Good And Bad Or Bad And Good?

We’ve experienced a number of disasters lately, both courtesy of nature and of our own doing. It’s upsetting and challenging. It’s human nature to shy away from such things. Call it survival instinct. When it comes to natural disasters, we realise that there is a force greater than ourselves. We are not in the control we thought we were. It’s disempowering. But when we scratch beneath the surface, we realise a different power we have access to. We may not be able to overcome nature, so to speak, but if we dig deep enough, we can overcome our fears and act in heroic ways. Examining accounts of heroic human endeavour, the people involved will often tell how they just reacted. They didn’t sit down and think about how they were going to handle the situation, some deeper force kicked in and they just got on with the task of being a hero; of forgetting about self and risking their life for another. We saw this with residents battling flood waters in Queensland and people returning to buildings to save others during the Christchurch earthquake.

We also bear witness to this this during the upheavals that we as humankind like to wage upon ourselves. War results in mass loss of life, destruction of homes, and decimation of land, both domesticated and wild.These battles can be looked at on a macro level, but also in the micro environment of individual turmoils. Do we create these situations to feed our own ego? Or is there are greater importance to be bestowed upon them? One could ask if there really is good or bad. Are things just as they are and it is just perception which gives them the decided label? If there is truth in the taoist law that everything must be in balance, surely there must be good in bad and bad in good. I remember reading, “The Gates Of Fire” by Steven Pressfield, an historical novel about the Battle of Thermopylae. Here the Spartans, arguably the greatest warrior nation on earth, knowingly sacrifice themselves for the sake of Greece. At first glance this seems an horrific waste of life. But one also gleams from the event the greatest that human nature can provide. The standout for me in the story is not so much the blood and guts, but the comradeship, self belief, sense of duty and being one with your fellow man that was born out in the Spartans’ final assault. 

I also saw evidence of this in the story of Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish. A Palestinian doctor, whose three daughters were killed in an Israeli air strike on Gaza, Dr Abuelaish has written a book called, “I Shall Not Hate”. He has been a voice of compassion and forgiveness during a time when most would resort to hatred and revenge. 

Would there be a hero the stature of American Greg Mortenson if there wasn’t the misery of poverty? Greg Mortenson has dedicated his life to building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan to educate children, especially girls. He tells of his endeavors in his books, “Three Cups Of Tea” and “Stones Into Schools”.

Would we be enjoying the lifestyles we do today if war had not forced the development of technologies?

On a personal level, would we be the people we are if life didn’t throw challenges at us? Overcoming the adversities of daily life can make us stronger and muster the self belief which might elude us if not fought for.

Hardships can bring about the very best of human potential. I am not advocating war and violence. I pray that we become enlightened enough to create such positive results without such violence and harm to others. Our struggles should be our own, not ones we force upon each other. I do believe we should be grateful for our lessons though. It’s easy to be grateful when all is smooth sailing. The challenge is to be grateful when it’s not. Are we strong enough to do that? Are we capable of doing that without violence and disrespect to ourselves and others?

When Bad Trading Turns Good

I remember being in the dealing room when 9/11 occured. Needless to say it was frantic. News was disjointed and contradictory with traders not having all the information they needed to keep the market under their control. As a trader managing other people’s money, this is a dangerous position to find yourself. So, the best course of action during such momentous an event? Cut your positions. I had to help many clients do this. There is no other course of action to take. It’s not your money to risk. I recall there being outrage at the time from the public because traders had been “playing the markets” and profiting from the deaths of innocents. Of course, there must have been a bit of that going on, but let us not group everyone under the same banner. Those same people could have very well lost their whole pensions if traders hadn’t acted quickly. It was similar during the recent global crisis where anyone who had even the smallest role to play in the world financial system was labelled “a banker” and tarred with the same brush as the small percentage who caused the whole debacle and who, of course should be strung up and left to rot. It’s easy to generalise but not always helpful.

My point? One action need not be all encompassing. There are bankers and there are bankers. There a ways of trading, and my argument is, there are also ways of trading! What if trading could turn a bad situation a little bit good? I’ve always advised people to buy bank shares. Why? It’s not because I’m a lover of banks. Indeed, I find myself in the boxing ring with one as we speak! However, if banks are going to rip us off, why not buy some shares and get some money back via a fat dividend? 

