Talking Shit

Feb 25

“The fixation on open mindedness is just another form of close mindedness. Be who you are, love everything and everyone, accept that the world moves the way it does, that good and bad things are only defined so because of how we perceive them. Life is life and that’s all that it is. Simplicity is complexity but complexity is confusion…”

Feb 23

The Victim

Perception; the act or faculty of apprehending by means of the senses or of the mind; cognition; understanding.

My name is noah, i am 300 something years old. I am one of the last of my kind on this planet and soon I will be brutally chopped down.

I came out of my seed one sunny morning more than 300 years ago. My mother gave me shade from the harsh sun and let the good sun in, she along with the others sang songs all day that matched the vibrations of the rest of the world. I didn’t have to be told how to grow into a mighty tree and find my way through the thick canopy. We just had to be who we were meant to be.

The rains gave us our water to drink, the soil gave us our nutrients, the sun gave us our food and the world gave us life. Everything was readily available. Oh and what a beautiful life it was, all we did throughout our lives was make love to the wind, sing with the birds, and interact with the rest of the creatures that were on our branches, in the soil and in the air.

Somewhere in the middle of my life, we began noticing changes. The air became thicker, some of the creatures left and we felt that there was some disturbance in the energy field. This Disturbance as well as the changes we were noticing intensified as time went on but this did not really bother us, there was still enough for life to go on, i had lots of young children of my own growing underneath my canopy. Life was still beautiful.

It was not until about 100 years ago that i encountered my first human. They are a beautiful creature. So fragile yet powerful. They were free to move and experience the world in a different way. They were carrying around these objects which apparently were used to measure something in the air as well as the soil. they smiled at us and showed us so much love and care. It was a surreal experience. They said to us that they would protect us. Protect us from what? It was not another few decades that we found the answer to that when the next batch of humans came to visit.

They had different tools with them. They made a loud noise that scared all the birds and other creatures away. It was in absolute horror that we witnessed what happened next. Five of our kind were cut down and killed before the sun went down. We had been together for hundreds of years and within the span of a few hours they fell from their spots onto the ground crushing the younger ones below. Just like that our friends were gone and so were the humans. Many of the creatures that lived with us left too, being too afraid to stay. Our home had changed and we had to adapt. This is when this absolute irony dawned on me. The previous humans that came wanted to protect us from their own kind. There was a conflict going on.

Nothing was ever the same in our home. The young ones did not grow as fast and were not as strong, the soil was no longer as rich as we were used to having, the sun was harsh at times, the rains did not come regularly anymore and the air was very thick. We were now living in fear and we knew why. Humans terrified us.

As the years went by, more and more of our family were cut down by the humans. We didn’t know why and what we had done to deserve such a fate. We were forced to accept that any of us could be next.

Then came a time where there we did not encounter any humans. We had heard that the war between the humans had intensified, more and more of them joined our side and were dying in large numbers to protect us. We saw hope but the world was still getting drier, hotter and and wind was getting thicker. The force we once lived with was hardly recognizable. We were living in a different world. We sought some normalcy among all who were left and for a while it was possible.

Then one day we heard the sound of death again. The roaring, deafening sound of the devices that killed so many of my friends and family. The small group of humans that were protecting us housed themselves below our canopy’s. We heard from them that there was a big battle which they lost. The remaining ones were regrouping, for one more battle. We also heard from them that we were some of the last remaining trees in the area. TREES. That’s what they called us.

We could feel that the world would never be the same again and some of us opted to kill themselves before the humans could. Me some of the remaining ‘trees’ opted to go on living. This decision was made solely for the sake of the humans who were giving their lives to protect us. We knew it was too late yet we opted to die a brutal death by the machines of the other humans because we wanted to give hope to the group who had nothing else to live for but our survival. This sacrifice is for humanity or what is left of it.

The human is such a strange creature. So powerful, smart, capable of incredible love and also capable of shutting it down. I wonder why they could not unite with all their intelligence. They make life complicated when it actually is so simple. They could not be what they were meant to be, it was just never enough. So much conflict and destruction for such a sophisticated race.

And here we are today, as fate would have it I am the last ‘tree’ standing. I did not wish for it to be this way to be honest, i would have preferred not to be part of any of this. I long for the time when we could just be what we were meant to be. The time when we had no concerns. Life was beautiful and that’s all it was. I miss the singing and dancing. I miss the wind, my friends, my family and the creatures. Most of all, i miss being alive.

