If in doubt about what you are doing, pause and look around you

 As you know, like you, I am openminded; I think , Maybe, thinking about what i just wrote , I don't really think, therefore I lie. so many liars in one house and not an ounce of confession.  
Best I keep moving or I might realize I am on the wrong track  ..... and need to go back .. at least a step or two. 
Like you, I am probably too busy to really think , and as old as I am,  am not only stuck in my ways , but you refuse to budge. 
Well same here . which why,  nearly legless myself,   I suggest you just pause and look around around you. Read something that you have never read because the label really annoys you. 







You are not getting too old for this ( glory be to them's that coined that expressio) but No 
 YOU were meant for this ( at any age but particularly in old age when you have time for it )   Confession will do all of us good .


I really hope this note i posted TODAY makes your day Know love: How to jump back into the idea of Marriage

   

If you knew a way to make the world a much better place , would you do it?

 I truly hope so. If you are young, I pray you will seek both the wisdom to find and follow that path. 
Let me suggest that most of us have at least three reasons why we might not do this 

1. We don't actually know the identity let alone HOW to achieve that goal
2. Even if we know the goal, we can be expected to be easily discouraged by the profound application difficulty and dedication required to reach that goal. There are easier things to do for yourself and defining public good goals that can be achieved takes great wisdom. 
3. We are most likely to be presently doing something else at the moment. 
   
   There will be other discouragements like- the goal may look small compared to some,  but let's just ignore them because I believe self-satisfaction is the best kind of reward any of us can expect and one achievement can be expected to drive the desire for more.(cf the lack of rewards in self-serving ) 
   
   Lots of questions . I hope, in subsequent posts to describe how we can keep in touch with a sound goal in our own patch (cause that is the only way to see and achieve that goal) 
   
   
   Let me list one goal ( listing contraints may take the focus off the objective here and start the not so critical reality that there will be discouragements ) 
   
   WORTHY and achievable GOAL 
    1, To pay to farmers the margin required to make food production profitable and their use and investment in
   the land more sustainable, Some background Some background  to the present realities in the West 

Whatever you do , do it and do it well

 My generation of Australians are confused . They aim naturally , like most human and their families ,  to find economic security, but find themselves with two houses and their children with none . 

It's a form of madness ( denial?) to focus on the obvious  yet thats all the wannabes ever seem to do ; that  house prices are unaffordable; that's mere economics and we can fix that if we want to . As Sorell reminds us, its only when we accept there are only tradeoffs and not solutions  on the housing issue , we can find a way through there . Its predictable machinery . 

Not so with good work - envisioning that takes wisdom - and not the trite nonsense that says being a lawyer will bring you home . This is is more of the bread that never satisfies.  

Its a form of denial to get distracted and name call when the problem is in the too hard basket for all the rabbits assembled in parliament .
The problem is not housing but homing and the deeper problem is the lack of community commitment to careers . Even teachers talk carelessly for decades about having  3 jobs is a lifetime as if that is the reality or the  desirable outcome.
The fear ridden rabbits are afraid to even mention the word career  when it's blatantly obvious we need doctors and people to help them manage the huge work load.

Something is still wrong when we now in 2024 are no longer producing credible doctors of the environment credible doctors of the environment .
When instead of offering solutions our leaders are offering fear  fear 


I will finish here for now cause while the need for doctors is my thing , we let our kids fall into a deep pit by NOT talking and finding out worthwhile work and NOT getting them ready for the variety by teaching them how to anticipate it ---- and cope with it when it comes along .

As one who has also  spent decades dealing with poor attitudes to any work by tens of young people in my care, I will leave the next chapter  of my  "Do whatever you do and do it well" talk      because it is the most inspiring one of all.
None of us will be happy with just a house or three, but a job well done CAN really help everyone of us find home.   find home.  

You know even rabbits are adaptable .Why aren't we?
These rabbits don't need a warren. There mobile home is under the cars at our depot  ,They have more exists and entries than an earth warren and no preditor can touch them . provided they dont go deaf and blind they won't get rained on , flooded or dug out, 


Why are so many of us living in the richest country in the world BUT without a home   Copyright EA 

  

Anger can be a real killer

We need to be far wiser in responding to angry people. 
To do that well, we need to recognize that we get angry too. 
Infact all parties involved need to think through why many new ideas in this area are NOT WORKING - see below. 

Let's start by reviewing the history of ideas and what i am saying is common neglect of what works.

In the West we know , or used to know, the power of good words . Verbal assault carries similiar import in our culture to physical assault , yet nowadays an aside or a putdown , gas lighting , cancelling or a taunt , is seen as" no big deal" ( even though it s against several of the 10 commandments)

its true  that unless we can FIND a positive ,we will all go down in the negative . But short circuiting life to avoiding negative means we restrict ourselves to non resolution with reality ; we don't face reality and then move,  on as we need to .
Holding onto anger is a curse  and we need to show young people how NOT to do that.  

 The common counter accusations about whose loving and whose hating ,mean we are confused and confusing each other ; most people are not thinking or acting deeply here . 

We have an effective centuries old answer to preventing wrath .We just have to use it .The miracle is that with anger , being strong and direct with it YOURSELF can diffuse it on both sides.

If you practice dissipating it ( Its natural not naughty -by talking before the sun goes down) you can LEARN that its not good for YOU THEM or anyone to hold onto it ---- Is not this the big deal . hanging on to it!

Don't be harder , be smarter. For everyone's benefit. 

Young people  have a particular problem, because real life can seem too hard.  Do what you do well son and you will find the way to progress for yourself  .

