(http://www.thefirepoet.com/)
“We have come not to shout, but to listen;
Not to hoard, but to share;
Not to lash out, but to calm;
Not to cover up, but to lay bare.
We have come not to suffocate, but to touch;
Not to dictate, but to understand;
Not to hold back, but to unleash-
Not to shrink, but to expand.
We have come not to shadow, but to colour;
Not to conquer, but to embrace;
Not for ourselves, but for others-
Not to silence, but to give voice.”
“For centuries, we humans have been gradually destroying the very balance of Life on earth as if this was our right. As a result, today our needs exceed Nature’s reserves. These needs as we call them are nothing we can be proud of when 20% of the world’s population consume 80% of its resources and 5000 people a day die from lack of clean water. It also must be obvious that no needs or concepts of “life style” justify the vicious slaughter of animals for skin/fur and other idiotic products relished by our society! They are tortured in the name of vanity, ignorance, as we create a nonsense market that others less fortunate are tempted to exploit. The fact is that the society we have built based on such superficial concepts, blind to the consequences, deserves the fate our scientists predict. It is hard to admit but true, that today the world would be a far better place without us. And if that is not convincing enough because we have lost track of our responsibilities, let’s remember we are by many of our actions biting off the hand that feeds us. Our survival on earth depends on us respecting its balance. We can take that road, we may still have some choices, and on these depend our fate and the possibility to bring this extraordinary World Into Remission.”
(http://martinpowellpoetry.blogspot.com
/2009/07/global-warning.html)
“Tsunamis sweeping across the deep seas
Hurricanes howling with deafening breeze
Earthquakes shaking our tectonic plates
Volcanoes erupting round Earth as it breaks
Dinosaurs died and alowed man to stand
Millions of years changed the face of the land
A new world was born and with life it did flourish
Enough natural resources to keep us all nourished
For a long time the man and the Earth were as one
We drank from its rivers, bathed in light from the sun
The soil was rich, and ideal for seeds
The planet attended to all of our needs
But Earth for its pleasures could not comprehend
The mentality of its so newly found friend
We used and consumed without fear, or care
We scarred and we butchered a beauty so rare
Poisoning oceans and chopping down trees
Relaying landscapes to build as we pleased
Taking for granted our grand evolution
Seeds that were planted replaced by pollution
Have you not wondered why its so called “mother” earth?
Throughout all of history it has given birth!
This bluish green ball gently floating through space
Has potential for life quite like no other place
It gives and it gives and has nothing to ask
To treat it with love and repect is our task
For the moment the future we cant comprehend
Is the world that we know will soon come to an end
But there is still some time to undo whats been done
Requiring our species to all act as one
With wind turbines turning and running on air
Solar panels sourcing our suns constant glare
We could cut our emissions and clean up with care
Make it our mission to heal and repair
Salvage and save for all that its worth
Secure our existence as people of Earth”
Weint meine Brüder, weint,
die Tage die wir zählen sind kalt.
Kein Gott uns mehr erscheint
und wir sind traurig und alt.
Verlorene Kinder sind wir geblieben,
unsere Herzen sind verschlossen.
Und ohne jemals aufrecht zu lieben,
folgen wir tobenden Wirtschaftsbossen.
Doch sehet ich träume noch immer,
der große Geist sei uns erschienen,
in einem großen weißen Zimmer,
da wo wir lieben und dienen.
Und mein Herz singt immer wieder,
von Elfen und Feen begleitet:
alle Menschen werden Lieder
in Liebe und Licht gekleidet.
Betet, dass uns ein Engel erscheint,
denn diesmal sind wir alle gemeint.
Weint meine Brüder, weint.
“Waking After The Fall
The deepest red,
Crosshatched with sleep;
The drowse like a heavy quilt.
A warm pulse and a twitch,
Then a hand
Upon my arm.
The merest glint:
Stars and stripes of light;
Empires of memory lie undisturbed.
What was there then?
Though now
We have this.
A stealthy shift;
Patting feet on clay,
Carefree with youth, not careworn.
Take me forward,
Not back,
Not ever”
“There is a strong connection between the urge for survival and the art of a people and a time. We have a task in hand. Culture in the developed western world has always positioned itself in distinction to nature: now we have to discover our nature within nature.”
“But it is also my responsibility to make sure that I can deal with my own impacts, including the carbon footprint of the studio and all its activities. I have had the carbon footprint of the studio assessed and minimised my flights; the studio is insulated, and we will install solar panels on the roof (it is wide and relatively flat). We must recycle more of our materials and investigate the viability of a wind turbine. I must also decide whether carbon offsetting is a conscience salver or a real benefit.
Having done all of this, my greatest responsibility is to make work in the most direct way that I can, and interpret this time and place in a way that makes people more aware of themselves and it.”
“There are two main areas that interest me in Buddhism – impermanence, and the influence of the ego on creative actions. Impermanence deals with the ever-changing nature of all things; the action of the ego deals with the exercise of control and manipulation of matter and events. I feel that these two aspects of philosophy offer new creative opportunities and disciplines that would greatly develop my work. It is not my intention to write religious music or create icons in visual art, nor do I wish to make superficial observations of Buddhism as a religion. Instead, I wish to research how the notions of impermanence and lessening egoic action can enrich my own creative language and development, in a very personal way.”
http://www.farnish.plus.com/amatterofscale/timesup.htm
http://earth-blog.bravejournal.com/entry/53713
“We can look at the results of the experiment called civilisation and feel helpless, or we can look at what we have in ourselves, and what remains undamaged on the Earth, and think, “we can do better”.
“Economic growth as a necessity is the biggest lie that humanity has ever been sold; yet we are lapping it up because the lie is repeated day after day by every information source we are unfortunate enough to be subjected to.”
“What makes us angry is when the things we value are threatened. This is human nature: it is survival, and without this response we are little more than machines.”
Anger is good
“Not only are we ignorant of the dire impact of human activity on planet Earth, but we have been brainwashed into believing that converting natural wealth into financial wealth, and natural products into industrial products represents progress, development, economy and civilisation. No wonder we have forgotten the first principle, which tells us to do no harm to other people or the planet, and no wonder we have lost the wisdom of living in harmony with natural systems.”
“There ought to be great cries in the land, great anger. But there is a strange silence. Why? Because we are all implicated! We have drifted to this dark unacceptable place together. We took the success of our economy as proof of the rightness of its underlying philosophy. We are now at a crossroad. Our future depends not on whether we get through this, but on how deeply and truthfully we examine its causes…
One of our much neglected qualities is our creative ability to reshape the world. Our planet is under threat. We need a new one-planet thinking…
We can enter a new future only by reconnecting what is best in us, and adapting to our times. Education ought to be more global: we need to restore the pre-eminence of character over show, and wisdom over cleverness…
All great cultures renew themselves by accepting the challenges of their times…”
The Times: October 30, 2008