Now I bear witness to the last battle between two factions of a race that destroyed itself. My death is imminent and will happen today. Its a pointless battle yet I get to see the end of potential, hope and power. That’s what they had, and lost. If only they would have realized it…

The Environmentalist

Ideology; the body of doctrine, myth, belief, etc., that guides an individual, social movement, institution, class, or large group.

The mob approaches our direction with their chainsaws and torches, I am one of many but we are outnumbered. I will give my life to saving the last tree on this planet. It will be my final act.

My name is Raphael, i was born in 1984 into a middle class family. We didn’t have luxury but we lived comfortably. My father was an environmentalist. There were concerns of the changing climate as early as i can remember and He along with a few others did everything they could to plant trees and protect the remaining forests and watersheds. I went to school, got a degree, got a job, a family, we were living a comfortable and ordinary life at the time until one day a super storm hit our city. There had never been a storm like this before on record. I remembered my dad telling me this would happen unless the human race would start taking concrete steps to preserving and reversing the effects we had caused on the climate. I lost my father, mother, wife and child to the flood, I saw them float away from me, it was beyond comprehension. A large part of me wished i would have died too and in some way I did die that day. I was broken, everything i had ever known and loved was gone. Just like that. There was nothing I could do against the forces at work that day.

The only thing that was left for me to do was dedicate my whole life to making sure it would not happen to anyone else. I Joined climate change rally’s. Planted trees, protected forests, rescued animals, rammed fishing boats, tried to get other people involved and went vegetarian. I was tagged as an extremist but that did not bother me. We had to be extreme for people to listen. Unfortunately, there were not enough of us to stop so called human ‘growth’ and ‘progress’. The planet could not handle anymore human growth and needed some kind of balance, it became clearer and clearer as the years went by and even if more and more people joined the cause the lingering reality was evident. Human greed knew no limits and the general public would go on believing in so called capitalism. Fuck capitalism! Predictably, soon enough there were no more fish, heck, we couldn’t even swim in the ocean anymore, it was too toxic. The animals disappeared, we were almost the lone race on this planet. The rains stopped coming, we couldn’t grow our crops. The forests disappeared, it started getting hotter. Diseases came that we had never encountered before, we started dying. Finally it was common consensus that something had to be done. But it was too late…

I actually believe that it was good for the planet that we started dying. We had fucked up the ecosystems too much and the only way it could start fixing itself is if our population was drastically reduced or wiped out altogether. Scientists Invented so called plastic trees, machines that could clean up the air. But we couldn’t make enough to undo the damage we had already done. The world had run out of gas, we had no more communication, no more machines, not enough energy to sustain our lives. The second stone age was upon us. All because we didn’t know when to stop.

The rich started walling off the cities and we were left to fend for ourselves outside. One of the biggest problems other than the harsh, thick air and lack of water and food were the dogs, our once best friends had multiplied immensely after we couldn’t afford to keep them anymore. At one point we started eating them and we still do, but most of the time it was the other way around, we were dog food. Nature had reclaimed some what was left of its territory.

It was a dangerous and dark world. We had to get ourselves weapons to protect ourselves and simply because we had nothing else to hold on to some of us carried on protecting the remaining forests from the profiteering rich bastards from the cities even though we knew we didn’t stand a chance and that it was probably too late anyway. Hope was all we had left and the trees were a reminder of what we once had and lost. The world economy had collapsed and money wasn’t worth shit. Remaining resources were fought for and used for barter. Timber was worth a lot. Governments had ceases to exist a long time ago and with the lack of authority clashes between the loggers(which was almost everyone) and the environmentalists were frequent. I remember one day a huge clash, we were outnumbered 8 to 1 by those soulless murderers. Thousands died that day. I wouldn’t have minded dying, the line between right and wrong was blurry but I knew i was on the right side and doing the right thing.

We had badly lost the battle that day and had to retreat further into the last patch of the forest. Most of the others who didn’t die, ran away in fear or joined the loggers. They knew we couldn’t win but some of us were stubborn. I stayed because I had nothing left to lose anyway.

The last forest disappeared very very fast. And today, me and a few faithful ones stand against an army. We are standing in front of the last tree in this area, maybe the last on this planet. Fear dissolves into a sense of calm and peace as they approach. Let them come, I will welcome death. I’ve just been sleepwalking through this life anyway…For this brief moment I will be alive and death will be my relief…

The capitalist

Adaptation; the ability of a species to survive in a particular ecological niche, esp. because of alterations of form or behavior brought about through natural selection or change in environment.

This is it, my final act. My chainsaw is in my hand, i am on my way to cut down the last tree on this earth.

