Cartoon Pen & Watercolour 8″x12″
Copyright 2009 Jean Burman
“For those who believe… no proof is necessary
For those who don’t believe… no proof is possible”
- Eyes of the Beholder
So where does this leave us in the Climate Change Debate?
Precisely nowhere.
But that’s okay because… either way… I still have a couple of outstanding questions.
Things like:
1. Why is the sea level rising in Kirribati and the Maldives but nowhere else?
2. Why are we changing light globes from incandescent to [mercury containing] compact fluorescent globes when the environmental consequences of doing so have not been fully investigated… and there are no established guidelines for their safe handling and subsequent disposal?
3. Why are we legislating that new roofs in the tropics must now be [a heat absorbing] dark brown or green (ironically to blend with nature) when sound common sense dictates that a lighter [white or silver] roof would not only keep the home cooler in summer but also reduce the amount of energy required to cool it?
4. Why are we introducing an Emissions Trading Scheme which could potentially disadvantage many sectors of the economy without first establishing [without a doubt] that the carbon we are attempting to reduce is in fact the true culprit in climate change?
5. And is climate change the real issue anyway?
There has been so much time-wasting debate that were it the real issue… it is now becoming all too late. And if it is not the real issue… then there has been a heck of a lot of greenhouse gas expended in talking about it for no particularly good reason why! [Grin]
So would it not be wiser to address the broader issue of environment instead of climate change?
Would it not be smarter all round for us to focus on the indisputable evidence already to hand of the adverse impact that humankind is having on the planet overall? If this were the case… the hystrionics of the whole climate change debate would cease to exist… and in it’s place would be calm rational bipartisan discussion about “what is good for us” [or not] and what we can reasonably do about it.
I do not know of a single person who would dispute the fact that humankind is having a hugely detrimental impact on the environment… the world at large… and the planet in general. Climate Change however may continue to be debated until the cows come home… [with way too much methane going down by then]
Cleaning up our act and changing our attitude toward the environment in which we live is within the realms of possibility for each and every individual on the planet. It can happen today.
Becoming environmentally aware is the responsibility of all those who draw breath from the scant six kilometres of oxygen in the atmosphere above our heads before there is… absolutely… precisely… nothing. Just that one single thought should be enough to start people thinking about selling their Hummers and carpooling to work.
The big picture is a mighty one. And there is nothing to suggest that it’s not a daunting task.
But it’s the only honest way to go.
Climate Change in and of itself is only one small factor in the greater global catastrophe which may befall the planet if we fail to make immediate changes to the way we live… do business… and co-exist with the natural world.
We must act now… as though our life depended on it.
Because it does.
Cartoon Pen & Watercolour Copyright 2008 Jean Burman
Another incredible day of human achievement. I don’t quite know what’s come over me as I am not generally given to watching much television…. and definitely not sporting events… especially as a non participating couch potato!
But this week has been different.
Not that my viewing has been all that “couch potato-esque”… most of it comes in fleeting snapshots as I pass by the tellie. But then it happens that something captures my attention… and I am sucked helpless (like a moth to the flame) into the next event!
“Oh hang it all… there’s always next week to get something done”
I attribute my newfound interest in the Olympics to advances in technology and the huge leap in the way television is delivered to us today. With innovative camera work (capturing with subtlety a single water droplet) and insightful commentary from programs like the Seven Network’s “Yum Cha” (check out Episode 3 so funny)… the focus has been not only on the winners… but also on the stories of personal triumph that… after all the hard work… don’t always translate into success.
It strikes me that there are metaphors for life everywhere in the Olympics. And there are lessons to learn in watching how these dedicated professionals deal with triumph and disaster in their own individual way.
Moreover… there are lessons for the world (at large) to learn… in how to deal effectively with each other in a moderate way… having respect for our differences whilst at the same time celebrating those things that we do have in common. No… not everyone gets it right… but there are lessons in not getting it right too! LOL
This cartoon was inspired by Libby Trickett’s individual gold medal win in the 100 metres butterfly event. It wasn’t the win that inspired me so much as the humanity shown at the end of the race when the silver medal winner Christine Magnuson from the US… bobbed spontaneously under the rope and wholeheartedly embraced her rival. What an awesome example of friendship, tolerance and understanding.
I hope our political leaders are taking note… and paying attention to more than just the scores!
If we should ever need to be reminded of how quickly time passes… look no further than a garden. What a difference a day makes there! One day a bud… the next… a flower.
