Kindness by default

As earthling, living in Portugal, I can´t imagine what Ukraine beings are going through in these hours, or what it must feel for Russian beings, having someone decide in their name to commit such an atrocity, so contrary to human species default to protect, care and blossom. Amidst another much bigger war of infinite greed, we add the greed for more territory, more resources, more terror, more power. Enough should be enough to concentrate on the habitability of the finitude of our Planet. 

Greed is a sickness. It needs help to be treated. If not treated can result in serious crimes: against environment (the biggest of all, given it sustains all life on Earth), against Nature and all living beings (including us), against our societies and the right to live peacefully and respectfully in a House that is much bigger than our homes, our communities, or our countries. 

What is happening is an aberration, an abnormality of the system, a hideous crime against us all. The system must be corrected. We are all encoded to be kind by default (*). We need to remind ourselves that what makes vibrant communities is respect, communion, sharing, and a lot of love for the extra energy to transcend ourselves (and endure in the most difficult of times). 

(*) Be alert for manipulation! We have been manipulated throughout history to believe that greed is our nature. It is not. More about it in Rutger Bregman (2021). Humankind: A Hopeful History.

February

"(...) I can think of no better form of personal involvement than that of gardening. A person who is growing a garden (...) organically, is improving a piece of the world. (...) A person who undertakes to grow a garden at home, by practices that will preserve rather than exploit the economy of the soil, has set [her or] his mind decisively against what is wrong with us." Wendell Berry (2021). What I Stand for Is What I Stand On. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

February

"A renewable power system is not dependent on foreign energy imports nor vulnerable to fuel price manipulations – which are the main worries in an energy infrastructure that is largely based on fossil fuels." Kris De Decker (2018). Keeping Some of the Lights On: Redefining Energy Security. [text inserted in 2022/03/07]. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

February

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

February

"The combination between biometric data and mass surveillance results in an unlawful practice that unfairly treats everyone like a suspect." More about biometric data in Reclaim your Face. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

February

 

"Emerging trends in adaptation place an emphasis on the need for more transformational changes, which has a distinct logic that differs from traditional strategies." Noble, I.R., S. Huq, Y.A. Anokhin, J. Carmin, D. Goudou, F.P. Lansigan, B. Osman-Elasha, and A. Villamizar (2014). Adaptation Needs and Options. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).