BUT Some with some age still have lots to learn 

Take some who would try to control our media and wannabes in government . 
Some of the more assertive think , quite wrongly, they can change the attitude of others by lecturing us about how bad we are and where we should treat each other better .

Such a technique simply doesn't work ( try it at home-- the angry wife is right but she won't control him by swapping chairs) and because it doesn't work, those using it in power, push word control and group "racism "even harder .
We must resist those who force such ineffective tyranny.

In real life there is always conflict
Free speech is the way to prevent all out warfare and many reactive controls imposed by fanatics to control it are wrong .

The reactionary position which just says anger is a sin are wrong. Anger can be a natural response ( adrenalin and nor adrenalin) and we need our worldview to help us manage it.

Many families will struggle to teach their children about how to deal with anger when 80% of marriages in Australia break up-often over it . 



Support TRUE independents who represent (not the plethora of "i will do it my way"'s), community TV ( ABC channels?),good Parent controlled education, counselling and Consider your VOTE well.

No better jobs than these

No better job than helping people find good jobs to do - however simple.  Nothing need be wasted if you cut precisely. 
Moderns often make the mistake of thinking we must not cut , but cutting is what our Creator calls us to do. It's not easy or costless and can be very painful to do.
Nature is sensitive and delicate so we must understand it well before we cut anything there. By understanding  nature you will develop confidence to cut it because nature is resilient and reproductive as well . 
So learn to do it well . 
Precision in decision is your calling in whatever paddock or workshop you find yourself in  Keep the blades sharp and you won't need to do what the French did in the 1700's 
 



Last week at a concert we sang the great song by the duo Gershwin's "Nice work if you can get it "
 

The song ends with the words "Will YOU show me how ?"
No even though I spent half my life trying to find good work for young people ( Other peoples children ) I know I can't do it
Let me remind you then that you can't help many people and you too need to choose which ones you  should aim to help. 
What I can do is show you how  to run your own household and be a good parent 
To save time let me just tell you a story   ( the very short version as is fit for a poet ) 

Father to Son    Did you hit your brother ? 
Son  No !!  No ! 
Father   Off to your room ( so you can THINK about what you are doing and have done )
Father  Come out when you have something more to say 

OK  what is happening here?  Efficient conversation 
 Later  . None of the following may be necessary -- We don't want only more nagging  but some words can be helpful too
"Before you leave this house, you need to know that lying to yourself and to others is wrong and not good for you . You need to know who your enemy is and how to engage with him  " 



" Look son, I love you but I don't love some of the things you choose to do. If I get angry at you its often because of things you choose to do. You have been given absolute freedom by your Creator ( not me ) to do what ever you like.( Teach them to hate the sin but love the sinner ) 
You do have bad thoughts which you can't do much about except not to act on them .More important than that, you need to admit to yourself ( noone else) that you have them and deal with them as bad ." {Jung rightly describes the only problem remaining is man himself. )

Mums might have the worst jobs in the world (in this case perhaps having the constant bad cop job of telling the child it is wrong to lie) but by the two cops working together, the good cop can take a different tack. It's always better and more effective IF we tell ourselves the truth and however long it takes it's time well spent. God help those who try to tell us these things. 

Don't fail --focus! 
I spent half my life trying to help young people who were not my own, to find good work .  Whatever I said did little to change their attitudes or their pathway. I have watched others too give their time generously too to other's children. Its been hard for them too because they can easily and deeply neglect their own families in the process.

What am I saying ? Choose well who you will help. I am saying don't overestimate what you can do for other peoples children but do a good job on your own (they too won't ever be perfect but focus on what builds resilience in households) 
 And if you haven't got children of your own teach yourself to do even the most basic of jobs well so that you will then learn to do everything well . 


And forget being remembered and appreciated , Doing your job well will lead you to get the best satisfaction you will ever get. 


(If you really want help, don't go straight to a psychologist, try an experienced poets like  Gershwins  .)

We all have good sound reasons to be angry

For a start, we all know, as reasonable people, that even though we know things, we are not listened to.
That fact can make us rightly angry -- angry adrenalin responses can be OK-  it;s what our Creator built into us 

It's how we manage that anger that can make it good.
  Adrenalin is the dangerous and diverse effect gift to you to manage life for GOOD .And yes its also dangerous and easily part of the Bad .
 God wants you to properly author and counsel others with the truth. Its part or your arsenal to live the good life . Its particularly the weapon for good of those who are pushed down ( cf those who rise to the top) 

 I feel for Stan Grant (resigning from ABC) and Noel Pearson (because racism and isolation is on the increase), but they, like our post- modern culture are trapped by their inadequate attitudes to anger hatred repentance and forgiveness. They are overreacting to a real threat, but not really understanding the threat.

Mistargeting and overstating 
The monarchy and Christianity are not inherent threats to honoring diversity, but the very reason we have for centuries honored it.  
 It's how we deal with anger that's changed.
The post modernists have made anger a sin, when it is not. This is, as Os Guiness said, the West going East and losing itself in unproductive shaming, guilt and unforgiveness that perpetuates the pain and the adrenaline suppression (not good) 

Most of us were taught that God gets angry and that we should deal with anger before the sun goes down each day. Believers and their families ( incl children) could get hot under the collar and survive. They lived the wonderful truth that it was ok to be angry every day, but to deal with it in a positive  way .This limits, like nor-adrenaline, the damage that could now kill us.  
By making it a sin, it makes the person who SHOWS anger now feel very bad, ashamed and accused of shaming; the focus of gas lighters.  All the afore is unworkable unnecessary and inappropriate intransigence and pain.  