To take the point further, let’s look at the world’s current trials and tribulations. Oil is a good example. The price of this most sought after energy source continues to escalate, in line with the strife in the Middle East and North Africa. The nuclear fiasco in Japan will probably see them need more oil as well to make up lost energy supply. Should traders be buying a rising commodity, the main reason for which it’s rallying being the defiant Arab people who are being killed for their troubles? Some would say this is immoral. Now, trading is like gambling and nothing is ever a sure bet, but some risks are less than others and you can be pretty sure that energy prices will continue to climb, at least for the time being. What if trading off other people’s ills (as many would like to see it) could actually help them? What if some institution was “moral enough” to buy energy, make a profit and give the majority of that profit to the people who are being so negatively affected by the event causing the gain in commodity price? Of course, to take that risk, an institution would want a cut, and that’s fair enough, but most of these big boys are making pretty healthy profits at the moment. I think they could take a bit of a risk.

You also have some big regimes in the Middle East turning their fat oil earnings morbidly obese at the moment, but let’s be honest, I can’t imagine them giving any to the “common folk” who they are actually in battle with, but why not play them at their own game?

The biggest problem I see is politics and with big business, financial institutions and governments all in each other’s pockets, I can hardly see this happening. With our addiction to oil, it was always going to come to this. It’s never healthy to be an addict, whether it be drugs, other people......or oil. Maybe finding an alternative energy source is our only hope. If nothing else, we can only hope that these sorts of world events bring the agenda forward a bit. It wouldn’t hurt any of us to tread a bit more lightly on our planet and green energy would be a good place to start. We’re going to have to face the stark reality of oil running dry at some point, so why wait?

The Quest For Happiness...

What is happiness? Are we really meant to be happy? Is it a sustainable state of being or a fleeting visitor that is supposed to come and go?

I heard an interview with famed author David Malouf today, and it got me thinking and asking more questions than usual (More? Is that actually possible?!) We are always told that happiness is our natural state of being. If we are happy, we know that all is right in the world. I mean, it must be true. There are thousands of books out there telling us this is so. I guess that then prompts the question, why are there thousands of books out there on how to be happy? Surely if it is our natural state of being, we should know how to achieve it without the help of a book. We in developed countries in general have it pretty good. We live in relative safety. Are allowed to think and say what we wish. We have education, healthcare, sanitation and a welfare system.  Our standard of living is higher than it has ever been. But how many people, when asked how they are reply, "Super!"? Usually it is more, "Ok" or the robotic, "Good. How are you?" You may even get, "Oh, no use complaining. No one will listen." Have we become so spoilt and indulged that gratefulness just doesn't gel with us anymore? Are we too obsessed with our own self importance? Perhaps we really are just pointless balls of energy and this is certainly something we do not wish to hear. How many times do we become irate that the car in front cut us off off or feel the indignation of not finding a parking spot? A parking spot!!! It seems a little absurd when there are people in the world dying from war and natural disasters. Perhaps the car spot is just the scapegoat for a deeper level of unhappiness we are not prepared to face because it seems just too overwhelming. Do we really just not know how lucky we are? Do we not understand the true meaning of happiness? Or are we just not meant to be happy, at least not all the time?

It is accepted that being happy is the goal but even with all we have, many people are not content. Can happiness equate to contentedness? Then the guilt starts to play on their mind. "I have all this and I should be happy. I feel I should be much more grateful." You see examples of this a lot, to the point that a cliche has been birthed, "Money can't buy you happiness." One may travel to the poorest countries in the world where they have nothing, but they do have happiness. Is this just because less fortunate people have lower expectations of life? Can happiness be equated with the degree to which you are resigned to your fate? Is happiness relative to your environment and not an absolute state of being?

You could also ask the question, is happiness a material state or a spiritual state? Perhaps there are just different types of happiness? Does happiness come from the desires of the flesh or from meditation on higher consciousness. Can the two be combined? Do we embark on certain journeys, be they physical or spiritual because someone else has told us that it will make us happy and we follow their direction robotically? Is happiness in doing nothing at all? 

