The Need for Lushness and Understanding

As if there is not enough volatility, violence, death and destruction going on in the region, as if there wasn’t an intensely brutal conflict gripping Syria spilling over into constitutionally fragile Lebanon and the politically tense Golan Heights. As if the Bedouins of the Sinai are not giving expression to their frustration as the marginalised in their own land with violence, making the peninsula rather unstable. As if the region was an ocean of calm, Israel decided to flex their military muscle by launching a rocket attack into Gaza killing Hamas’ military chief, as if that action would not have any consequences. But guess what, it did. Rockets have been launched back and forth and the Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu seems to prepare himself and the nation for a ground invasion.

While the international community has been crying for a two-state solution for decades, after more than 60 years there are not many who do actually believe that this is going to happen in their lifetime. All that seems to remain is mistrust, resentment and not wanting to be seen as weak.

What does one do if two people make claim to the same land and both believe that the other should make way? What does one say if the one with the political, military and infrastructural might is bit by bit annexing land of the other, but with that action creating a demographic time bomb threatening the very state it is aiming to further consolidate? What does one do if there doesn’t seem to be a neutral stance within this conflict and one is always accused of bias no matter how open the mind or how great the empathy for both sides?

What does one do if one is noticing that the balance of power in the world is shifting? The EU is in an economic mess, leading to social unrest, and an ailing US economy is a sign of the times. It’s no longer Europe or the US where the roads are paved with golden opportunities. The promised land seems to be scattered across in what we refer to as the East, Africa and the emerging South American powerhouse of Brazil. It might be the Europeans and Americans knocking en masse on the door of the emerging and frontier economies rather than the other way around. Already some Portuguese folk have realised that the better life is in Angola rather than at home. And what do Dark Fairies with adventure in their hearts and on a quest for the good life do? It’s a fine balance. The grass that seems greener on the either side of the fence might actually be or will be a lot more lush. With waning light and falling temperatures the need for light and lushness just tends to be higher. Dig in and stay upbeat is all I can say.