WHAT SHADE OF GREEN SHOULD I BE ?

Over recent years, there have been very few global issues which have confronted people with a more important, and indeed, more controversial decision to make than how green should I be? Firstly, it would be helpful for everyone to clarify exactly what the meaning of this question really is. Green is a term which has come into use in the last century or so, as a general description for our level of interest in the natural environment. So the question really is, how much interest should I take in the state of the natural world?

Strangely, there is no terminology that I am aware of, such as brown or gray for a total lack of concern or respect for the environment. So, we are virtually committed to consider which position on the green color spectrum we wish to be, or believe we should be. There are so many names for the different positions people hold on this issue, some of them being just a greenie, right wing greens, left wing greens, political party greens, radical greens and moderate greens. It just goes on and on. Some people have political agendas and some have social and spiritual agendas, all shades of green possible.

There are some people who believe that the environment should be totally subjugated and totally subordinate to mankind. Others believe the environment should be left totally alone and we, as humans, should be satisfied to live within the conditions and environment it dictates. I believe that the majority of people are both, caring, responsible and intelligent enough to consider that the shade of green we should choose is definitely not the extreme shade at each end of the spectrum, but that we should choose a shade somewhere in the middle, the correct choice is definitely not all or nothing. Everybody has a different level of responsibility and level of contribution which is normally governed by the individual opportunities and resources we have at our disposal .Apart from the absurd option of total destruction of the environment, there is probably room for almost everyone else to follow their own individual path. I would also suggest that we all need to be as considerate and as tolerant of the ideas and opinions of others as we can and try very hard to keep open a peaceful dialogue with those people who appear to have a very different view and a different agenda to you. Always remember, you will gain a far better knowledge and understanding of those who may oppose your ideas if you listen carefully to what they have to say and what it is they believe. This may assist in some helpful compromises you may not have been able to achieve.

Circumstances can dictate solutions which are not always the perfect results we would like to achieve. However, people must come first. We must not only survive, we must also prosper. This is the natural process of life so it may continue no matter which form of life it is. So, this leaves all of us in a position to choose the shade of green involvement we wish. Please do not distress yourself over the amount of good you can achieve, be it small or large. We are not expected, as individuals, to contribute more than a small effort each. Remember, the mighty structure of the Great Wall of China was built by simply adding one stone or mud block to another. If our effort is made with love, concern and genuine intentions to preserve and return a healthy balance to the world in which we live, we will contribute a benefit well worth our effort.
So, as a final comment you may wish to do the following things.

:Assess your ability to contribute.
:Assess the level of commitment which is right for you.
:Take the level of action you, yourself, are comfortable with.
:Take the level of action which will fit comfortably with your work and family.

After considering the ideas above or similar ideas of your own that you arrive at, you will have answered your own question and will have found which shade of green you should be.

A POEM


THE SEA

The sea rumbled and disassembled the shore,
Like time through a distant window,
Forever proceeding in its destined course
In a timeless prism.
But our minds stay here in conditions unknown,
For the worlds not yet to be thrown
Like a wave into the shore,
Dissipating with an echoing roar,
Slowing almost stationery to be now without form
In forgotten minds eye.
Bountiful lives only to be remembered,
Buried in a grain of time,
For life has become but rambled rhyme.


BY DAVID GISHFORD

A POEM


THE NEW AWAKENING

The darkness filtered down upon me
Almost extinguishing the last candle,
The flames flickered and the lights faded.

What was this place I had created,
Clocks ticking without moving,
Playing with my spirit, sad delusions.
For a long time I have walked the knife edge,
Tipping back and forth
Searching for the right conclusions.

I thought my angels had abandoned
me at birth,
Then I knew I had to set out
on a search of discovery.
I scratched at the walls of my consciousness
With absolutely no ingenious plan for my recovery.

The years passed,
Mingling with plans and patterns changed.
The heavy weight of my thoughts lifted
Like disentangled dreams.
They became filtered and broke their banks
Like a massive flooding river,
Now washing me clean.

I look back and remember my journey,
Which across time has spanned
And brought me to now.
Knowing that everything along the way,
Both good and bad was my simple choice
Not always well planned.

I feel my guides along side of me once again
And there is no turning back.
The life I was always meant to live
Now presents its final joyful acts.