Does happiness make us happy or is it just our quest for happiness that drives us forward? Is it the unobtainable illusion, sought by man like the Holy Grail but never conquered? Perhaps it is not meant to be. If we were happy all of the time, would we not stop striving and challenging ourselves, end the lessons we learn from overcoming adversities and impossible obstacles? Maybe this is the real point of happiness, to tempt us with small tastes but then send us on our journey of more lessons. We strive, touch but never fully embrace. The hologram of a finish line to keep us on our life path. Perhaps we are not meant to ever reach it fully. Is satisfaction of achievement, not happiness the true goal?

Fear, concern and anxiety need not be the opposite of happiness. The true opposite may well be restlessness. Why does a pea felt under a pile of mattresses make a princess? Why does an oyster require a grit of sand to make a pearl? What pushes a chicken to continue struggling until it is hatched? Why must a butterfly continuously beat its wings, almost to the point of exhaustion to release itself from its cocoon? Maybe it is restlessness and questing that is our natural state. If we were happy all the time, would we not hinder progression and growth?

What do you think?

Gaddafi And His Green Book

Muammar Gaddafi is one of those characters that we in the west aren’t quite sure what to think of. He has the charisma of a rock star with his interesting fabric choices for clothing and his all-girl posse of hand-picked body guards which look better suited to the catwalks of Paris than to to the dirty world of commando feats and fatigues. And we must not forget the bevy of Ukrainian nurses that MUST travel everywhere with him. He has designed the world’s fastest car and has even found the time to find a solution to life, the universe and everything. I can hear a few males squirming with envy at this point! He came up with his philosophical conclusions after an extended period of reflection in his beloved Sahara, the place where he was born and grew up. I was first introduced to Colonel Gaddafi’s “Green Book” on a visit to Libya a couple of years ago with UK based adventure travel company,Wild Frontiers. Along with a Gaddafi-faced watch, it’s the best souvenir to come home with. Everything in Libya is green..the flag, the buildings and it is therefore no surprise that the big man’s solution to everything comes bound in a green cover with a very logical title. All citizens are required to read it and each city contains a Green Library (yes...that’s their official name) which houses Green Books where the people can go at their leisure and be educated on the ways of the Green Utopia. His finished work is both insightful and entertaining……and worrying. He actually has some good points, but just when you think this guy should be ruling the world, he throws you a curve ball to make you reconsider.

So, to begin with, The Colonel comes up with an answer to, “...the problem of Democracy”. All of us love to have a whinge about our government, and it would seem Muammar is no exception. In relation to the style of government favoured in the west, he informs that it is actually, “...a dictatorship garbed in the guise of democracy” and that, “...the so-called representative assemblies which monopolise democracy and sovereignty....usurp the will of the masses.” Well, let’s face it. He does have a point. So far I’m with him. He doesn’t leave us hanging either. He offers a solution. “People’s Conferences and People’s Committees”. Our joy at hearing this is quickly snuffed out as he informs us that, “...the virtual impossibility of gathering all the people together at once in order to discuss, consider and decide their politics...(means it) has therefore remained an utopian idea far removed from reality.” No kidding. He does go on to supply a diagram and a very lengthy description of how to implement such a utopia, via his grand, “Third Universal Theory”, but who can follow it? I'll let The Colonel explain, “Firstly, the people are divided into Basic People’s Conferences. Each of these selects its own secretariat. The secretariats of all the People’s Conferences together form Conferences other than the Basic People’s Conferences. The masses of the Basic People’s Conferences will then select administrative People’s Committees to replace government administration.” I’ll stop there because not only does it just get even more confusing, we all know how efficient “committees” are at making decisions. Good luck, Colonel! He also believes that in this perfect world, “Freedom of expression is the right of every natural person, even if a person chooses to behave irrationally to express his or her insanity.” I guess that’s why, at the time of writing, the great leader has hired African mercenaries to help control his “self-governing” people and since the Egyptian uprising has seen possibly as many as 1000 people killed (according to the Italian Foreign Minisitry). But hey, you’ve got to look at the facts and work with what you’ve got. It’s a good thing Gaddafi covers himself by finishing with, “Theoretically, this is genuine democracy, but in reality, the strong always rule: that is to say those who are the strongest in society hold the reigns of government.” Glad we got that sorted.