In rejecting their Christian heritage, the ABC have adopted, from the vacuum in the vault of pure reaction, some other old ideas that do not work.
The only way to make things work. for our children's sake, is to admit we have given into unforgiveness, shaming and not accepting that the many injustices done to us (or done to or by our forebears) are less important  that injustices done to people right now. 

Recognise those suffering from cognitive dissonance

 
IN THIS LOST AGE , EVERYBODY IS ANGRY -- almost all the time 
Life confuses all us at times.   never more than when mum and dad argue.
Never more than when anger and adrenalin doesn't fulfil its purpose or worse - is said to be a sin ( a heresy) 
The mistake some never grown ups make is to think the arguers hate each other.
Best to look deeper
Best to check those that confront others don't just HATE the action  - people who love you will sometimes insist on telling you the truth - even if it hurts
eg the arrogance and the insistence on getting own's own way
EVERYBODY IS ANGRY -- almost all the time because the post Christian world view of the highest morality is that everyone should be free to get what they want , Something we all tried out when we were children but its now the church where most people now worship 

Yes lovers can learn to hate each other but anger , dealt with before the sun goes down can be restorative .   We are living in an age of quick fix , no fix waste and divorce when we all need a way to be reconciled . 

Some children never get enough good shocks and LOVING WORDS to check their rebellion in a good way . Such people think the problem with  people is something wrong with people  other than themselves  ( projection)  .Thats a recipe for hell all around . Do we not have hell all around? 


The inability of a mother to correct her child leads to hate . Unless a miracle of insight love and forgiveness happens, the child can learn only to hate him/herself and others. 
Someone needs to ask some of those boy" Nazi's" trying to silence women in protests last week "what are your  relationships with your mothers?" . Why is it men who are leading in defence of their own position in " nazi " rallies 


SOME PEOPLE LEARN TO USE THEIR ANGER 


MANY MODERNS in cognitive dissonance just FEAR ANGER because they don't understand it 

JB Peterson helps people understand our feelings and mind games . but he is banned from the ABC .  
  

Everyone has good ideas

 Everyone has good ideas ; I wish I could tell my wife that sometimes when she corrects me . But we get on OK cause , while we might need a daily  ( or is hourly)  reminder in each decision we make, we don't let the anger of not being listened to ( I hope you don't feel it as often as  this old grump does ) stop us from communicating in the tough and sparky way that we are meant to.
When "Iron sharpens iron" is mentioned in Psalm 27:17 its implied that  SPARKS WILL FLY . 

The inspiration in this momentary war is that a more productive refined decision will and can often be made if we truly listen.
YES  - Its  worth waiting for the result of the adrenalin rush - we all should be celebrating at the end of the day ( when our anger (or rather our sinful reaction to anger ) , and should be apologised for -- "before the sun goes down" ). Look forward  to the end of the day,and don't let the waste of words hang around for a lifetime . 
Look forward  to the noradrenalin rush  that we can share  together( anger seems to precipitate more anger )  had a good day with good decisions  made . Don't be afraid of anger - its not a sin.  Look at Jesus ! Be angry,  but apologize for the sin ( your condemnation of the person?? or whatever  )

I started to write this today, because unlike the satisfying result that can happen when we fight fair and for the truth and the precision required to make good decisions ( boy its hard to listen though isn't it when YOU and I are such experts ) is the focus 
because 
1. Doug Cameron whose simple approach ( almost Marxist ) to solving  problems normally drives me nuts , said something profound in Parliament this week ( Need for housing) . Marxism doesn't work mate , so get onto something that does . 
2.The ads on TV SBS . We are away of holidays and while we have stimulating days , we like a bit of news . But what silly sales talk and simplistic insurance and betting solutions and inane commentary . We switch it  off -its not helping, even  though it makes out like the litte gods they are  that they are "OH so caring "  One blatantly outrageously simple   ad is giveing $5 a month to stop Pneumonia  and save a child . Children with Pneumonia  are dying from multiple causes and just fixing that one won't deal with the cause of that poor child's situation . 
 Trust you get something other that stupid screen talk today 

 

So what flag will you fly in future ?

If you want some deep inspiration to find a FLAG we can ALL fly , read G K Chesterton's ( Father Brown author- "Flag of the World" ) where he, not only points out what sort of patriots we can ALL be,

BUT ALSO why we should reject the traitors like Pirate Peter Fitzimmons who "use the freedom that life allows to lure people away" from the flags that we CAN unite under. 


As for Australis biggest inspiration in 2022?. Jacinta prices address to
Parliament .
It will go down in history as the greatest call to mystic patariots in the modern era . 

And did our parliament recognise it ?

Just for the record  I am  not against eventually modifying the flag but not Australia day because that would deny the West its history . I am not against using "welcome to country"  but I am against the modern madness of nagging ( making it a heading for every event and meeting in he country)_ 
August 2022. 

Nagging is  just not wise 
Did not anyone tell the members that domestic violence is increased  by nagging . That verbal abuse is rightly prosecutable under law as is physical abuse .

Lets have sustainable ways of working through anger and aggression , listening and  learning.
If Parliament want to do something  about the growing problem of domestic violence  and family stress  they would do well to resist tokens , laws , alcohol purchase and trying to prosecute physical violence without addressing that which often precedes it -- verbal abuse  .That way police and other  officers may get past the door to help. 
   





 I often say in these pages what I hate , but i will be brief because th e  important bits must  come first ,
 
Peter Fitzimmons and others like Malcolm Turnbull ,  Steggals , and   Holmes  a court use their huge financial resources to lecture us about being dinosaurs  and how backwards we are .
I just pray they will realize  where light comes from , who has been leading them into their dimly lit progressive darkness  ,and  pray that they grow up ,repent and relearn  .  
The reality is they are all children and haven't ever faced their own weak thoughts, let alone the dangerously blunt ideas  they insist we hear.   

