the protest about too much burning - its too easy.People and purpose will get burned.
Same with Brunswick rally in memory of girls like Jill Meagher? Will the security cameras stop women from ignoring how men misinterpret nearly everything at 1:30 in the morning ?Is it more than coincidence that we expect cameras rather than real men to be the inspiration ? Is technology our only savior here?
Great maturity and wisdom is required and the greatest job we can give our kids is the job to sort it out ;when and where to use technology and when and  where to target the law and education and respect for yourself and real risks on the street .To join the protest about too much burning - it's too easy .

If you are a young person reading this ,there is some great jobs out their for you, but  don't go looking in the crowds for answers - you have to apply for them yourself ; Its probably not one of the many quickfiz jobs listed in the media traffic of the day!

Play your own note and play it well

One of the best moments in the opening ceremony of The London Olympics was Mr Bean , playing one note well . ( don't you just love On holiday!)
We are not perfect , but we are are meant to find completion ( perfection ): to find a place: our place ; Our unique place   . We should dream and share the dream of running our our own race.
"Revolution  only needs good dreamers who remember their dreams" Tennessee Williams

Does the problem have something to do with how you see it and think about it? ?

Sent this great picture on Facebook.  Hope it helps you today

How do you feel about yourself ?

• Feel very Alone at times? Sure we ALL feel and KNOW that to be true .  Part of the wonder of being unique-- you know . You are like no one else and neither am I 
• Feel Insecure . Everyone has some form of insecurity, so don't feel alone because you are not alone there . We all have different things to " worry about " in that regard ,Besides a wekeness can be an opportnity  Stevie wonder can't see but doesn't  he inspire  beautifully 
• Feel ugly or unfit  ?  This is probably the hardest thing because we all are prone to feel this AND hang this feeling onto others( project it) . You have been created unique . You may be more handsome or less handsome than your parents,  and your kids will be the same .
  Should you worry about passing some genetic traits  onto your children ?
  Who says you are unfit anyway ? - only mere men . Many days we wanna ask God why he allowed us to be the way we are ; One day I think we will understand why and won't need to be told why , but its not Today . Today is , it seems to me , for adventures in faith .
• Feel overwhelmed . The depth of the challenge is often far greater than YOU alone can manage . Need some help ? Think Hebrew  - you have been given a big job  , so have I . Why does it never rain but it pours ? 
• Feeling not sure about what you should do ? Follow that dream . 

"The circumstances of your life have uniquely qualified you to make a contribution . And if you don't make that contribution , nobody else can make it " Rabbi Harold S Kushner

Also you might like to read  G K Chesterton's chapter on "Flag of the World"  in ORTHODOXY

You hava gooday now !

Think Global , Act Local

Jesus is far more radically effective in teaching, acting and directing  than you might realise by just going to church . Many of his followers, just like Him, find it hard to be part of an institution - a mere formula for action . The respected underground activist radical reformer thinker and academic Jaques Ellul was like that. His radicalness meant he was very careful to summarize Jesus's  answer to the big question of "who should I help? " in a punchy but clear way. Ellul coined the now famous phrase " Think global , act local" which goes to the heart of how holistic community development  has worked throughout history .You can't do better than follow in the steps of those who have walked the Jericho Road before you ! (Matthew 5 is full of promise to those on the road which does not eliminate poverty but lives within it and beyond it  ).
More recently though, some people, think they can do better  ("Think local , act global" ).  I disagree and I have worked all my life in resilience assessment and action . We outta press effectiveness before we succumb to mere efficiency arguments.  We are surrounded with the debt and debris of quick fix and its costing us dearly .
Politics can look powerful, but when its experimental and quickfiz, its on the road to deeper poverty .This experimental technique trap is the disease Ellul identified ( see below) . I'm especially suspicious when political and other activists use OUR money to experiment with intervention ,coercion and incentive when they have never tested the same with their own money . Aid programs are re-known for their predictably reactionary, but politically correct CEO's agendas ( Change Everything Often ? ) This  radical weakness of current aid programs is something Ellul predicted well in his book about the bigger problems our society are now facing in " The technological society".  I won't any labels but you will know both the old and the new ones.  It doesn't take much poor targeting of help to waste the opportunity of aid , as I think the program on Scott Nesson showed last night on Australian Story .  