Before you label me a monster, hear my story. I was born in 1981, I do not wish to reveal my name out of shame, the human race was flying high at the time. There were concerns of the destruction of the planet but we did not recognize the immediate danger nor did we put a lot of thought into the matter. Progress and expansion was more important, We would deal with the environment later on. I went to school, got my degree, got a job, rose up the ranks, got rich, got myself a family. The cliche human story. We lived in a big house surrounded by a big garden in a posh area. We had a swimming pool, maids, cars, and everything one could wish for at the time. We were attending the best parties wearing the most fashionable outfits , eating the best food which was abundant at the time and full of variety. In the early 21st century, alarms were being sounded that the climate was in disarray and that we had to do something about it. I got myself hybrid cars, i changed my light bulbs to ones that save energy, i got myself solar panels but as i look back now. there was so much more i could and should have done. The temperature was increasing every year and we had the quick fix available; Better air conditioning. Gas prices were going up but i could afford it. We still flew all over the world and were lucky enough to see what was left of a beautiful planet. Every year there was less and less of the natural world to enjoy and soon we stopped going to other places.

As things turned for the worse, the governments put in more money and political will power into technology that would save us but we all got the feeling that it wasn’t enough. We needed a big event that would urge and unite all the people of the earth to act, and one day we got that event. A massive famine caused by the lack of rainfall led to mass starvation. The poor people started dying in the millions, the rich were no longer rich but we could still afford to eat what was left as our governments invaded other countries for vital resources and used it to support those who could buy it. And most people couldn’t. I was lucky to belong to the elite that could go on living comfortably.

I never realized that money was just an imaginary object. One day, the world economy collapsed and the value of money became nothing more but the paper it was printed on. The world didn’t know how to exist without money and just like that there were no more rich and poor. Just like that, We were all equal. There was no more communication either. No more cellphones, no more television, no more radio. the only thing we had left of the once great Human civilization was electricity from the solar and wind energy sources we managed to put up and of course we still had vast amounts of the worst of the human inventions; weapons. Other than that, we had returned to the stone age. It was a dangerous and dark world. I was poor, i had lost everything. My wife and my daughter had died when the new flu came through our city, new diseases were presenting themselves all the time and we did not have the medicine nor the strong immune systems needed to combat them. A lot of people we knew passed away as well. It was painful at first but as death became a part of everyday life, it became the norm. We had to adapt by not getting attached to anyone anymore, in a way the only way we could cope was by becoming less human…

Me and my two sons had survived through cutting down every tree we saw. We knew it was not helping the global problem but the value of timber was very high as we all needed fire to stay warm at night and keep the dogs away. They were one of the biggest immediate dangers now. We were also competing with a lot of people for the timber and the remaining forests didn’t last long. It was a dangerous job as well as the die hard environmentalists who protected them with guns and any weapon they could find gave their lives for their cause. I remember one conflict where we killed thousands of them. We outnumbered them as the masses simply wanted to survive even if it meant killing others. That was the common consensus. Their lives for ours. I myself killed at least two men, the faces of all the people that died that day haunt me everyday. I feel like I lost what was left of my soul and the only thing keeping me going was the thought of my two boys not suffering a gruesome death by starving. There is nothing worse than being hungry. Thirst maybe one of them but luckily we had water from a purification plant that separated the salt from the seawater, the lack of power meant we didn’t have much of it though. Hunger compels people to do horrible things. We have heard of stories of cannibalism outside the now walled city. We have heard reports that the human population was now at only 2 billion. So much for endless growth and prosperity, we were victims of our own success.

So now, on this particular day, me and a few others are approaching the last tree in this area, maybe the last tree on the planet. we have no way of knowing for sure. there is a small group of people standing in front of it, willing to die to protect it. They look as hungry as we do but they don’t seem to care. In a way, I envy them. At least their integrity is intact. I do hope that God, if there actually is one, will understand that i have made my choice not motivated by greed as it once was but simply because i want to live and this tree will buy me and my family enough time to figure out the next step. This one tree wont make a difference in the global crisis anyway. I have no more soul, there is no more human spirit, no more love, its pure instinct now.

Its too late for regret, too late to do anything to save ourselves. Weve done a horrible thing and brought ourselves down to an even worse state than we were in a few years ago. I sometimes wish i would have done more, maybe i would not have joined the rat race. I was a billionaire but it was all a false ideology. I, along with the rest of the world followed a meaningless path. It is clear to me now. I never imagined I would have to march to war to cut down the last remnant of what once was, but it doesnt matter anymore. Maybe things will get better for the survivors if there are any. by the looks of it, nothing will get better. But i have to try…

Jan 22

“Life is Beautiful!!”