Avoid cynicism and being a smart arse - it can kill you .

  Good intention is great but knowledge is critical to make sure your passions produce a reward
One good intention that we all have is to find a way to reduce our excessive reliance on fossil fuels . I won't cover that here but one author at the bottom will help you think more deeply more that most people are doing at the moment . 


Yes you too can make progress beyond what most people do  if you ignore the noise from behind you . 

Cynicism can kill you if you fail to be be realistic about yours and others real reason for failure .
You''ll notice i hope that i am not advocating a wild optimism promoted by some who trump reason with visions of real estate glory . 
  
If you are  a young person reading this,  all hands to you because us oldies won't often reveal the reason for our own inertia and depressing cynicism .
Imagine for a moment your parents when they were your age . They were probably as  enthusiastic as many of you to do good  ; and that's a very good thing!

So what happened? . Maybe they have tried and failed and are trying to cover their tracks by  sweeping the brush over your ambitions and theirs as well .  "Dad please explain - surely it wasn't all the other persons problem ?" Its very hard to trace the origins of ignorance -don't rely on ABC fact checking!
Whatever is really going on.  its always better for you as a young person to face the truth . dig deeper cause the truth can truly set you free 
Us oldies are notorious for generating cynicism  

Take The epidemics of depression and cynicism  at the moment .
You can tell its actual owner depression and a sense of despair because the outside realists and knowledgeable optimists don't care that most people don't know things -- that's normal . That average citizens don't know much is normal .Those of us who lead, lead from the edge. not from the centre  
What's always needed and lacking,  is real leadership .You know some examples of all talk poor leadership ,  I am sure . The false prophets  are mentioned in the research abstract below  

What's really weird is that some oldies think the laggards in their midst are the problem,
No --working knowledge of what to do about the agreed problems in what the problem is . Watch out for bullshit bingo on this . people who know the name of the process are everywhere , but not THOSE of us who study the process and how to follow it so it works --  this is critical requirement often now missing in leaders and their committees of confusion   UTOPIA ABC . 

These self proclaimed progressive  oldies have got themselves into this strange position of actual  powerlessness thinking   -to think that its the old laggards that are preventing change is to think powerlessness in principle .  More often than not progressives need to look back and see what steps they missed . 
Deniers are supposed to be the real demons according to the "democracy really works magic agents ". Sorry.  but not in  the present - someone is making this huge challenge far too simple. Be practical and realistic if you want to really progress ( and not just talk about it -- can be just more bullshit bingo ) 

Those who say ," If only we could get 51% of people to agree to more action on climate change we would actually get more climate change action " are not logical or effective in their logic  yet its todays parliament . I  will leave that one with you .
The same overly simple modus operation of non sequitur for covid applies
, "If only every one would get vaccinated ten time s over we would rid the world on this evil beast" ( anyone who says that is familiar with evil but doesn't recognise it when its that close its up their nose)  .  Sorry but ignorance and projection , rather than any deep truth are operating here .

Sorry but there is clearly something wrong with the reasonability of cynical smart arses who make noise in  the media . This is evident in recent research  by the psychological profession 



Thankfully those who would jail us , or put all deniers on "happy -my logic is best pills", are losing ground because people who think and live closer to the ground make a lot more realistic sense that they as non- scientists ever did. 
Take the trash put out by the ABC's Ruecassle and equally sycophantic presenters . How easy this idiot makes problem solving . 

The challenge's are still there - its just that the media and the wannabes have lost  control of the collective mind 

'How the world really works ' by Vaclav Smil 

Tapping the wonderful inspiration of young minds

 A 10 YO girl , on the hustings with her father on election day in Colac, two days ago said ,when I asked her what she wanted to be, said "A teacher".
Her father was a young farmer, who had an accountancy degree and was now studying to be a doctor .He, like me, was  handing out cards for independants .
His man was Alex Dyson the independent and  he , much better than me, knew that finding good work was  very very  hard for many young people and that my chosen party  (for the day )was full of the far too comfortables.
 I always say ' a pox on all the parties ' but I will choose one of them !



He didn't know ( because we didn't have enough time) that the young's desire for hope in good work ( and change from the comfortable indifference of  too many conservatives) was mine also  ..and my reason for being there.You don't actually have to have a good job , a partner ( i think we need at least one friend ) or lots of money to be happy as children know . What I want them to know is that YOUR attitude ( including repenting ( think I Need to think "sorry" )  about your own errors, arrogance , pushing shoving  and blindness ) is everything .  Even bullies need to see how to make real friends. 
As a public servant aware of the corruption that comes with the comforts of power, regular wages and  high margins,  I was aware that real change is the only way to get away from the cancer of that growth inside the power houses( for a time at least ).   

Any of us who ever had the privilege of keeping the attention of  group of young people know it to be the greatest of privilege's ( cf being in parliament with all those tired minds  would not be fun )  like the best of days and the worst of days ( if you are having trouble with the worst , watch Dickens on BBC)

Humans don't listen well, so why would anyone ever take on the  job of changing people's minds ? 
Any of us who have had parents know what dinosaur's they can seem to be, with their grumpy moods and endless  repeats of their deep cynicism and worry . "You told me that before" they can rightly say !