In all, The Green Book is divided into three sections. The initial, “The Solution To The Problem Of Democracy” I just covered. The other two are, “The Solution To The Economic Problem” and “The Social Basis Of The Third Universal Theory”. They too have some interesting ponderings. It would seem that Gaddafi was a big fan of Karl Marx and believes everyone should be paid exactly the same. No wage earners, only partners. I guess that’s why he get’s to live in a palace (oh, I mean in a tent inside or next to the big palace....as you do), fly around in private jets and pop to Seville on private trips to watch flamenco performances (according to Wikileaks). 

The great leader also shares his opinion on the family, tribe, music and art and, of course, sports, horsemanship and the stage. We would all love to see more people in modern society partake in sport. Too many of us have become couch potatoes and computer addicts. In Gaddafi we find a champion to our cause, “Sport, like power should be for the masses.” Well said! But it’s bad news for the likes of Chelsea FC or Chicago Cubs. “The multitude which crowds the stadium to watch a game, laugh and applaud, is a multitude of fools who are incapable of practicing sports themselves.” Let’s be honest, there is an element of truth to that. The solution? Well, get the masses out there playing instead. The man who ate all the pies instead of John Terry. “These grandstands shall one day be vacated and abolished when the masses march into athletic fields to practice sports in crowds...” Don’t hold your breath, Colonel.

However, my favourite insights of Mr “Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution” must be that of men and women. “Women, like men, are human beings.” Well thank you so much for your kind gesture, Muammar. I had been wondering for all these years what I was. Now I know! But just in case you were still confused, he goes further, “Women are female and men are male. According to gynaecologists women, unlike men, menstruate each month.” Ok then.

To be fair, Colonel Gaddafi makes some thoughtful and sensical points in his manifesto, but he also makes some very left field ones and I think it's safe to say that the general consensus is that he is a dangerous megalomaniac. Today he sees himself backed against a wall with his people deciding enough is enough after 40 long years. Well....he did advise the good people of Libya and the world that, “..it is up to the masses to struggle to eliminate the various forms of existing dictatorships...” You may be  a little miffed about what your people are doing now, Muammar, but they’re only doing what you told them to. I guess the moral to the story is, be careful what you wish for!

Pharaoh Has Fallen

I wasn't there and I have no right to comment. I'm just another person on the other side of the world trying to keep up with events in Egypt from what I see in the media. So why am I writing this? I feel the urge because of the rush of emotion it has created in me. I've been to Egypt. I love it. In fact I love a lot of northern Africa. I've always been made to feel very welcome there by the people. Perhaps I've just been lucky. It's often easier to believe what you're told on the nightly news. The place is full of terrorists, the people hate westerners and would really rather you weren't there. I've always found the opposite to be true. I think the bedouin spirit still thrives. The people are respectful to their guests and go out of their way to welcome you. Of course I am only talking from my own experience, but more often than not my encounters have been with honourable people. And it was this honour and pride of self that came through in the Egyptian protests. Many of the protesters were educated……doctors, lawyers, IT executives. All were articulate, patient and believing. There was passion but not exercised in a negative, violent way. There was frustration, but it didn't explode into crazed action. It was measured. And this behaviour from a people handcuffed by a dictatorship under short-term emergency laws that lasted 30 years. These were not people in power, they were individuals who usually just go about their daily tasks of earning a living and protecting their families. But when pulled together under a banner of united purpose, they were unstoppable. Such fierce determination whilst retaining their dignity is to be applauded. It's rarely seen but hopefully a new trend in how we as humans can go about making positive change. And I really do hope that Egypt will go forth in a positive direction. Yes, there is room now for all types of unsavoury parties to seep into Egypt's being, but if what we've seen from the people so far is anything to go by, I feel that everything will be ok. But not just ok, extraordinary. They have created for themselves a massive opportunity. I hope it doesn't go to waste. Side by side with the frustration and anger in Tahrir Square, there was also a lot of love. Love of a people for each other and for their country. Let's hope this can now continue it's spread across the world.