Jan 14

Mindanao; the forgotten island…

The southern island of mindanao is like a rumor. It is almost taboo to speak of it. Nothing but violence and heartbreak is associated in the news coming out of the island. “Mindanao is dying”, stated a recent article in a national glossy. Investigating the island and the people living in it is just a waste of time. So how do we unravel the mystique of the forgotten island. Have you ever questioned where most of the food that the Filipino people eat comes from? Have you ever wondered of even bothered to think of what life is like for the Minadano folk? Are they educated? Talented? Aware of the world? Is there more than meets they eye or the ear?

The island of Mindanao itself is large enough to feed the entire Philippine population. The soil is so rich that anything grows better, tastes better and even looks better. Years of abuse and exploitation has divided the island into a few large patches owned by a few landlords and multinational companies. One fourth is for bananas, one fourth for pineapples and the rest for whatever capitalism finds it useful for. Beurocracy has created poverty, poverty has created a war, the war has created distraction, and distraction has created injustice. One could argue that this has happened in the whole country. But the big difference is, Mindanao barely has a voice in the government that was supposed to protect it, the ‘leaders’ like it this way.

But you already knew that didn’t you? besides, this is not a political piece; but rather is it one to change the perception if even just for a few minutes from one of negativity to one of admiration. That God has not abandoned Mindanao but can be felt tugging at your soul just as much as any place on this earth.

Jose Rizal chose his place of exile in Mindanao as the most beautiful place on earth. He wrote poems about it about it and came to terms with his life there. The Mindanao shoreline is not covered with the cliche illusion of a perfect white sand beach but is perfect in that you can see the horizon in the distance and the rest of the Philippine islands look like they’re just a swim away. Time stands still when the sound of the waves crash on the rocky cliffs or merge with the black sands. Paradise is in the moments.

Have you ever seen a sunset in the mountains when the peaks on the horizon are not tall enough to cover it? The colors are so detailed and sharp and spread so extensively that you have to stop in awe of its grandeur.

Every morning the cold fresh mountain air makes love to your skin and I have often found myself wondering, how did the people of this fantastic place ever choose to wear western clothes. The air is so fresh that it penetrates parts of our lungs you did not know exists. There are energies in Mindanao that take away the stress that one feels in the larger faster paced regions of the world.

And it is exactly this which makes Mindanao special. The energies of the island.

It is deeply ingrained in every child growing up in Mindanao, you have to be at peace with the spirits that share the space with you: say ‘tabi apo’ when you pass an old tree or a river; kill a chicken when you want to move into a place, etc. No, this is not a horror story for the interactions between energy and people is not a violent one but one of respect and of something bigger. if you talk to someone who has spent a significant amount of time on the island, chances are he has a story to tell of an encounter with an energy usually with a happy ending and life defining experiences.

This energy…this force…this spirit, the soul of this island is what unites the Muslims and the Christians for the war is not a war of fundamental beliefs but one that is waged by outsiders from the north for profit. It is this soul that narrows the gap between rich and poor for money is not the basis for friendships and relationships but rather a deep sense of belonging to each other. It is this soul that unites Mindanaoans’ in traditional dance, music, rituals, gestures, camaraderie, and love for if you experience any of the above you will now that this spirit lives on strongly and beautifully.

I encourage you to visit. Take a swim on one of its seashores, immerse yourself in its rivers, jump into one of its waterfalls, sit next to one of its trees, shower under its rain. And allow yourself to feel it..feel the spirit laugh and cry with yours. Allow it to embrace you and tug at the parts of the heart you have shut down. Open your heart, your eyes, your soul and feel its sadness and pride, embrace it…for the world has forgotten about it or worse, just doesn’t care about a large island in the south. For a time may come, soon perhaps that the spirit of Mindanao may abandon the world as well…

Dec 03

The Dark Rift

Whats the real deal with Dec 21, 2012?

The Mayan calendar says it is the end of the world as we know it. Nostradamus says; ’Heaven will appear unjust’. And only recently has modern science concurred that on that exact day, a rare event that only occurs every 25,800 years when our sun aligns exactly with the sun and the center of the milky way. On that day our sun will have completed an orbit around itself or complete another sun year. The earth will complete a wobble placing our planet in the the cosmic alignment called the dark rift.

How did the mayans predict this rare event in the life of the planet? How many times has this already happened and what are the effects?