The people on the hustings at the weekend thankfully didn't know that I was the man pictured directly above,  so we had lots of interesting , if brief interactions over our passions ( with hustlers its a great place to discuss things when not too many people pass through  ) and genuine   thank yous from passersby   for suggestions about what options there were on the long  Senate paper . Most,  of course don't want or need your advice,  but are wonderfully polite and pleasant. A few do because the senate paper is so long and the local independants don't normally stand out. 

Believe it or not , I remain a happily  paid up member of the dinosaur club because conservation  ( yes I normally vote conservative )  is clearly the leader;  the soundest ecological world view; That's what collects up the surplus of the good times,  so we have something to eat in the bad times.
As that great parable says the son ( the prodigal son ) thinks he knows a better way until he sees the city lights, experiences the waste and unsustainability, and if he is repentant ,  matures in understanding of how the superficial view  starves the soul of real food. 
It's always good too to greet fellow farmers /local producers in the sunshine , knowing that while the city may have the numbers,  we have a deep unspoken agreement  about what actually works in the ecology of real life and we will survive and actually thrive the rebellion prone children's attempt to  raise merry hell with the family fortunes  or worse,  play pretend god in the universe . 

What a privilege it was to spend a few hours with someone who knew from  his own experience on the farm  all the essentials and with his daughter could lead our district in the future in ways that were sustainable .
What an even greater inspiration it was to see that that family was building the competencies ( despite struggling to find proper paid work like most young people our day ) so that both father and daughter would have something deep and sustainable  to offer to the assembly of self preoccupied minds that will sit in front of them and make their life hell, from time to time.      

Birth Control

Overpopulation is an ongoing threat to all ecosystems,  just as an ash cloud is a real and present threat to the earth's temperature. But don't think the solution is all down to getting down to the right numbers .
That sort of problem solving approach is not worthy of your mind;  or of the science of resilience in practice .


Nature has many ways of resisting overpopulation, but they are often slow and even very harsh. We therefore can and should interfere and do better than Nature itself will do on it's own.
 We can and should do better because we can  intervene  with wisdom and care - it used to be called husbandry .
Many smart arses of history want to take the easy road and get rid of  people, but not here. And we can't , like God can't , stop people having fun and choosing to have families - at least not here 

So what are our options ? 
We should be actively thinking about how to build resilience into our world  because our understanding of it  means we can prevent , if we want to, overpopulation -  but only where it's really a threat ( see different colors) .
As we are all those called to husbandry ( both mind and practice)  of the ecosystems of which we are part,  we have many practical choices to deal with this risk.  Overpopulation is an ongoing threat to all ecosystems just as an ash cloud is a real and present threat to the earth's temperature , but it's one thing we can plan to avoid. 

This forum is not big enough to explore all the options, but I insist you resist the blanket use of one ;The pill. To say that imposed birth control using the pill is the only and most effective way is to worship technology and not science ; crude machinery and not ecology in practice;
It could take us back to the days of the quick fix and dilettantism of the eugenic societies . ( Such meetings may not be formally labelled now but they do meet and make decisions  that  are  not canvassing all the scientific options  and in some cases take away the personal freedoms the West has taken for granted for eons )
The pill and sterilization  should be considered as good gifts to us in the dilemma, but the integration  and understanding of all options must come first ; respect for freedom of choice must come first  , This last one requirement is one of the hardest to retain yet we already have the obscenity of interjectors not educating individuals to make their own choices here-- laws of "disease" control have been imposed in Victoria in 2021.

If you think human beings have no other choices,  please look at the incomplete list of options at the end of this note . See why blanket lower number solutions  (BLNS)  will not work ( and therefore be WRONG ) add your own. 

Our generation of leaders ,  I would suggest,  are often prone to acting immorally by overstating the risk and danger  and threat ,.That has meant in recent years that the only legimized actions are not those that make sense in each ecosystem ( the right and respectful way ) but those that simply focus on targets and numbers .  If the new control marxists got their way again , it would still fail ; short term gain ,long term pain.Their picture is not big enough ; make sure yours is !  
BLNS union movement is  a profoundly simple and stupid way to try to solve problems  Precision in decision is  the ONLY way to make our work, work with nature; Competent engagement not subservience 
 
Resilience resists such a shallow minded practice, but does not ignore numbers . Like the proper use of the law,  its there to provide a mirror ,curb and ruler to real dangers around the corner ; the absolute need to slow down or stop doing something . There is a point where elasticity gives way, but before that don't "kick against the pricks" or complain of the pain if you ignore the signals .   


Individual Ecosystem  Options   
I have used this world map of actual fertility rates ( 2.1 is the replacement rate)  to illustrate some of the individual challenges..  But of course they apply right down to households and their survival day to day .Don't be  a dumb shit and solve the world's problems by insisting on right number technology . 
 
1. Population  will drop naturally if alternatives to subsistence agriculture ( esp in savannah ) continue to be supported. This is most important . India ,for example,  could go blue sooner than we think . 
2. Nations without a pop problem can help those with a problem of adjustment ( Over 10 % of the workers in Australia are on overseas visas. Europe  also benefits greatly from migration  
3. The growing % of older people means that a certain greater growth amongst younger people is necessary  for communities to thrive . ( problem right across the world????)
4 , There remains amongst some  city people an unjustified fear that all industrial agriculture is damaging the earth.( like a religion and called so -misanthropy )    This unfair fear can only be effectively dealt with by having the oversight that has been denied in recent times. That is 
applied eco scientists on the ground are still needed to help ensure unacceptable risks to future generations are NOT taken ( called planning and there are none of us left )  - In a huge step backwards, successive Australian governments have used the resources once dedicated to governance to support that population to provide largely uncontrolled expenditure on token targets in the cities. 

