Thursday, June 3, 2010

Seeking Balance

~ Albert Einstein

I don't have words to express the sorrow and fear I feel about the BP oil catastrophe.  What are your thoughts?   I feel powerless to the point of despair.  Talk to me.  I'm not seeking comfort where there's none to be found, but real talk, your real thoughts, ideas, questions, and fears.

24 comments:

  1. Oh Gigi... This photo is a masterpiece!

    I don't know what to say about the oil spill. I have all sorts of theories, mostly about the greed of the BP executives and how they've willingly allowed this to get out of proportion.

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  2. I vacillate between overwhelming despair and visceral anger, usually with despair holding the winning hand. With all the people in the country out of work, I should think it is obvious that we need to be focusing on alternative fuels. It would provide jobs galore, and would take us away from this dreadful dependence on oil. Of course, we're eight years behind at least and that doesn't repair what is still being down to the beautiful gulf coast. I must confess, I have to forget about it occasionally if I can, or else I become consumed by the horror. I skipped the front page of the paper today. Went straight to the arts section.

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  3. It is almost too much to think about. It covers the area of West Virginia now - did you know that? And it leaves me with questions - when will it end? How can it be cleaned? What of all of the animals, fish, and resources that will be destroyed? It leaves me with more questions than answers.

    xo Erin

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  4. living here i'm devastated...just devastated. no more gulf oysters, shrimp...the gorgeous pristine white sand, the animals, it will be hell on earth for the coast of at least 4 states. why are the congress and the president just sitting there? this was not the response that alaska got with the valdez....what's the hell.

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  5. Some things are so horrific that there are just no words I can find to describe my feelings towards them...This is something that will effect generations to come I'm sure. It is like Mother Earth being cut and bleeding to death. I could cry...

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  6. Gigi ~

    I'm sickened. Truly disgusted and anguished by this horrific event that has and will continue to destroy so many living creatures and effect our glorious Earth in so many terrible ways. I hate feeling so powerless, and I cannot even begin to describe how my heart aches and mind hurts with every piece of information I read, see, and discover. A blame game doesn't fix the problem because if we started pointing fingers, then we all need to look in the mirror due to our sick dependency on oil. It isn't going away, and we must hope and pray for a change (NOW!). And for this to never happen again. There are too many brilliant minds in this world for this to still have no solution. If only all our tears could wash away the destruction and soothe HER, our beloved Mother and all her precious non-responsible inhabitants. If only...
    ~Melissa

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  7. Oh Gigi, I know what you mean. Just at a total loss. Like, HOW was this allowed to happen and WHY hasn't it been resolved yet? It BLOWS my mind that it's gone unmitigated for so many days.

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  8. Dear Gigi,
    These disasters are just devastating and this one is off the scale. In 1967, the Torrey Canyon went down, spilling all of its cargo of crude oil, polluting the Cornish and the French coastline and killing sea birds, fish and marine organisms. The UK government were critisised for its handling of the incident.
    I have to agree with Mel that it's not good to point fingers as all of us use the commodity everyday and, because we drill at sea, these accidets are bound to happen from time to time. That being said, it is still a major disaster and someone should be going all out to find a solution. Unfortunately, it is going to take many years before this is resolved. XXXX

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  9. my mind is boggled with how catastrophic this oil spill is. and will be for years to come.

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  10. "Here and Now
    I must realise
    That every human being
    Is endowed with the capacity
    To be a towering lighthouse
    In the darkness-night
    Of the present-day world."
    Sri Chinmoy
    Perhaps it is time that we in this blogging world became the first of the lighthouses to light the rest of the world. Perhaps it is time to pull together to get the changes we require to make sure that something like this never, NEVER happens again.
    Gigi this frightens me and I wish I knew how to make it right but I don't.
    God bless you xoxo

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  11. I'm glad you posted this. I feel the same way. I may live in Illinois, but I have spent decades visiting gulf towns, walking gulf beaches. I have been almost frantic about this and when they started showing the pictures of the pelicans, alive but unable to move because of being covered in oil, I felt sick. I told my husband last night that I want to go south and save the birds.