The military also conducted itself in exemplary fashion. Isn't this how a country's protection unit should behave? It is there to protect the countryman, not the politician in power. I guess you could argue that the politician is also a countryman, but it seems that they all too often forget this once they receive that alluring title, so attractive to the ego. The country must come first. The people must come first. And here we saw what happens when you kick the dog too many times. It bites back. 

Egypt has always been a civilisation to look up to, from the dawning of time. A proud, intelligent people in a fascinating geography. Here they welcome in a new era, an era that for the first time for 7000 years does not include a Pharaoh. It seems strange. But it also seems right. Time will tell. 

One For Australia Day....

What does it mean to be Australian?

It means long, hot Summer days with cloudless skies

It means living in one of the harshest environments on earth.

It means living with extreme both in the weather and in the country herself

It means that no matter how tough the tests our country throws at us, we love her to the core.

It means mateship

It means the ANZAC spirit, never giving up.

It means being grounded

It means being straight and telling it how it is

it means being curious

It means being adventurous

It means pushing the limits

It means pie and footy

It means knowing how to work hard and how to play hard

It means always returning, no matter how far walkabout takes you

It means knowing how to laugh at yourself

It means helping a stranger

It means an obligatory pilgrimage to see Jonny Turk

It means being a larrikin

It means pulling your weight

It means having a go

It means treating everyone as equal

It means turning the other cheek

It means being cheeky

It means embracing Dreamtime

It means knowing how to play Two Up and sink a beer

It means playing backyard cricket with the kids next door, and then jumping in the pool with them afterwards. And it means going back out and doing it all again after dinner and a bath with pjs on.

It means being the most blessed person in the world.

Dresden

If you’re looking for a town of opposites and contradictions, Dresden is your place. Buried deep in the heart of eastern Germany, this small Saxon town has a history of opulence combined with complete and utter loss. All this results in an eclectic mix in its architecture and culture.

Dresden began life as a village on the lazy Elbe River in the 1100s, but it really came into its own during the reign of the Polish leader, Augustus II (1670-1733). He liked to call himself Augustus The Strong. Nothing like talking yourself up. There is a big, rather unattractive statue of him in the Neustadt (Dresden is divided into a new city and an old city). It is very gold and the sculptor did nothing to enhance his subject’s face. This might be a artistic chuckle to the fact that the Big “A” owned allegiance to the Habsburgs, that interesting looking inbred family of Eastern Europe. Strong or not, Augustus was a lover of the arts and everything beautiful. This, it would seem, included women, fathering no less than 300 children, give or take a few. You can be sure that most of his courting took place in The Zwinger, the leader’s pleasure palace. The Zwinger for the swingers, you might say. A grander, more beautiful architecture you’ll be hard to find, and with figures of the god, Bacchus depicted on almost any free wall space, it’s easy to see what Augustus’ intentions for this place were. This site is located just a handy, small hop, skip and jump from the main schloss (royal castle). The tough guy also loved arts and music and strongly encouraged both. Today he leaves behind one of the world’s most beautiful art collections. The castle is still under reconstruction from the famous annihilation the city endured from allied forces during WWII. It’s hard to believe that Dresden is still recovering from a war that seems so long ago now, and the deception is that most of the buildings of the new city are older than their baroque brothers in the old city, almost all of which have been reconstructed. The date of 13th February 1945 is one which Dresden would be happy to forget. With an estimated 25,000 of its population killed thanks to the allied air raid. It seems cruel to learn that the ammunition factories north of the city were left untouched with the glorious old city left as a pile of rubble. Could have the bombers’ aim been that bad????!!!! There is a film shown at the transport museum that shows footage of Dresden in its heyday pre 1945 and afterwards, and it really hits home the ridiculous pointless destruction of war. Most people would have just looked at the ruined city, thought “too hard basket” and walked away. But not the people of Dresden, or the women more specifically. With most of the men dead (or still busy war-mongering????), it was up to the “Trummer Frauen” (Ruins Women) to clean up the mess. It reminds me of a quote from the movie, The History Boys where a female history teacher tells her class, “ Can you, for a moment, imagine how depressing it is to teach five centuries of masculine ineptitude?.....history is a commentary on the various and continuing incapabilities of men......history is women following behind with a bucket”. Case in point.