5 , There are growing numbers of people who reject industrial agriculture and modern interference. In their ignorance and panic ,they are calling  for  a return to a much riskier and harsher form of slavery called subsistence farming . It must be the job of all earth citizens to reject this and find a way to readopt the former ( 4),,,, It works.

6 , Western countries , if they continue to fail to link people into productive work, will fail to build the trade and creatives industries  that can help release people from "5 "to a more stable economic system . 

7  Western economies, if they continue to carelessly cultivate dependency and resist accountability may well continue to encourage women to have more children than their ecosystem can support . Such threats are likely to make a really big impact on the welfare of our children and their work and study opportunities in the future.  

8 Civilizations can fail first from things other that the citizens sense of the inadequate space they occupy.
Tyrants, using the fears of the people ,  have justified great evil on the nonsense that they need more resources  than they have .Think about Japan both now, historically and during their hysterical period. 
You will do good if you are a thorough realist about the myths cultivated in people's minds . 

9  Is it not hypocrisy for the rich ( green and blue ) to tell the poor to do without- to have less children  when the prospect of new forms of employment other than subsistence agriculture can and should be supported in both eco surplus ( another topic f
or another day) and numbers of young people .   

Its all too hard isn't it ? Taking God seriuously

 Tolstoy in Anna Karenina  makes the point a lot of us make about taking God seriously .
paraphrasing
" I don't see why i should take on all that baggage from the past and seek to know God who is never seen  My gripe when the hero (he) gets married is I have more against God than for him , I can feel grief for people I have hurt , but how can I feel anything for someone i never see ."

Saint Paul recognizes the argument as a real one and one that is interpreted by many as a reason to ignore God in Romans .
"If God  forgives,, what is there to stop us sinning and just handing out forgiveness. Who is God to make claims on us nnyway? Why doesn't he do more for the peasants as i am trying to do ?   So many of the people who say they trust God are not only no better but nuttier and more thick about questions of life that me  "

Tolstoy is not persuaded from his/our  normal preoccupation with our own logic ( he says trying to be rational doesn't work )  because all the above is true.
Tolstoy is persuaded like Dostoevsky and millions before us,  that there is more to a real ,deeper and happier life than our ability to rationalize our way through it . Just seeking  happiness ( even in others as he shows in the book  ) doesn't work,  so forget it . 

The book shows it dangerous and destructive to waste our time on the many false and messy mix  of virtues vices and pleasures . There has to be a way of sorting ones priorities that works and that isn't just ,as the maid says " what ever makes you happy " at the time .  . 

What persuades Tolstoy  to take on the peasants view of history and faith in " the mysterious God" is the reality that unless you truly repent and accept that God's way is the best way for you ( and that crazy and incomplete family of which you were destined to be part of )
you, like Anna Karenina can miss the way .That's a tragic end and reality of a frustrated self focused logic that doesn't work . Once you see Anna as she is,  you see something to avoid at all costs . 

All the players in his story have obsessions , but only some obsessions are truly worthy and work for good.  God is not clearly against pleasure but can show us how to find pleasure with and within the pain .
Avoiding pain is not what will help you live . In Fact,  we have to accept some surgery
Matthew 18 describes both the wonder of living like a child BUT also doing our own painful surgery  like an ADULT because its all good being and doing that is good for YOU.

A hard way is best but as Tolstoy says -  who can walk that way without God by your side ?    

If you can't really change the world - should you even try ?

 If you can't  really change the world  eg "save the planet" - should you even try ?

The answer is Yes absolutely .
Did you get that ?- Yes absolutely 

So why shouldn't we all join  WWFN and Green alliances to save the planet ? No  certainly not just yet --see suggestion at the end 

Summary 

Those who spend their surplus energy on campaigns to influence both perception and action by governments need to take stock of how sustainable changes in society and resource use actually happens . You can't force people to be good or spend all our taxes on incentives , but as Australian of the year Dylan Alcott  says, we can influence perception and therefore set a vision for better action by seeing opportunities, many of which , in politics  and the popular political mind are simply not seen before they happen . 

So  best to forget the obvious causes ?  yes , especially the causes (usually quickfix ) implied in fixing the problem . 
Solving problems practically and effectively requires the sort of precision and precision of vision that only good students can provide . 

The most effective way is the issue ....   and not one that's well perceived at the moment
The most effective way is for you and I to do  what we can,  where we can , That's infact the history of the West at its best .Study and show yourself effective . The best kind of STEM career  Study Teaches Effective Method . 

Some background 
When God created the world it was a mess  and when he let man do his own thing it got even worse.  So those who think they can save the planet ought to study the Creator ( We only need to read the first 3 chapters of Genesis to get the gist of it ) It goes from there .
The question for you the reader is ---You wannabe the overreach agent and waste your energy? You wanna play God when even God calls the situation almost hopeless . Read the Hebrew words used to describe God's caring actions before you dismiss its way of responding to crisis.

The key point is God didn't give up on trying to fix things and neither should we . 
 Sometimes it seems that things only go from bad to worse, we all get discouraged and from time to time at least think it must be easier just to think of ourselves. Plenty do 


Again there is that choice - can we if we can't perceive a way forward how will we suatin our energy  fo change when getting there is much harder than we think.   

The thing is Dylan Alcott is right - its about perception  .  

So you still want to risk ineffectiveness ,waste despair and final cynicism? ( You will Still  need a view of man that doesn't inevitably lead to  that !) 

The mistake many post Christians make is they think that perception van be translated to [popular  political action, 
This myth and heresy  this takes some thinking through  but if we were to stand at 2050 ( just as we might have in 1946) and look back we will see the huge wasted effort of Western governments nd marginal political movements to move people that haven't and won't  actually move people and perceptions .  We could start a list here and you could help by responding . 