DAVID GISHFORD

WITH ALL THE NEW ADVANCES IN MEDICAL SCIENCE, I AM NOT GOING TO WORRY ABOUT STAYING FIT AND EATING HEALTHY FOOD. THE DOCTORS CAN ALWAYS FIX ME.

HEALTH FOR LIFE

Good health is the most important attribute we can possess. While it is true that we can suffer many reversals of our good health which are entirely out of our control, there are also many simple basic activities we can practice which will help to maintain and maximize the quality and abundance in our lives.

You have heard all them before. As simple as they are however, they are well worth repeating over and over.

PLENTY OF EXERCISE
EAT HEALTHY FOODS
VERY MODERATE DRINKING
AVOID DRUGS
RESPECT YOUR MIND AND YOUR BODY

THE WONDER OF A FOREST

The forests of the world are the most populated of all the land ecosystem on the planet, from under the forest floor, rising to well above its leafy canopy, literally millions of life forms occupy every part of the forest, their lives interwoven with one another like the pattern of a beautifully crafted tapestry. Thousands upon thousands of years of existence have enabled the forests to form and develop relations between the microscopic creatures, insects, birds and animals and themselves which are mutually beneficial and life sustaining to all.

Depending on whether the forests are growing across either the temperate, subtropical or tropical regions of the world, they are very different in the type of trees and cover vegetation and filled with very different creatures that inhabit them. From conifer forests beginning in the arctic regions, to the giant rain forests of the hot, steamy regions around the equator, the variation is a wonder to behold.

The forests of the world provide many of the raw resources that mankind has come to rely upon and much more importantly, they perform the vital task of absorbing a large proportion of potentially dangerous carbon from our air and water and returning clean pure oxygen into our atmosphere. This, as you would already know, is one of the most vital reasons for keeping our wonderful forests and helping them to grow and expand in area all around the world where they proliferate.

Although our forests are an absolute necessity to keep the health of our planet in good order and to create an environment which will provide sustenance and sustainability of the creatures that inhabit them, they also perform another very important function for us. This other remarkable service that the forests of the world provide, is to help re-establish our spiritual connection with our ancient past, where, for the most part, our ancestors lives were totally bound up in the physical and spiritual presence of the great forests.

Long before we began to move to establish societies which relied on people collecting and living together in ever increasing numbers and urban societies became the dominant structure of our population, we lived in a world dominated by forests. We lived in them, we made our homes from them and we eat our food from them. It is no wonder that they played such a significant part in our lives. Because of their importance to us physically, they also became totally bound up with our spiritual concept of ourselves and our world, and although our way of life has changed so dramatically, especially in the modern era in which we now live, for most of us, deep in our subconscious self we are still aware of our more primitive past and the significance and power that the spell of the forest can and often does have over us.

Fortunately, we can experience this connection with our past and this former world and way of life for a short time by taking a walk in a forest. A comforting sense that we belong there, that we have a right to be able to access the calm, stillness and peace that is created by the towering tree trunks and cooling shady canopy of green foliage above. The presence of birds, insects, reptiles and mammals only enhance the primeval experience and we are, for that short time taken back to our human roots buried deep in the past.

Our peace of mind and our sense of harmony are enhanced, and we usually, for a short while, have an opportunity to revaluate whether some of the things we consider so important to us are really worthy of being as high up on our list of important things in our life. It is true that most of us would find it almost impossible to return to a life in the forest, even if we wanted to, and let us be honest, most of us would not even really want to. However, we are blessed to still have forests available to most of us, where it is possible to have these wonderful experiences and we should consider it part of our responsibility as the current custodians of the planet to enlighten and encourage our children, families and others to appreciate the value, visual magnificence and spiritual significance of these great and small forest areas growing across the world which, fortunately for us, are still here and are still accessible to us.

It may well be a very worthwhile act to thank the Creator of the universe every now and again for his blessing of creating the great forests of the world.

YOU LEARN MORE WHEN YOU LISTEN TO OTHERS THAN WHEN YOU ONLY LISTEN TO YOURSELF

We all have a great deal of confidence that what we think and say to others is very worthwhile and has positive value and generally this confidence is well placed. However, if we readily accept that this is true for ourselves, it stands to reason that it must also be true of almost everyone else.