What do you think? More importantly perhaps , what is your experience?
http://www.abc.net.au/austory/default.htm

Being really good at something and getting better at it

Just posting a few thoughts on  4 words I reckon WE all need to know to educate ourselves  and find a way forward on personal growth. Each WORD is in a different language The first one is critical and difficult because taking a step backward can be the hardest thing we ever do - the language of truth in repéré (fr) See next site.
The  next word after that is the Hebrew word "radah"

A great job for someone to aspire to

We so need another Rick Farley. Great idea to review his life and work-recent biography . We certainly need more people like him who believe there is a better way to look after BOTH our people and our land.
For such people to be effective( surely part of the high risk for him),new candidates need to know the enemy better than it is currently articulated by institutions(the danger then and now )
while wannabes continue to play their own shallow game of splash in our profession -its hard to see stability. Average aussies and students need to call for careers not jeers at the opposition .
A more robust personal ,professional and political agenda still remains one of the biggest ,best and most rewarding challenges for young Australians - be warned -there are no quickfixes but lots prepared to waste their time on them. Train well and let us know how its going! http://dogood.blogspot.com

Getting the best of anger

 In this generation Anger has almost become a sin (Sorry we are not allowed to talk about that - by some , but I am NOT one of those ) .
Previous generations dealt with anger with responses like " Be Angry , but Sin not " ( et al) .   Now that we are not allowed to talk about "sin"  either so perhaps the 2 taboos are related ?  I clearly think so but I am in a minority( Public mood is quickfix,  patchup the  presenting problems) .
Any thinking person in an objective mood recognises that to not talk openly and widely about your problems is not good for your mental health ( see some previous posts on this blog on the subject) .
There are lots of books about how to deal with anger  but it seems to me that a lot of the talk is highly reactionary ( doesn't really cut to the heart of why we are here ) 

To be objective about anger is almost impossible for any of us . 

It seems to me impossible for our individual dogmatics( cf reflections and testimonies which have been good) on the subject of anger and fear to be clearly helpful /cathartic to others .Not only are we not objective about our anger and whether/when it breaks "the sin barrier "but our parents are implicated in teaching us things that may or may not be helpful . Clearly if there was ever something a close friend can help you with, its on the issue of " how am i going here " . Therefore too, a strong case for going to a good experienced counsellor to get some perspective.

Dr Les Carter I can highly recommend ( Making the Best of your Anger) and if you want some group therapy our favourite is The Cosby Show.( its brilliant and funny to boot) Its a bit dated,and  clearly R rated for some post modern reactionaries  who would rather waste their capital resources on the latest book . 

What do you do with ferals?

One of the most depressing things ever, can be to be faced with human incompetence. The recently funny serious movie on Australia's cane toad problem is like that.
While a few of us have had a bit of fun poking fun at others ignorance and stupidity in bringing in feral animals and plants ,there has been some challenges there for us too.
Our neighbours up the road brought the rabbit to Australia. They are quite nice people, but, you'll be pleased , as I am, to know that "I'm not related " .
When faced with the reality that a decision has been made that is wrong, we can make a big effort to try and distance ourselves from it. We are tempted to say "we are not like them", when we probably really are . If not in that frame we may think we know how to solve "their problem" and rush off to fix it . We like to think we are not related to such people , but would an objective observer of our behaviour suggest otherwise?

While it can make it easier ( less painful) for us , to see the problem only in our brothers eye , there is some therapy available if and only IF we face the problem head on ourselves. After all, as modern genetic research shows us, you and I ( whether you like to admit it ) share the same potential for feralness ( sad but true )
Maybe you don't show it like I do , but its there and you'll be passing some of it on just as I will.


As one who spent lots of years studying and quietly replacing things that are out of place ( conservation and motherhood share some methods )-( like rabbits )I will post sometime a little note on how rabbits have adapted to living without burrows .

Perhaps like in that great game of cricket, we should stop focusing on external differences, one upmanship, "his problem- not my problem" and all that stuff. Whether we start with a 20-20 ,50-50 or a test, let's see who is better at playing the game long term ! You never know till you take the test!
Maybe we shouldn't be limited by our view of our gene pool, but learn to get along . You Have a good day now brother!

The growth of offensive behaviour

Don't know about you but the increasing noise from young stars who don't control their squeals on a lob is symbolic of a problem that is not just theirs.
Sharapova says she is surprised to hear that people find her noisy efforts are offensive. Did no one tell her or was she not willing to hear. I feel sure someone has told her they are but like most of us with some of our bad habits ----we don't listen .
It's sad for any of our young people to find in their  prime that they have faults that people find offensive .Harder still  if they only ever find them once married ( always a few things though so u can survive such offences with love )
Better though they hear about them clearly from their parents, their teachers and us who call them friends . True friends would do it - Do these Stars lack true friends ?  
Whatever happened to self control? Sharapova says noone told her her habit was annoying - she knows now, but why didn't she listen earlier and act to change her ways ? ( blame? ,excuses? , louder squeals,? silence ? )
If you are in any doubt , tell children again and again of their bad habits. ( help the parents) After all, you don't want them to display them publicly like these tennis stars do .
Surely this phenomenon shows clearly the cost of shoddy thinking - the heretical view of morality where " tolerance " means putting up with bad behaviour and not saying things ( lest U offend) .
 Sin doesn't condemn the sinner ,but silence can .U heard it first from that book
I just posted a piece on why we love our mums' - they bother to be heard over the loud squeals. http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=319252338119190