I am always enthusiastic about "good news" stories. I love to hear them and to see "good" things happening; so much better than what's on the nightly news.

But have you ever been despondent about the world? Does it make you want to cry out, want to scream sometimes. I'm not talking about big, news worthy issues that everyone jumps on for awhile and then promptly forget when something else comes along. I'm just talking about what we see and do when just "Living a Life".

Consider what we do to our enviroment; our World, from our local neighbourhood on out.
Think about how people treat both themselves and others.
Think about how you treat, and are treated by others.

Doesn't it all depend on how we see others and about how we see ourselves fitting in. Our genes and our environment have molded us to see the world through a narrow perspective, a framework that we have built up over our lifetime. Sure, we share common things, we are after all a "herd" animal whether we like it or not, but deep down we all see the world very differently.

It seems to me that we constantly compare ourselves with our peers and not everyone else as one would expect. We don't really look around us, for we only see what we want to see, what we have been conditioned to see. What is our own "herd" doing, not what are the other" herds" doing. I would speculate that the only time we tend to notice other "people herds" outside of our own close nit "herd", is if they pose a threat in some way to us or if they have something we want. I won't even start to talk about how we interact within our own "herd" of aquaintences, for then we would have to get into dominance and submission; takers and givers.

On a personal note, as a member of that huge migrational 'herd' looking for greener pastures, I believe, "If it's good for me, then let it be good for all of us. After all, we are all "Living a Life".

We should outgrow that need to be Takers and Givers, we should be children who grow up to be adults - not children trapped in adult bodies looking at, and dealing with the world like children.

One thing I do know, humans are good at focusing on small parts of the daily life puzzle and very good at ignoring all the other pieces. eg. Most of us who drive a car have no idea of how it works in any detail, nor really want to know. So it is with treatment of others, our interactions and our environment. That leaves us vunerable, for if one part in a car is an unknown, if it's torn, worn, broken or misplaced then the whole thing could crash one day. Just remember, one day it might be you who crashes and burns, along with a whole lot of other people.

The View from a Hill Tree

Think of a wind swept, gnarled, old hill tree that has looked at the world for far too long and now finds that it must scream a little at the blundering world about it.

I would like to think Hill Tree could be about you and I, sharing a Personal View of the world.

• Firstly, about what we see that seems Wrong, that, for some reason doesn't seem to have been made Right!
• Secondly, encouraging and hearing about what others see on that same subject and,
• Thirdly, having, or working towards, a solution for all to share in. If not that, then at least a record of what has been raised, with a question left unanswered, so that, maybe, just maybe, someone will read it one day and say, "Hey! I didn't know that. I can answer that and make it right."

In this world we can all see, if only we looked.
Have you looked and saw what no one else can see?
Tell us all so we may know the truth.
Don't let anyone ignore you.
Don't let anyone forget.
Make us all look too, for one day, one person will look and see what you see,
And they will agree that we must make a difference.
Maybe we all can make a difference,
All because you looked, and saw, and told.

What difference can you make - maybe it could be something as simple as a look and a smile.

6th July 2006       Neil Espie   

 

 

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