I ran a writer’s group in Ireland many years ago and would use a blue notebook during these sessions. Often I would suggest writing tasks/triggers and everyone would have a go. In the silent moments of concentration I too, would scribble ideas. This same notebook I found in my mother's garage this week and decided to use some of the half-thought-out ideas in this blog posting. They are far from complete and diverse and I’d forgotten their existence but somehow it feels right to resurrect and share them now. These are the first two pieces. One meditative in quality and the other a science fiction fantasy tale.
1. The calm of the morning
I find if I start the day off right it all flows better. By starting right I mean I find a quiet spot on a chair near a window in my home. There, I begin by looking out and drinking in the view. My thoughts race here and there. On the birds, in the hedges, the clouds closing in, and the pain in my back. Then, the thoughts begin to settle like a flock of birds landing on the lawn. I remember all the people past and present I love and pray for their protection and happiness. Going a bit deeper and I look inward thinking about who I am and what I need to change. If I sit long enough even these thoughts disappear. Stillness comes, a tiny moment of calm. There is suddenly a sense of well-being, of being mindful in this world. I find myself grateful for another day, another chance to do things better, to be a better person.
As Saint Jerome (342–347 AD), an early translator of the Bible, so eloquently put it,
“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. 'Til your good is better and your better is best.
2. Unity, not science saves the day (Sci-Fi)
It has been an incredible unlikely breakthrough, discovering that by placing large mirrors in space it was possible to reverse global warming. The Max Planck Institute in Hamburg Germany had come up with this amazing piece of geoengineering. The physics was simple enough, the mirrors reflected the sun's rays away from the Earth and by selectively reducing the incoming rays were able to precisely compensate for the extra trapped heat. Global temperatures were brought down to preindustrial levels in a surprisingly short period of time. The headlines screamed ‘Scientists to the Rescue’ and the world population heaved a communal sigh of relief. Several Pacific islands under threat from flooding of their low-level land were saved. Glacier coverage at the poles went from a frightening reduction rate to a more stable state.
What was really clever about the system called (Geo Electromagnetic Management System - GEMS) was that when temperatures plummeted due to a severe winter in the northern hemisphere careful adjustment of the radio-controlled mirrors were able to direct extra sunlight to an entire snowbound eastern coastal region of the US and helped clear transport lines, reduce freezing temperatures and yet prevent urban flooding. It seemed these mirrors could not only combat global warming but could also be used to moderate any severe weather fluctuations. It was felt that GEMS was a super version of the massive dams which had controlled water supply in the previous centuries. It was just that now, these enormous mirrors could enable an equally sensitive control of the sunlight hitting our earth. The Max Planck Institute made millions and won the Nobel prize in physics for their startlingly clever invention. Then, things began to go wrong.
It two decades to discover that just as the massive dams across rivers in the US had in fact damaged huge swaths of ecosystems these mirrors had been having unknown impacts on ocean temperatures. As one eminent scientist explained it,
“It is a bit like controlling one simple part of a complex global interrelated process for your own ends. As a result of GEMS, other vital features of the planet’s wellbeing are thrown out of sync. Unfortunately, the damage done is irreparable and irreversible. The end result is that we will just have to live with the consequences of what has been done.”
This was dismissed as nonsense by the management team at GEMS who pointed out that such naysayers always underestimated what science could achieve. Adjustments could be made and errors reduced. Popular opinion was behind the scientists and it took a decade before the GEMS mirrors were dismantled. Arguments raged across the world as to the correct course of action with toxic polarisation of the pro-GEMS population and the anti-GEMS. Any attempt at a reasonable discourse appeared impossible in such a rancid climate of debate. By that stage, ocean warming had passed the tipping point and runaway climate change triggered huge loss of life across the globe. Disunity bred dissension and disease and it took another century for unity to come. When a world community eventually began to act as one, positive change was remarkable. As one comedian said, “It was as if the whole earth’s system was waiting for us to get our act together before it would play ball!”
“It is the light of the intellect which gives us knowledge and understanding …”