Right...so off my feminist high horse and onto more of Dresden. Other phenomenon reconstructions are the two churches, the Frauenkirche and the Kreuzkirche. The Frauenkirche is the crowning jewel in Dresden and was only completed in 2005. The Kreuzkirche (or Church of the Holy Cross) seems an unfortunate little soul, having been burnt to the ground no fewer than five times. It supposedly held a relic which was a splinter from Christ’s cross. Hmmmmmm. Both these structures help to make up Dresden’s stunning skyline, which looked perfect against the watercolour sky which was to accompany the sunset. It seems such a shame that these beautiful buildings have been crowded out, to a point, by communist ugliness. All that oppression does nothing for the creative juices, with architects managing little more than grey, concrete boxes as their artistic designs. I guess post war required buildings fast and cheap, and in that respect, they achieved their goals. It was interesting to be told how most people here over 40 could not speak English, just German and Russian, and old footage shows how the second language was very much encouraged with street signs and posters in both languages.

However, not all is lost when it comes to Dresden’s creativeness as the city claims to have invented not only toothpaste, but also beer mats, shoe polish in a tube, the teabag, milk chocolate and the wonderbra! The new city is also a haven of creative quirkiness, with an array of very unique little bars and cafes, with a charm all their own. Highlights were the Sheune Cafe (a fab Indian restaurant/ bar/ jazz club), Cafe Combo and Bautzner Tor, which brings back those East German days in all their “glory”. A visit to the Sophien Keller is an interesting little experience too. German to boot, it sits on the site of the old Sophien Church and it is here that you can try a shot of liqueur supposedly made from the tears of Augustus’ mistress, Cosel. I’m still not sure why Cosel was so upset, but with her lover succumbing to diabetes and obesity in his old age, this may have had something to do with it.

Dresden is a treasure trove of eclectic craziness, and although, to be honest, it was not what I expected, it was an experience for all the senses and one to treasure.

HERE'S TO OLD ST SILVESTER

Germans. The world's most sensible people. Conservative, straight up and down, no messing around. Someone forgot to tell Berlin's new year revellers. I'm not sure what I was expecting from a new year's eve in Berlin. Probably a quiet drink, a quiet meal and to then to join the Germans for a couple of well calculated official fireworks. The evening started predictably enough with a wander up to the Brandenburg Gate to join in the official street party. The Hoff was supposed to be here, but I was in no such luck. I must have timed my visit wrong. But wouldn't you know it, luck would have other plans for me and instead I got to experience, "the world's greatest party band". I'm not sure what world they were from. Obviously not mine. But it was nice to see Eurovision in the flesh. So far so good, German enough, you might say. So when midnight came about and I was confronted with a war zone, I was more than a little surprised. The best way to describe new year's eve in Berlin is if you can imagine cracker night as a kiddie. You bought your plastic bag full of explosives and carefully presided over them for about a week. By the time of the big night, you knew exactly which one you were going to let off and when. You knew all their names and what to expect. Then the big night came. It was too exciting for words. You'd sit back at a safe distance as Mum or Dad lit your crackers one by one. All those bright lights filled you with awe and wonder. Right…now you have that image planted firmly in your head. Now imagine that image on steroids. Imagine everyone bringing their own personal cracker night onto the main street and celebrating together. Imagine not worrying about what order those crackers will be let off in. Imagine rather than have people stand a safe distance back, you actually try to aim your crackers at them, at cars, at buildings, at anything at all, really. And why restrict yourself to the great outdoors? The acoustics in a train carriage are pretty good. Never mind the youths walking down the street firing guns off into the air either. Your only wish at that stage is that those very real looking guns are toys. Sirens pierce the air as fire engines and ambulances battle their way to the less fortunate party goers who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or the right place at the right time if you look at it from the marksman's perspective.

Who said the Germans are boring and conservative? They seem to love a good annihilation like any human worth their salt. The next day showed the remains of the battle. I didn't think "litter" was part of the vocabulary over here, but the debris and fallout from the overnight craziness was obvious. Spent firecracker cases everywhere. I've never seen such a mess of squelched red that had by now become as one with the melting snow. They would give those Jordanians with their black plastic bags a run for their money for world's most littered town. Let's be fair though, it was a good laugh and I heard no reports of any deaths on the German news. Having said that, my German isn't all that.