But let s not go there now - its depressing . Lets go to the window of the cave and look for the positive signs and you should be able to find some in your local area  Here are some in mine and is we students on the ground that made productive progress here   

See Ellul was right -- its not act global think local but still think local and act local   . 

Thinking Globally 
And now ,  while we are aware that over clearing overgrazing and profligate use of our fossil fuel resources still threatens to undermine even the cost carefully constructed economy 

It takes a lot of faith to even believe men are worth the trouble ,Maybe that cynicism is  the perception element that is now being eroded . Its true of us the duel  On one hand  we are greedy self centered  and indifferent and even blind to some of the bigger and wider issues .
What are we effectively doing even now on Australia day 2022  to address the issue that good things only come out of persistent study ? Maybe even Dylan is aiming into the air with the airy fairies by presuming to change perception . Read JB Peterson 



 Join a political group or just start your own ?
( That's a big question  -maybe some of us could join a group   
My point here is to make sure YOU are more effective where you are ---- that's how YOU can change the world ,.   As Dylan  comments below and the testimony of many disabled through history would stat -  ALL humans face the enormous risk of DISTRACTION 
--We only have a limited time here on earth to change the world - don't be distracted by other people and their perceptions and imperative causes
, IT NOT currently popular causes and more importantly your or other poor current perception  of what can be dome to make the world a better place .

The job for you and me is discovery 

"The biggest thing is that for every one thing you can’t do, there are 10,000 others you can. For every one idiot to give you a hard time, there are 10,000 others worth your time."^{[2]  Dylan Alcott} 

I have a secret - related to a gift YOU will get for Christmas

 

Northofagus leaves 


I have a secret but I cannot proclaim it to the world YET  because the world is not ready for it yet
I do have a name for it though.

Relief from worry season  and real leaf  from worry season RFW
Which ever way you take it , you don't need to buy more expensive and useless tickets  to net zero to go to heaven 

No its detail is not something you know or  would have got from our PC scientifically illiterate and attention seeking noise makers 

And yes its about something you are likely to see on your Christmas  tree 
And yes its about something you and most others in  the world don't know or have overlooked 

You can ask me more about sequestration and the missing pieces of the leaf puzzle that have been muzzled 
The idea is that leaves have stoma and for eons they remind us that the earth is starving for CO2.
 
If you are a scientist  Look up Heaven and Earth by Ian Plimer  But please leaf any questions to me 
until after Christmas 

Peace be with you . 

RLW is  Perfect for advent when you worry you might say something at dinner that will cause people to fight ; 
Advent is a time when we can stop hanging it on each other , and if we do forgive each other and go on  celebrate the living working word of God ( Christians by Greg Sheridan  makes for great holiday  reading  ) 

Don't chase popularity

 It seemed almost imperative when we were young, but its the dumbest lead you can take .  Doesn't stop most people from falling for it ? 
Having a  change of heart and mind  over it as you get older takes some doing and many never sadly never do it  .

How does one do it ? -- a  change of mind is the best way to energize your heart 
A change of mind ( eg think "beyond nature" not "bound by nature"  )  is worth it , its worth it because chasing popularity wastes time and  means nothing . Your unique adventure is what matters .

Let me remind you the that the  earlier  you do it,  the better your life will be .
Don't wait till that face in the mirror tells you you are no longer cute . Its terribly late to wait till then to realize popularity means nothing .

Learn to build on the basics  Things that are true and metaphors that work
.As Jesus s said -  we are all like sheep ;  the best adventures for sheep are on the perimeter , not the centre where all the bleating and noise is . In the centre it is woefully plain , boring and misleading with fear messages coming in secondhand; you are not learning the precision you need to cut through in your own life . 

Let me  tell you my story . I could have been so cute and attractive by just changing a  little bit of my face, ( a few minutes work)  but I chose not to when i was a teenager  .  An odd feature  meant that I have  stayed a bit strange looking and so I tend to be pushed to  the background and have  accepted rejection and isolation in many areas of social engagement . 
I have never felt the need to change my decision because,  weighed up . the life of an outsider is one of the best , You get to be good at observing and that augers well for doing things well , writing building and inventing well and enjoying good writing and design  . I had one of the best jobs in the world where objectivity ( subjectivity of trusting the popular )  was essential ; I found a wonderful place in the world  that was beyond the wildest dreams of my teenage years - and i still love and get to practice that great profession , 
 You could say on the basis of my difficult and threatening  circumstances ( what nature  gives you to start with ) that I was even forced to learn what a wonderful thing it is to swim free - esp from peoples opinions ,
Whatever the herd mentality means it should mean madness to humans using their brains ( if not to animals )  Teenage years are  that time when you are likely to feel most isolated and the thought of your unique ness doesn't help you think you are much good help  or worth ).

I say make the most of who you are but learn to enjoy your uniqueness so you can really find your onw little place on earth before God calls you home.  There is a place on earth  and in your soul specifically made for you to occupy and enjoy so chase that biodiversity niche  idea for all you are worth .

You are unique - not meant to be a clone of your parents ( however much they would wish it) brothers or whomever hero  you spend your days tail ending for too long .   
Be yourself  Your resilience is dependent  not on what others do to you,or think of you 
but how well you adapt to your own unique  environment  

Dig deeper --

 Its natural and sound to challenge your parents and teachers  because  history shows even when when we know something good,  we don't always do good .
Two issues then
A. What we know and
B,  What we ignore and deny  
You may think that universities and academic groups know things but both of the above weak points exist in education. What those who worship academia dont realize is that their focus is often so tight looking down the microscope that they risk missing the  machinery of action.    
You may think that people with heaps of experience know things but with lots of broken families and broken and self serving institutions you would be wise to  be suspicious . People hide their failures- you can rely on that , The more apparent boasting and focus on "the other bloke "   the more you should be suspicious. 

