Spring Cleaning...

The sun was unseasonably strong as it flickered through the frosted bathroom window and whispered its way across my eyes; by holding my book high in front of my face I was able to shield myself from the glare, but really this was no time for laying in the bath reading. The world with everything in and around it was crumbling toward doom and despair; any modicum of faith in humanity was being stretched beyond comfortable means and it was clear action was needed to turn the floundering ship of mankind on a better course. Initially I had presumed this action would take the form of verse as it so often does, but really when it comes to matters of existentialism and/or spirituality and/or the lack of either in our over-evolved society, prose really has to be the order of the day, if only for literary reasons. Never the less this take on humanity started with an old bit of poesy and it is therefore deserving of insertion here...

Is there anything to feel great about today?
Or are all the kids right to lose their fight today?
As all their dreams are ripped at the seams today,
You can feel their hurt as it just gets worse today.
It's no longer enough to pray it away today,
So it’s no surprise when I open my eyes - I cannot face today.

All we have is each other, our surroundings and everything we have collectively learned and gathered over the course of human history. But that is an awful lot. We should be proud of what we are, that we’ve come this far – so why if I’m brave enough to draw back the curtains and look out on one of the most civilised societies in the world do I see an over-riding lack of self-worth and respect for each other, our surroundings and all that we have collectively learned and gathered over the course of our history. I don’t even have to draw back the curtains, I can turn on the television, go on to the web and there it is waiting, mankind – letting itself down over and over again.

We can explain our world, its creation, our own evolution and the eventual end of all things, yet, seemingly we can’t live in peace with in it. I’ve travelled the world, been educated on a myriad of subjects and have qualifications to show for it all, but like so many I’ve stepped away from the greed of chasing fortune and perceived success and found my own peace in caring for society and the environment – rather than feeding off it and facilitating its destruction. On sunny spring days like today that generally involves collecting the vast amounts of litter left in the parks and countryside by the visitors to my local open spaces. Unlike some I do get paid for this, but not as much as I would get paid for installing anti-virus patches on to computer networks, editing television shows, programming interactive devices to measure audience engagement or even writing about the world and seeing my work published to the waiting eyes of the public. Money isn’t everything but it is the difference between comfortable survival and the gruesome alternatives. It doesn’t bring happiness, satisfaction, nor class, status or intellect, it is a means to an end and if you believe otherwise you are wrong.

I do not enjoy walking through a park with a litter picker in one hand and a bin bag in the other collecting food wrappers, drinks containers and the other discarded paraphernalia of human consumption. I do enjoy time with friends and family, being amongst nature, music, learning – especially reading in the bath and primarily watching and playing cricket. However, collecting litter gives me satisfaction and a sense of superiority over those who are too distracted by their own lives or unaware of their surroundings to clear up after themselves, it shouldn't but it does. It also, however, erodes my faith in humanity and highlights what is wrong with our society; it is a symptom of the greater issues that plague our continued survival in this world and the lack of happiness and peace that so many feel.

No matter who you are or where you come from, what ever your individual afflictions or talents the world does not owe you a thing; instead you owe it and all others - living or dead - everything. So this question is “Why do some of the most privileged and educated members in the history of mankind not realise this?” and more over “What can be done to change the path of our civilisation?”