So this leads us to two areas of knowledge and experience, the first being our own and the second being the knowledge and experience of everyone else we have interaction with. Unfortunately, whether we like to admit it or not, many of us have not successfully learned the very important skill of becoming good listeners. We may believe that we do listen well to others. However, experience tells us that in reality we are much happier listening to ourselves talk than actually spending time listening to others. Of course we all have a worthwhile contribution to make to any conversation in which we participate and we have every right to this expectation and to be able to interact verbally with others in any reasonable and polite manner we wish.

What we need to consider doing is to remember that we already know the things we are going to talk about; we do not really need to hear them ourselves over and over. It is worthwhile to believe it is of value to us to hold back on our desire to impart our knowledge and wisdom and instead spend time to take a genuine interest, in not only listening to others in a superficial way but truly taking on board what the ideas, feelings and emotions they are expressing tell us about their concept of the world and their view and understanding of who they believe they are. I believe that this is especially important in dealing with our family and good friends because it is in our relationships with these people that we build most of the love, trust, faith and respect that contributes such an enormous amount to whether we have a happy life or one filled with stress, worry and unhappiness.

At this point, some of you reading this may well be saying to yourself, I am not sure that I like this fellow suggesting that I am not good at listening to people I talk with. It is very true that many of us definitely have good skills in this area. However, there are very few of us who will not gain some benefit from trying to be more conscious of just holding back a little and allowing others to have a longer say. I certainly have been guilty at times of wanting people to listen to what I have to say without showing them the same respect and opportunity. Fortunately over many years, my lovely wife, who I believe must have learned this skill quite young, has managed to educate me to pay much more attention to others, in particular my daughter and son who I had a very bad habit of cutting short in their conversations as they were growing up, so I could impart my wisdom about whatever they were trying to discuss, very big mistake. Please give them every opportunity to talk to you as it is the very best way to understand and accept who they are. Now, I need to complete my education and stop interrupting my wife and I will really be popular at home.

If you are still not convinced that you may have a few things to learn about what we are discussing, consider something as simple as when someone we know introduces us to a stranger. We acknowledge them and usually exchange pleasantries. However, even though we have just been told their name, how often does it happen that by the time we finish this normally short conversation, we cannot remember the name of this new person we have just interacted with. If we are honest with ourselves, we know it happens quite regularly but we should not try to sell ourselves the idea that we just have a poor memory and this is why, it is normally, simply that we did not truly listen when we were introduced. If it is so easy not to concentrate on retaining something as simple as a Christian name, we are all going to have substantial difficulty remembering the substance of any longer conversation and this is a great pity as we may miss out on knowledge, wisdom or perhaps good humor that that may have been very worth while. We may ask ourselves why then do we miss so much in a conversation. In most instances it is probably simply because we are so busy working out in our own mind what we are going to say next that we do not hear a great deal of what is actually being said.

Listening well and retaining a greater amount of what we hear is one of many life skills which can easily be learned and indeed built upon by anyone willing to apply themselves to the task with a little extra effort and enthusiasm and a genuine willingness to believe that everyone has a worthwhile contribution to help make the world a much more interesting and indeed better place.

YOU LEARN MORE WHEN YOU LISTEN TO OTHERS THAN WHEN YOU ONLY LISTEN TO YOURSELF

We all have a great deal of confidence that what we think and say to others is very worthwhile and has positive value and generally this confidence is well placed. However, if we readily accept that this is true for ourselves, it stands to reason that it must also be true of almost everyone else.

So this leads us to two areas of knowledge and experience, the first being our own and the second being the knowledge and experience of everyone else we have interaction with. Unfortunately, whether we like to admit it or not, many of us have not successfully learn't the very important skill of becoming good listeners. We may believe that we do listen well to others. However, experience tells us that in reality we are much happier listening to ourselves talk than actually spending time listening to others. Of course we all have a worthwhile contribution to make to any conversation in which we participate and we have every right to this expectation and to be able to interact verbally with others in any reasonable and polite manner we wish.

What we need to consider doing is to remember that we already know the things we are going to talk about; we do not really need to hear them ourselves over and over. It is worthwhile to believe it is of value to us to hold back on our desire to impart our knowledge and wisdom and instead spend time to take a genuine interest, in not only listening to others in a superficial way but truly taking on board what the ideas, feelings and emotions they are expressing tell us about their concept of the world and their view and understanding of who they believe they are. I believe that this is especially important in dealing with our family and good friends because it is in our relationships with these people that we build most of the love, trust, faith and respect that contributes such an enormous amount to whether we have a happy life or one filled with stress, worry and unhappiness.