    This morning, they are showing small oil blobs on Pensacola beach...my heart is breaking.

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  12. Gigi, your photo is so tender, as are your words... My heart aches daily over the BP disaster, and many other environmental disaster happening as we speak. I read in the paper today, an article by an environmentalist researcher, and he said over 60% of the planet is destroyed or horribly abused with little likelihood of recovery. 60%... that is truly sobering. The BP disaster should get those in power to really be considering the consequences of oil dependence and find a remedy now. The Earth can't wait. How many more disasters have to happen? The thought of what the Earth will be like in future frightens me. After reading that article I mentioned now, my husband & I talked about all this. We have not answers, and wish we did. The helpless feeling breaks the heart. My husband believes that humankind will eventually kill the planet, that it will become uninhabitable at the rate things are going. I'm inclined to agree. But I pray and meditate that answers will be found. That it may not be too late yet. I am so glad you brought up this topic, Gigi. It, and other environmental concerns are much on my mind. ((HUGS))

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  13. Thank you so much, my friends, for responding with such amazing thoughts. Julienne suggested that we in the blog world should pull together to be one of the lighthouses to light the rest of the world, to actively seek changes. I'm wondering if anyone has concrete ideas about how to do this. I think one of the challenges is that when there's a natural disaster, like the earthquake in Haiti, we know we can contribute with money or our time and talents to help in ways large and small. In the case of a human-made disaster like this one--especially one that just keeps going and going and whose scale is so massive we probably won't comprehend its full scope for years to come--it is much more difficult to know what to do. Tracy's response is very much like my own. I worry that this catastrophe is demonstrating how far we have pushed the earth beyond its limits. And, as Jackie says, we all play a role in this because we all use oil.

    I cannot let myself fall into despair, though, because despair leads to a throwing up of one's hands and a refusal to act, a refusal to be a part of change. I love Julienne's suggestion, even as I struggle to imagine ways to help make change. There are lots of ways we can do this as individuals, of course, by making lifestyle changes and better choices about energy consumption and sources, but what ways can we work together to create a momentum and force for larger changes? Any ideas?

    The people I meet in the blogging world are so talented, generous, and brilliant. You are the reason I come here daily to be inspired, challenged, and uplifted. Thank you. xo

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  14. I'm like you. I have no words. None. Just helpless watching from a distance. And praying...wordless prayers.

    Today I read this:
    http://mark-marksrantsandraves.blogspot.com/2010/06/to-gulf.html

    It made me smile.

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  15. i just don't know what to do, gigi ...

    i see humankind devouring the earth at an alarming rate ...
    this latest disaster is so visible calling us to cry out as we all know that it doesn't matter where these disasters strike, they affect the whole planet ecosystem ~ this wonderfully designed, perfect world.

    i walked through our woods yesterday in the rain absorbing the wonders of it all. there are a lot of creatures living here in the woods, yet there isn't a trace of them ~ no waste, no dead animals or birds as there are natural creations cleaning up ~ miraculous ... and to my eye, it is untouched and perfect.

    but earlier that day, our farmer neighbour sprayed the adjacent field with herbicides ... ugh ... i hate this time of year ~ it makes me so ill. it is like i want to say to him ~ would you feed your grandchildren a spoonful of that? cuz in essence that is exactly what you are doing. it makes me crazy. i know my 'perfect' woods are suffering somehow ...

    i feel mad as hell, fear, powerless, timid, cowardly, ashamed, sick, defeated, dismayed, angry, lazy, stupid and hypocritical that i don't say and do more.

    i liken this human behaviour to that of one of our teenagers ~ we can tell them til they are blue in the face that the choices they are making are going to affect their future ... only when they truly are affected themselves ~ when they feel the anguish of the consequences of their actions, will there be positive change ... oh please let them grow up soon ... *deep breath*

    so, i don't really know what to do.
    ultimately i have to believe i feel hopeful and determined.

