it’s no use trying to change what we cannot change

or is it?

there are centuries of stories about people that have upset the apple cart,

martyrs activists heroes revolutionaries warriors tyrants,

about ordinary and extraordinary folk that took a stand and challenged the beliefs of the day.

the beatles sang  ‘ we all want to change the world”

and it is.

lets face it,hitler changed the world , a tsunami can change the world,

changing the world isn’t even the hard part

but in which direction do we want to go ?

 

where once forest existed now bare hills and no animals

where once creeks  flowed now suburbs and drainage pipes

where once we sang our devotions at the altar of nature now we kneel in front of a guy tortured to death on a cross

and in the final irony, he has saved us.

 

technology was going to save us

from long hours

reduce our work loads give us more leisure.

instead it can be a full-time job keeping up with your emails

with social media communication.

how many hours on Facebook ? on twitter?

how many hours driving?

how many hours in front of a screen ?

 

I am sitting here writing,

the wind is roaring thru the trees

the kitchen door is banging against its latch

the roof is creaking and shifting in the hot sun.

birds are doing their twittering

snakes are ambling somewhere

seeds are pushing thru the soil.

in the shade wallabies are scratching

and lizards saunter under my feet .

certainly a different world to the one my grandmother grew up in

different and the same.

 

civil rights movements and revolutions ended  slavery  but that’s not strictly true

we know otherwise don’t we?

we know about the shocking conditions and abysmal wages of people who make the goods sold to us in our shops

our shoes and our chocolate,our clothing

the fall apart planned obsolescent trinkets and gadgets.

 

what is really happening?

one in four  is sexually abused

one in four has  mental issues

one in four is depressed

one in four has cancer

one in four one in three  one in two

whatever the maths, there is a problem.

 

men women and children end their lives

men women and children pick up weapons and take other lives.

despite all the united agencies all the charities starvation and war  continues .

despite all the environmental safeguards more and more unholy poisons contaminate our earth

despite all the best intentions the plunder of the planet steams ahead.

 

the level of affluence in this land is absurdly high

there are multiple TVs in each home, multiple laptops ,multiple cars.

we can have anything  and even if we don’t have the cash we can borrow it

with a plastic card, it is ours.

not a problem.

 

how can the forest flourish when we need so much?

how can the river flow when megalitres  is pumped into a mono culture system ?

how can  creatures survive  when we constantly take away their habitat?

how come they have habitat and I have a home?

how come I am more important and my needs come first?

 

some say we witness

some say we petition

some say we pray

some say we go quietly about our business making another template for life to dwell in.

 

so maybe it is worth trying, worth believing worth fighting for,

maybe if we explore the essential nature of ourselves

the world will act differently,

maybe if we attend to the revolution of heart and spirit

the world will be a different kettle of fish.