social resonsibility

Hello friends,
You should all check out "Touching the Void", it is a book by Joe Simpson, and it was also
made in to a movie. They are both fantastic, an absolutely incredible survival story. It is
amazing what we are capable of when put in to a life and death situation.

Also, I have to mention my favorite book in the whole world "The Giving Tree", by Shel
Silverstein... I know we've all read it, but every time you go back and read it, it has a new
meaning in our current lives.

Everyone knows someone, or many
people who are angry at what is happening in our world. They choose to focus on the
negatives and add to the negative energy that is already there, by providing how much
they dislike that very thing. It's just like what Mother Theresa said about not going to
anti-war rallies... Instead, she said she to give her a pro-peace rally, and she would be
there. We already know that there are situations and people in this world that are
causing pain and destruction in many forms, we can mostly all attest and agree that
things like abuse, waste, pollution, war, social injustices, racism, sexism, and so on and
so forth do not contribute to the well being of eachother or our planet. However, to emit
negative energy about these issues is contributing to their power, and taking away from
our own.

I wonder how exactly we access the piece of our minds that acknowledges these
hardships and struggles, and not let it take us down. How do we go direclty in to survival
and proactive mode? It seems with many issues, that there is no hope, that we have
gone too far, and to give all of our efforts to such a thing is pointless. I wonder if we can
turn around what has become of industry and excess. We have so many commodities
and so much convenience and overproduction of just about everything here in the states,
that it is hard to imagine all the big box companies going out of business, all of the fast
food joints handing over the keys to local farms and nutritional/recyclable food and
products.... there I go on a rampage. The point being that how can it be flipped? It's too
big, so to complain about it, and "grieve" as the author said in Mountain Music, seems
fair.

I think that Social Responsibility maybe leads to the idea that we have a responsibility to
whatever we can personally aid, or however we can effect change, sans matter of size.
If we break down all the "big" issues, such as industrial production, and political
disasters, there are smaller catagories underneath. It's a breakdown and root system
that can be more easily accessed if we just take a hold at the bottom and chew on what
we can digest. It's like building untangling fishing wire, if you start at the end and follow
it up slowly, taking care of each little pain of a knot, eventually, you'll get closer to the
big knot... plus maybe by then, someone will come along and give you a hand.

This story really ties in to "the secret", I watched it again yesterday late at night, and I
realize I have to continue to remind myself to switch my thoughts from hopeless to
hopeful. It only takes a moment, but once I do, it's as if everything around me is more
supportive and you even start to see hope in things that have nothing to do with what
you've been worrying about. Like two beautiful rainbows downtown today after the rain,
wasn't it beautiful!!!!?

For those who read so far, thanks for letting me wander as I often do, and thanks for
listening!