    hopeful with prayer and positive energy ...

    determined to do my part right here where i am ...

    i have been blogging about the beauty of nature up close this week ... sharing the wonder of it all in hopes that my little spot will help create an appreciation ...

    thank you gigi for offering this today ~

    power to the planet ~
    xoxo
    prairiegirl

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  16. Well, Gigi,

    You know I am usually pretty reserved in my responses to things, but the other night when on television they showed a poor pelican saturated with oil, I just cried. I can't imagine what this is doing to the entire ecosystem of the Gulf. And what scares me even more is that this disaster will reach far beyond the Gulf itself. The whole region is one of the major flyways for migrating birds, many of which are already under tremendous pressure from habitat destruction in Central and South America. I am afraid we may face a new Silent Spring next year.

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  17. I fear a Silent Spring, too, Ms Merganser. Rachel Carson's words have been echoing in my head ever since this disaster began. And like you, Prairiegirl, I have been looking closely at the woods and meadows where I walk, thinking about the way nature's systems work so perfectly until we fuck them up. Please excuse my swearing. I am just so angry. I watched several beetles eating the corpse of a chipmunk today in the woods. While it wasn't pretty, it was the natural cycle of life, and it was rather profound. That chipmunk's death meant a meal for many other creatures, and nearby a fallen tree teemed with life: insects, a yellow and black snake, several chipmunks (very much alive), and goodness knows what other creatures. In the distance, the Canada geese were honking and causing a ruckus on the marsh and redwing blackbirds flew from treetop to treetop. All this in a small preserve in suburban Boston. As development after development encroaches upon these little pockets of of the natural world that we have remaining, I wonder what we think we are achieving, to what ends are we building and building and building? God knows we don't need another shopping mall, yet they keep cropping up. What can more can we possibly consume/waste/throw away? There has to be a better way.

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  18. im sorry i have no words, just a little sick ball in my stomach :(
    ~laura

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  19. I remember the first time I saw the Gulf of Mexico - the crashing waves, collecting sand dollars and seashells. Watching terns dance in the sand, dodging the last bits of foam from the waves. Seagulls dancing overhead while a stiff sea breeze combs through my hair. The power and beauty of it all has left an indelible print on my life.

    How sick I feel now at the thought that my 3 youngest children, living far from the coast, may never see and be awed by these things. I never imagined such destruction happening in my lifetime and it is still hard to contemplate!

    Such sorrow and loss for our planet!

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  20. I agree with Julienne. The major problem is "we the people." We don't even think about what's happening until it effects US! Or until there is a castastrophe of this magnitude. There will be terrorists until mothers insist on education for their children. Women are the ones who force major change. T. Boone Pickins, another Texan, has been trying to get wind energy to replace what we suck out of Mother Earth. For crying out loud, there is a SINK HOLE in S. American that swallowed a 3-story building!! WE are ruining our home planet.
    Women unite on this. Starting with a blog. And, starting with young women who may be protecting our children. And pray. xx's Marsha Harris

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  21. i feel helpless, for us and all those animals. it's just so unfair.
    xo

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  22. It's heart breaking, sickening, devastating. I don't know what to say.
    I guess the only way to make any sort of difference is through the actions that we can make. Small or big, it's the only thing that we can do.
    Renewable energy has to be the way. It's sickening to think that this is caused by our greediness and laziness, all because we need cars to drive us to malls and work and where ever else.
    Thank you for speaking on this Gigi and opening up the discussion to others.

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  23. makes me sad and quiet..i am thinking of the many beaches i have walked in the south and they ae suffering now..quiet and sad

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  24. Wow. Tracy's comment. 60%. That is unbelieveable.
    That is so upsetting...I don't even know what to do with that kind of information but cry.

    This is all so devastating. And it leaves us with such an overwhelming feeling of helplessness.

    As I was reading your comment about the chipmunk, it made me think of something that happened to me as I walked in the woods. About the balance of nature. I think you have just inspired a post, dear Gigi.

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