At this point, some of you reading this may well be saying to yourself, I am not sure that I like this fellow suggesting that I am not good at listening to people I talk with. It is very true that many of us definitely have good skills in this area. However, there are very few of us who will not gain some benefit from trying to be more conscious of just holding back a little and allowing others to have a longer say. I certainly have been guilty at times of wanting people to listen to what I have to say without showing them the same respect and opportunity. Fortunately over many years, my lovely wife, who I believe must have learnt this skill quite young, has managed to educate me to pay much more attention to others, in particular my daughter and son who I had a very bad habit of cutting short in their conversations as they were growing up, so I could impart my wisdom about whatever they were trying to discuss, very big mistake. Please give them every opportunity to talk to you as it is the very best way to understand and accept who they are. Now, I need to complete my education and stop interrupting my wife and I will really be popular at home.

If you are still not convinced that you may have a few things to learn about what we are discussing, consider something as simple as when someone we know introduces us to a stranger. We acknowledge them and usually exchange pleasantries. However, even though we have just been told their name, how often does it happen that by the time we finish this normally short conversation, we cannot remember the name of this new person we have just interacted with. If we are honest with ourselves, we know it happens quite regularly but we should not try to sell ourselves the idea that we just have a poor memory and this is why, it is normally, simply that we did not truly listen when we were introduced. If it is so easy not to concentrate on retaining something as simple as a Christian name, we are all going to have substantial difficulty remembering the substance of any longer conversation and this is a great pity as we may miss out on knowledge, wisdom or perhaps good humor that that may have been very worth while. We may ask ourselves why then do we miss so much in a conversation. In most instances it is probably simply because we are so busy working out in our own mind what we are going to say next that we do not hear a great deal of what is actually being said.

Listening well and retaining a greater amount of what we hear is one of many life skills which can easily be learned and indeed built upon by anyone willing to apply themselves to the task with a little extra effort and enthusiasm and a genuine willingness to believe that everyone has a worthwhile contribution to help make the world a much more interesting and indeed better place.

MAKE A SINCERE EFFORT TO BECOME FRIENDS WITH TECHNOLOGY

I promised myself when I set out to write this small book, not to include too many stories about myself. However, for this chapter, I will relate a short story which does qualify as about myself.

I entered into the Insurance and Finance industry at a reasonably young age. Right from the beginning, I was self employed and operated my own business. Fortunately for me, my father-in-law was a very successful business man in the same industry and I thank him very much for his help and encouragement over many years, which without doubt, was substantially responsible for assisting me to stay in the industry for almost twenty-five years.

From the mid nineteen seventies to the mid nineteen nineties I was able to successfully operate my business with a minimum of involvement in the ever growing world of new computer technology. However, it became increasingly difficult for me to ignore the need for accepting and indeed embracing the new technological world. Firstly, we were introduced to the marvels of the Lap Top. We were unable to conduct a large portion of our business activities any longer because much of the information required was only available through computer programs. Then it became necessary to have the you-beaut elaborate desk top computer as well to process and store all the different information required. Now, of course, it required the employment of a secretary and an office administrator to oversee the operations in the office. My business world was rapidly changing. More and more processes were only possible by computer and it became a dominant part of the daily operations.

Now, this brings me to the reason why I began the chapter with this story about myself. For the truth was, although I was physically embracing all these changes, emotionally and spiritually, I most definitely was not. My mind set was almost one hundred percent against all the changes. I enjoyed the way I had built my business, particularly as a person to person association with my clients, many, many of whom became my close friends over the years. Over time, I came to deeply resent the changes brought about by the technology and also the huge changes in Government legislation and corporate power. I allowed myself to become more and more isolated from the main stream flow of the industry and also from my business colleges and as a consequence became more and more unhappy with my business and my life. Sadly, I allowed this situation to come to a point in the mid nineties, where it severely affected my health and I was forced to sell my business and leave the industry forever.

