Hauling full watering cans around is a pain in the back, and it’s no fun for my conscience, either. We’re too far north here to have a hosepipe ban – yet – but I’m still acutely aware of being part of a society that has drained the lands and channelled the rivers to a shadow of the burgeoning wild they could be, and that has managed to create a water shortage through sheer childish mismanagement.
I’ve been amused over the last few days to hear that a man of the Christian church has dared to suggest that air flights might be a moral issue, in the light of what we know these days. Well done that man, and, er – yes. What's taking everyone so long? The amount of attention his comment has generated, and the sharpness of some of the replies, suggests that the remark hit home; perhaps this idea’s time has nearly come.
I of course am at a loss to understand that there’s any question. How could a system of morality _not_ include our impacts on that which is
(a) mysterious, beautiful, uniquely alive, and (if you’re into that kind of thing) the source of many mystical and unplifting experiences; and
(b) our mutual life support system?
For most of my life this has left me where I’ve become comfortable, out on the extremes, but from now on – if I can manage to stand still while the world turns – I’m willing to enjoy my journey all the way over to the mainstream.
Meanwhile, I've found there is a plus side to all the watering: frogs. They hate being watered, but they love the places where I’ve been watering, over these awful dry weeks. They leap from my thickets of cut-and-come-again lettuce, and lurk accusingly under my alpine strawberries, as I drench the ground. It gives me a tired little surge of joy and pride (always a danger sign, in us fanatics) as I realise that, in this pondless desert, I have created habitat for them. I shall water on, plotting for the day when, in a saner system, my lettuce cravings won't need to be a problem at all...
I’ve been amused over the last few days to hear that a man of the Christian church has dared to suggest that air flights might be a moral issue, in the light of what we know these days. Well done that man, and, er – yes. What's taking everyone so long? The amount of attention his comment has generated, and the sharpness of some of the replies, suggests that the remark hit home; perhaps this idea’s time has nearly come.
I of course am at a loss to understand that there’s any question. How could a system of morality _not_ include our impacts on that which is
(a) mysterious, beautiful, uniquely alive, and (if you’re into that kind of thing) the source of many mystical and unplifting experiences; and
(b) our mutual life support system?
For most of my life this has left me where I’ve become comfortable, out on the extremes, but from now on – if I can manage to stand still while the world turns – I’m willing to enjoy my journey all the way over to the mainstream.
Meanwhile, I've found there is a plus side to all the watering: frogs. They hate being watered, but they love the places where I’ve been watering, over these awful dry weeks. They leap from my thickets of cut-and-come-again lettuce, and lurk accusingly under my alpine strawberries, as I drench the ground. It gives me a tired little surge of joy and pride (always a danger sign, in us fanatics) as I realise that, in this pondless desert, I have created habitat for them. I shall water on, plotting for the day when, in a saner system, my lettuce cravings won't need to be a problem at all...
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar