I'm pondering tonight. There is so much shit going on in the world. And here I sit in the comfort and peace of my living room a million miles away from dictators, civil war, thwarted human rights, earthquakes, tsunami aftermath and the threat of nuclear reactor melt-down. It would seem the Chinese curse of "may you live in interesting times" couldn't be more applicable.
Last night I watched the documentary Force of Nature/ David Suzuki. I was moved to tears several times by this biography of such a thoughtful, intelligent, perceptive, humble man. Suzuki oozes passion for the love of this planet. We all know him as an environmentalist, but this doc brings you into his personal space, the events that have forged this exceptional human being.
An interesting tie into current events is that Suzuki is a second generation Japanese Canadian. Both he and his parents were born on Canadian soil in Vancouver. This however did not insulate them from an onslaught of racism following the bombing of Pearl Harbour. Anti-Japanese sentiment was at an all time high. Suzuki's grandparents were returned by ship to Hiroshima while the remaining family members (along with many other Japanese-Canadian citizens living in the lower mainland of Canada's west coast) were sent to the Slocan Valley in British Columbia. Not long after, Hiroshima was the casualty of the world's first nuclear bomb attack.
Here is a clip I love of Suzuki in 1972. Long before he became a leading environmentalist, he had some pretty astute observations on what it means to be human.
2 comments:
Gotta admit, I've never thought of us as comparable to fruit flies before! But his reasonings were pretty spot on I'd say.
I can absolutely empathize with the feelings you shared with the times we're living in and the recent events taking place in the world. In the past 2-3 weeks I've gone from feeling utterly hopeless, to feeling enraged, to feeling terribly sad, and to feeling frustrated knowing that human beings have so much potential and have the ability to do so much good. But remembering to remain hopeful about our species and our little planet, no matter how difficult, is so important for all of the work we have to do. :)
-Lisa
You are right, Lisa, there is still so much important work to be done. And to achieve it, it must flow from open and authentic beings ~ and these two things might just be the most challenging part of being human.
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