The important point I want to pass on from this tale is that I have been able, after many years, to finally realise and understand, that almost all of the unfortunate circumstances that occurred over this period were not brought about by the actual changes themselves, but because of my stubborn rejection and my unwillingness to accept and acknowledge that they were a perfectly acceptable and normal progression of the business world, and indeed the world in general.

I am not foolish enough to suggest to you that all change is for the good. However, what I would suggest is that we all take a very hard look at all changes as they arise and consider the positive possibilities which open up to us from these changes and do not dwell on the past situation to much. We need to open our minds to the future with enthusiasm and high expectations of it allowing us to have a more abundant and happy time ahead, instead of allowing the past to crush our spirits and destroy our passion for what lays in front of us.

There is a saying. God, please give me the strength to change the things I can, to accept the things I cannot change and the wisdom to recognize the difference. Please think on all these things and consider seriously accepting change and in particular make technology your good friend.

SOLID ROCK

Many of the truly great structures of the ancient world, such as the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Egypt, the great Maya cities of Tikal, Palenque, Chichenitza in the Yucatan Peninsula and the Temple City of Teotihuacan in Mexico, all have a number of similarities, many of which are very obvious to us. Firstly, we see they are all very large and substantial structures. Next, we may notice they are all built of stone, being the only permanent building material available in ancient times. Thirdly, that they are all very old. In some instances, they have stood for five thousand years.

However, the most important characteristic they all have in common is not always so apparent and so obvious, and this singular feature that unites them all is the foundations upon which all these great structures are built. Thousands and thousands of tonnes of rock, sand, soil, coral and coal, all of the building materials that mankind had discovered are suitable and reliable for this purpose, provide the basis upon which all these dramatic structures have been able to stand and continue to survive down through the ages to the present time. The obvious lesson to be learnt from this knowledge is that the only way for anything we create to grow and become something of substance and permanence in our live, is if it is built on a rock solid base.

It is very important to realise that although we have, up to now been using the physical structure of ancient buildings as an example, the truth is that almost everything in our lives needs to have a strong base to build upon if it is to stand firm over the years and indeed to continue to grow and to flourish. Anything of longevity has to have a solid beginning. Let us examine some situations where this is easily shown. Building a business requires us to firstly have a creative idea, visualize the progressive results, see potential obstacles to our success, then we begin to build the physical structures we need to power our new business. Perhaps it is a good office building or enough factory space or machinery that will adequately accomplish producing our new clients orders. It would also involve making sure we acquire the best staffing personnel to operate the business smoothly and with efficiency.

The basic structure could be almost anything. However it must be strong, solid and of excellent quality for its specific purpose and most of all well planned and executed in its application.

This now brings us to consider what is probably the most important application of all for this simple, basic idea of a solid foundation, and this is to apply it to our personal, individual lives. Having a stable, well defined plan for how we would like to develop our lives and grow with the lives of those people around us whom we love and cherish is the key to a life filled with love and happiness, harmony and personal achievement. It helps enable us to develop good ethics and life principals we can apply to ourselves and use as living examples to our children. It creates stability in our work lives, enjoyment of our sporting and leisure activities and quality time spent with our life partner and children. Indeed, there is no facet of our life that will not be enhanced by good planning and earnest application.

There is another important thing which should be considered when we discuss the principal of the solid base and that is, there will be times when we will find it necessary to consider some fundamental changes to your base. Life is never stable enough and unchangeable that we will not have to consider making adjustments to our building plans at some times in our life. This is completely normal and you should make every effort to effect these changes in the most calm, organized and practical manner you are capable of. Do not be afraid of the changes. If you make them in an orderly and considered manner, they will cause very little disruption and indeed place you back on your path with ease. Remember our ancient buildings and consider the future results if builders and subsequent caretakers did not make adjustments to the foundations when structural or design errors were discovered.

Also, please do not forget the spiritual structure of your life, which ever form it takes for you. It to can be greatly enhanced by planning and organization while you work upon your personal beliefs to build a spiritual path that will take you and indeed those people around you on a more happy, loving and contented journey through your life.

CONSIDER THE MIDDLE PATH.