The Mayan Calendar which i have to note has predicted major events in the last 5125 years in pinpoint precision predicts major floods, wars, famine and even the day the spanish conquistadores arrived in south america. Modern Scientists can now confirm that there is a black hole in the middle of the milky way(which it is theorized the galaxy comes from) and there are numerous studies suggesting that the earth’s axis has shifted before and that it may happen again. A shift in a matter of days which will have such a devastating effect on earths inhabitants that it will cause mass extinction of many species. It would be the sixth mass extinction in the earths history. The equator will be the new ice caps and the poles will be the new equator. Other scientists predict the next ice age will begin. Some spiritual leaders say it will merely be a shift of consciousness. In the bible, there is a record of a great flood and the ark of noah. Mathematicians from israel have discovered evidence of a prophecy of the end of days in 2012 inside the bible.

There are also records of the egyptians predicting 2012 as the end of days. The Hobi Indians say it will be the the end of the 4th era and the beginning of the fifth. The jews, the muslims, even the free masons have records of the end of the world as we know it in 2012. The alchemist Fulcanelli who revealed many of the secrets of the Masons prophecised 2012 to be the beginning of when everything will be made new at a chemical level.

Since 1998, every summer has been hotter than the previous. The bees that pollinate one third of our food are disappearing at an alarming rate. Albert einstein said that if the bees disappear the world will last only three more years. 2012 will have three lunar eclipses and one very dark solar eclipse. There is reason to be alert because evidence is pointing towards confirming these prophecies.

Personally though, I see it as a message.

We have to remember that the human race -in the context of the age of the planet earth- is extremely young and thus naive. We have managed to destroy this planet in less than 10,000 years when the agricultural revolution began. And just like infants who don’t really know what they are doing, we have yet to grasp what we have done and still don’t seem to get it. We have been obsessed by progress and blinded ourselves to the effects of it. The planet in contrast is old and has survived for six billion years. It knows how to adapt, survive and evolve. It is a living being that knows harmony has been disrupted by a single race and it would not take much for it to clean itself up. This planet has had many mass extinctions, ice ages and cycles and many more will come. We may not be the final product of evolution we have imagined ourselves to be. SO…here is the message, in my opinion the universe is sending us.

Grow up humans.

Whether the catastrophic event will actually happen or not we have to use this warning as an opportunity. An opportunity to do three things. 1. LIVE! 2. Have Faith 3. See the bigger Picture. Allow me to explain;

1. We have forgotten what it means to live. Life nowadays is reduced to a rat race. “Work to live”, The custom concern is money and material things. What about life? When do we slow down and appreciate the what a miracle life is. It took millions of tiny coincidences to produce your life on this planet and billions more to produce everything else. When was the last time you stopped and admired the fact that there is life at all? The message that the apocalypse presents is that we still have time, even if it is short to live life “one day at a time”. To love the people around you and spend time with them. To laugh, cry, and celebrate each day we spend on this journey because that is what we are here to do. To experience a rich and full journey. The end does not matter, the experience does.

2. I said that your life is possible because of a million different coincidences. But what if it is all meant to be? Are there really any coincidences? I personally don’t believe in accidents and am compelled to believe that a higher power, a higher consciousness, God, Life, the energy that makes everything possible; brings all together to make ‘anything’ possible. This is the time to unite and transcend religion. Different interpretations and doctrine have divided us too much and blinded us from the one universal truth. There is no ‘one’ correct way but we are all children of god and one with the universe. Now is the time to have faith in ourselves, in god and in life.

3. The third and final message December 21, 2012 presents is that we should not be afraid. The bigger picture if you allow yourself to see it is that we are part of life and this life will go on with or without the human race. We will always be a part of it just like we have always been. We are one with the wind, the rain, the jellyfish and the trees. We are just a small speck in the bigger picture yet we are part of the whole picture. It is a beautiful concept if your are willing to embrace it. There is no need to be afraid because the soul will never perish but recycle itself in the circle of life.

No one can predict for sure what will happen on that December day of 2012. The Mayans have yet to miss a mark in their 5125 year old calendar and it ends on that day. Maybe they were wrong. maybe they just ran out of space and couldn’t write what comes next. Either way, whether we make it to Dec 22 or not or whether life changes drastically; It doesn’t hurt to say you lived life to the fullest even for just a short while. The other way is just not worth it. Besides, we still have time to make a difference. If each one of us chose to do our part not just in physically going out there to make a change but on a conscious level as well, we might not look so bad in the context of life after all. Anything is possible. We just have to will it.

Oct 24

“Have no care for tomorrow. Don’t worry about whether you’re going to have something to eat. Look at the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, but god takes perfect care of them. Don’t you think he will do the same for you?” — Jesus Christ

Oct 20

The Kiefer lifestyle…