It’s rapid. And unforgiving. Ants already encircle the delicate blooms.
So… without thought for the future or what might be… I resolve to simply enjoy the blossoms now. Today. As though tomorrow does not exist. I breathe the scent that evokes the memories of childhood… passionfruit and jasmine… and of places real and imagined. I close my eyes. I am a child again. Long ago and very far away… the fragrance of another time. Scattered frangipani blossoms upon the grass… and deep reflections in the dark still water. Tranquility. I open my eyes to admire the flush of youth and innocent optimism in the plump freshness of the blooms. So much hope and promise there!
And tomorrow… as the weight of morning dewdrop and gravity… and the passing of time weighs heavily on them… I will remember today. Then happily move on. And over the days to come… I will stop to appreciate the rich deep fragrance that only develops with age. And the potential for joy that each moment of life can hold.
If only we might grasp it.
Youth is wasted on the young…(smiles)
cartoon Copyright Jean Burman 2007
I was saddened this week by the sensationalised revelations of Mother Teresa’s longstanding crisis of faith. Don’t get me wrong… I was not saddened because she had experienced a crisis of faith… (and had long believed she had been abandoned by her God)… but saddened because the world got to know about it!
It is an unfortunate fact that people… being what they are… will now more than likely put whatever self serving spin on it they like and as is often the case… the truth may be the first and ultimate casualty.
One overlooked truth of course is… there are certain things that should remain sacrosanct between a human soul and her God… (which is how she had wanted it)… but this sentiment was apparently not shared by her church!
But now that the cat is out of the bag… the atheists and agnostics alike will no doubt take the opportunity to see her revelations as confirmation that God does not exist. The deeply religious will see it as proof that God does indeed exist… arguing “how else could this amazing woman “hold out” for so long in her good works… without losing her deep faith in a God she was (apparently) unable to reach?”
Perhaps the truth can be found somewhere in the middle. Or perhaps it can never be found at all… as the true intimacy of her tormented thoughts have passed on with her… (it would be hoped) into the “fulfillment” of eternal life.
Whilst I think it is contemptible that her confessions have been exposed against her wishes to the misinterpretation of the masses… I find it strangely intriguing that I am unable to resist the urge to examine some of the questions her confessions raised for me. (So as you will see… I am as guilty as the rest! LOL)
Whilst most of us haven’t (and more than possibly could not have) lived a life so totally devoted and dedicated to humanity as Mother Theresa’s was… I suspect that many of us may understand (even if only slightly) how she might have felt… and may even have experienced some small degree of parallel in our own dealings with God… (whomever we perceive the entity to be).
Bizarre as it may seem… I see a parallel here for artists too! And I guess… for every vocation where someone invests their heart into their work… this may well be the case. But in particular for the creative artist… the road is long… and the rewards can seem “thin on the ground”.
Not only are artists attempting to attract the attention of a fickle (sometimes) uninformed audience… but even if the audience does notice the work… rarely is it able to acknowledge the “artistic voice” in a language it can understand.
Monetary reward is one thing for the working artist… but always… always there is the deep intangible yearning for something more. It’s that something more that has sometimes driven artists throughout millenia to desperation and despair. Artists are often their own harshest critics… playing the game by a set of rules that others find difficult to interpret. The bar is high… and becoming ever higher… the vocal critics have the majority… and an apathetic voiceless (and dare I say it “artless”) audience can often appear to be sitting it out on the fence without an opinion (okay… a little harsh maybe! *wink* LOL)
Don’t get me wrong… I am not for a moment suggesting that the plight of the struggling artist can be compared to the selfless struggle that Mother Thesesa faced over a lifetime of saving the poor of Calcutta. On the contrary… I am simply observing the parallel in order to better understand her torment… and hopefully find some common ground for the rest of us.
I am wondering then… if Mother Theresa’s deep spiritual longing could have been… in essence… the unquenched thirst for (not only affirmation that she was on the right track)… but also… the ultimate recognition for a job well done? She certainly didn’t need this recognition (in her case… spiritual fulfillment) to carry on… but perhaps a positive spiritual endorsement from an “available” God could have made the journey far easier to bear.
But maybe that was not God’s intention. Maybe he trusted her more than anyone else to never give up… no matter how hard it got… and despite the perceived withdrawal of “spiritual” recognition and perhaps even because of it… she did even more good works!
Call me way too simplistic… but could it be that somewhere in this small parallel… there is a God-sent lesson for us all?
Just thinking… 