If you stood at the beginning of a journey that you were about to undertake, and you were told of three roads you could travel that would all definitely take you to the destination you wanted to arrive at, and each of the three ways were described in the following manner. The first road is through the mountain ranges, deep valleys, sheer sided mountain cliffs, constant rock falls and a narrow treacherous trail. The second road is along the foothills of the ranges, easy rolling ridges to cross, shady trees covering the well defined road and an abundance of streams flowing with crystal clear water to be easily crossed. The third road heads out away from the mountains into the desert, nothing but sand, heat, dry winds and no water, plus a road that often completely disappears due to the constantly changing landscape, making it easy to loose your way.

With these choices to make, which of the roads do you think you would choose? I would suggest that most of us would elect to journey the second road along the foothills of the mountains, in another term, the middle path. Yet, every minute, hour, day and week we see many of us choose the more difficult roads to continue our life journey, making choices which cause us and others to suffer such things as fear, loss, jealousy, anger and many other feelings and emotions that either immediately or eventually mean will have a rather unhappy life.

Taking into account that there are many situations which arise in our lives that we believe we have no direct choice about, how do we make the right decision about the road to travel? It is a huge question, and the first thing to keep in mind is that we will never be able to make the right choice every time. It is impossible. Does this mean we should not bother to try? Absolutely not, because we have within us the power to make choices and we have a free will to journey our life road in our own way. There is always going to be some cost no matter which decision we make. However, if we choose to look more often for the good, or at the very least, some benefit that can come out of our adversity, we are using our common sense, and we are also using our desire for harmony in our life and an ability to believe we can stay in control of our life and all these attributes help us to look for potential dangers and conversely benefits we can create for ourselves, our loved ones and the whole of the world.

Remember that our life is not about the destination, it is only about the quality of the journey we make to bring us there, for we already know that the final destination of our earthly travels will see us leave this world. What we do not know is what will be the quality and substance of the life journey we choose to help us arrive at this place. Whether you decide to believe or not to believe that you have a choice in which path you choose can only be left up to you to decide. However, please be assured that for very much of your life journey you are able to make free choices and if most of these choices are to always follow the middle path, you will create a life which for the most part is filled with love, happiness, satisfaction and achievement and most of all a sense of a valuable life well lived.

CONSIDER THE MIDDLE PATH.

If you stood at the beginning of a journey that you were about to undertake, and you were told of three roads you could travel that would all definitely take you to the destination you wanted to arrive at, and each of the three ways were described in the following manner. The first road is through the mountain ranges, deep valleys, sheer sided mountain cliffs, constant rock falls and a narrow treacherous trail. The second road is along the foothills of the ranges, easy rolling ridges to cross, shady trees covering the well defined road and an abundance of streams flowing with crystal clear water to be easily crossed. The third road heads out away from the mountains into the desert, nothing but sand, heat, dry winds and no water, plus a road that often completely disappears due to the constantly changing landscape, making it easy to loose your way.

With these choices to make, which of the roads do you think you would choose? I would suggest that most of us would elect to journey the second road along the foothills of the mountains, in another term, the middle path. Yet, every minute, hour, day and week we see many of us choose the more difficult roads to continue our life journey, making choices which cause us and others to suffer such things as fear, loss, jealousy, anger and many other feelings and emotions that either immediately or eventually mean will have a rather unhappy life.

Taking into account that there are many situations which arise in our lives that we believe we have no direct choice about, how do we make the right decision about the road to travel? It is a huge question, and the first thing to keep in mind is that we will never be able to make the right choice every time. It is impossible. Does this mean we should not bother to try? Absolutely not, because we have within us the power to make choices and we have a free will to journey our life road in our own way. There is always going to be some cost no matter which decision we make. However, if we choose to look more often for the good, or at the very least, some benefit that can come out of our adversity, we are using our common sense, and we are also using our desire for harmony in our life and an ability to believe we can stay in control of our life and all these attributes help us to look for potential dangers and conversely benefits we can create for ourselves, our loved ones and the whole of the world.

Remember that our life is not about the destination, it is only about the quality of the journey we make to bring us there, for we already know that the final destination of our earthly travels will see us leave this world. What we do not know is what will be the quality and substance of the life journey we choose to help us arrive at this place. Whether you decide to believe or not to believe that you have a choice in which path you choose can only be left up to you to decide. However, please be assured that for very much of your life journey you are able to make free choices and if most of these choices are to always follow the middle path, you will create a life which for the most part is filled with love, happiness, satisfaction and achievement and most of all a sense of a valuable life well lived.