I have both experience and education and can make sound land management risk decisions quickly. Once you dig deep enough you can find a FOUNDATION for decision making that doesn't leave those who rely on you farmers and developers. 
.
I know when to consult my professors and when to tell them the bottom line , I told them as a soil scientist to forget the  dreaming of politicians but increasingly they take the money and run , eventually eroding any respect between the three of us . You are on your own but once you realize that you can learn to be better at answering questions and be very good at what you do.
I will publish a response that shows how far politics can take us from professional competence in the NEXT POST . 

Celebrate AUSTRALIA DAY-- love your neighbour even if you don't always like them .

Trust Michael Leunig to settle the dust and the hype on Australia day.

What a great challenge he has given us to think through what it might mean to really celebrate our home together . What a great challenge to look forward to meeting our neighbours - whoever they are . It can hard though as we hardly know them . We shouldn't feel bad that we don't like each other , but Michael's call is the great and effective one from our past . Love thy neighbor as you love yourself

Love is not only the bigger and harder thing, its the best thing. Take the classic left right division

I don't like -many conservatives because most are too often comfortable with the status quo .

-the left powerbrokers of the moment because they think they know what is right , who is wrong and NOW think they can corral us with laws they make up as they go along .   Too bad I can at least think about love , and where to get it when I need some more.

Celebrate Christmas - like never before but better again

 
We don't place a nicely decorated football in a prominent position in the room 4 weeks before the final, like we do with Christmas trees. 
I guess its  partly because we don't know , till the very day of celebration,  which persons will win .
The Jewish people didn't know who was coming when  they set a spare place for centuries  for the unknown and unseen visitor  . The door was left ajar and the setting left free in anticipation of a  guest at the table -  the Messiah  .
Whatever our faith, it seems to me we all share a prayer  for an end to the crisis (Covid , family's or political tensions)  ; an end to ALL  the hostilities just as out forefathers did on the battle fields on Christmas day.  
You may not be anticipating  much this Christmas  , but we can all anticipate good things and set a table place for someone to share our Christmas with us , present or just unseen. Have a blessed time anticipating things this Christmas time.]'

Know what you believe and test the rest

Had a great discussion the other day with someone who has been really struggling to be optimistic.
Its not something you can shake yourself out of eh? 
Yet we shared some great common ground . That  was good for all present because we don't know much really and we are all helped by being resisted with our often too quick and inadequate words and explanations.
    .
Its bit  like Job's three friends - who after speaking ever so smartly,  eventually get to a better place and just shut up
When someone amongst is really suffering we can do little but be there and be quiet. As the neighbor book of Solomon's( Ecclesiastes)  says ' there is no explanation and chasing one a satisfactory one is chasing after the wind " 
We didn't give up though 

We started back to find some IF there is some solid ground to stand on -Our instincts were our starting point  . BUT who wants to go there too much when clearly it is some of the testosterone and hormonal "lizard" brain stuff that we wisely learn to resist .   Progress ?  
If we use that base level" nature knows best " simplicity  as a exercise for doing what we feel like,  we will never grow up . Life's cruelty can also kill us if we don't fight such simple nonsense and see beyond it .   None of us present were doing that so that firmer ground was positive . 
It was encouraging to find something ,even if it was very basic,  to agree on' : 
 The good part is all three of us were quite grown up , Nice to see us as the old wrinkles who were good company for each other .  We didn;t have the child like with us  no temptation  to lecture any kindergarten attendees  or worry /watch them heading  into another pit. 
So back to basics . 
Adrenalin is good for us, though we often worry needlessly when its product , anger, arrives . This is not just the fight or flight imperative,  but responding well to the anger that comes with it
Reactionary Post  Christian thinkers  often forget that anger is not wrong  but dangerous ;God our friend gets angry at sin but reminds us to not focus on the sinner but the sin and therefore to talk freely to the sin and not so much the sinners ( who we hope stops doing the wrong thing because its not him /her we are attacking or condemning ) 
 

Its Like life at its best :  that place where we accept the  challenge and the drive  to respond well too it - not just let its tough stuff drive a drive a nail through our feet . .Noradrenalin reminds us that we can and should deal with threats by ending the day with an apology.and or confession /realization 

If we sit on anger as some shallow behaviourists insist we do,  our suppressed anger we will get us depressed. If we don't speak straight and to the point  , our righteously angry friends will get red necked/ depressed  for no result , while our society stagnates in a calm pond of superficial  nonsense with dark things underneath and bullying and clowning around above .
No progress and a  loss of sustainability and resilience. 


The three amigos and others ( not finished yet )   


Chesterton - The seeker who went deeper ; found solid ground beneath the surface
Ellul           -  The scientist who reminds us we  must do it well it not at all; The sociological scientist who reminds us that if put things in boxes , we will box our minds in  

Milton         - The rebel who saw hell and thrived on the insights 
Shakespeare - The man who taught us how to love all mankind fully 
Whitehead -  Another scientist who reminds us we  must do science well it not at all.  He is one who saw in the previous century the flood of foundless facts being assembled for the purpose of reinforcing ones own ignorance of them and their place.  
Bagehot      
Carlyle 

All say you must love something before you can know something about it ( Carlyle )