The Other Side of the Fence - The Rights of the Rich (well maybe not rich but tax-payer anyway)

In my last blog I was ranting about the inevitable (in my belief) rise in unemployment due to technology replacing many occupations. At some stage in my rant I felt myself starting to argue that most people who are unemployed do not wish to be jobless and they are not worthless human beings; so who foots the bill for all the unemployed who should not be denied assistance aka "a hand out"?

This got me on the slippery slope of wanting to say that those who make more should be forced to pay for those who make less or who are unemployed. But whose right is it to force anyone into paying for somebody else? Especially if those who are unemployed do not wish to or can't ever become employed, up skill or contribute to the society?

An example of where a generous state has been abused is England. In this case I believe that they have been picked out as having a soft touch so to speak. A country who lets in all and sundry and doesn't keep proper tabs on those it lets in to make sure they are becoming assets to the society. Now I'm not saying that all of the people who enter England are abusing the system, but I think that enough are so that the liberal immigration policy has been more hindrance than help.

Regardless of different races, creeds and cultures; a country cannot sustain itself by allowing more and more people to immigrate who end up unemployed, uneducated and cannot communicate in the nation's official language and who end up burdening the society.

As I said above, the original problem is not an issue of race, but it becomes an issue of race. There is a brewing undercurrent of racism and resentment towards anyone who doesn't look British, no matter how many generations their families may have been there. If you look like an immigrant, you pretty much are an immigrant in their books. And while I don't condone any adverse affects from this view; I can understand the resentment of the people who have watched their country slide down in part because of this added financial burden on their society.

Unfortunately, England's attempt at altruism as bitten them in the backside. And adds to my conflict about whether a government has a right to demand that the wealthy pay for the poor and take out the money out of someone's tax.

Now I know that this example of many unemployed immigrants is different from many people being made redundant who have lived and worked in that country all their lives but in the end it comes down to whether the rich should be forced to pay for the poor.

This is probably the main point that makes people feel a bit uncomfortable about the ideas of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Is this movement, as many people say, just about a group greedy people who are envious of the lifestyles of the rich and believes the world owes them a living? Personally I don't think so at all; at least, I don't think this is the motivation for most of the protesters.

I assume that these types of discussions are the kind that are occurring between the protesters putting heads together and I hope someone has some kind of breakthrough to some kind of system that is fair but keeps people's personal freedoms intact. A noble prize should go to that person.

Technology's Role in Forcing a New World Order.

Before you immediately assume I'm going to attack technology and its increased presence in occupations - I'm not.

Fact - technology will continue to be developed and implemented to make most jobs performed by people today obsolete for logical reasons of increased productivity and keeping costs down.

Fact - the speed of technology replacing jobs is far outstripping new jobs being created.

Outcome - unemployment will likely increase in the future, even discounting any economic recessions due to this technological progress.

I'm not referring to some science fiction story, this is actually happening. And I am not against it. Technology has (nearly) always been used to improve our lives and free up our time to think and pursue our dreams and potential. But we need to realize that as we enter in to this new era (which like the dawn of the computer age will likely gain it's own momentum and get faster and faster) we need to think a further down the road and how this will affect people in employment.

As this article argues (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201109/are-jobs-we-know-them-becoming-obsolete) we already have enough resources to provide for everyone's needs on the planet. So why aren't we doing this?

I think it comes down to the common belief that people are only entitled to resources if they work for it and contribute to society (to be honest I'm one of these people who thinks this, however my thoughts on this have been challenged of late).

Some of the unemployed people may actually be really lazy and may never want to work and be part of society but I have a hunch the the overwhelming majority of unemployed people wish they had a job. And this is where it upsets my way of thinking - when people want to work and prove to society that they deserve a share - and for whatever reason - various disabilities, economic recession, poverty (that contributes to lack of education and being well presented), technology making them redundant - these people all slip through the cracks and are no longer deserving of a slice of the pie.

In the words of the Love Police (a movement, not a band) "If you do not have a job, you are a worthless human being".

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=188975267784344

And I've been there for only 3 weeks - I was unemployed and I did feel like a worthless human being. I can only imagine the heart ache and then eventual numbness of a person who has been in unemployment for a long period of time. Feeling the gazes of judgement on you and then being ignored totally as a lost cause.

I always feel a storm of mixed feelings when I see a person begging - anger, sympathy, pain, sickness, helplessness. I am angry at them for being there and making me feel confused and upset and never knowing what to do. They make me feel angry because I am fearful about what circumstances happened in their life to put them in that position and what are the chances that that could be me one day for whatever reason? Would people walk around me so easily? How would I ask for help? Would I sit there with a sign? Carry a baby or a dog around? Spend my days playing the same three songs over and over again on my harmonica at the train station?

Then I wonder what the government is doing to help them. Why are there people here stalking the metros and people brush it off as completely normal?

But coming back to the point that there is a universal (from what I have seen) belief that you are only entitled to resources if you are employed and that someone who isn't working for whatever reason is viewed as a "worthless human being" looking for a "hand-out" and who's opinions are worth less than a person who is in employment.

So as unemployment rises does this means that a smaller amount of people will have a say in the governing of the country (hypothetical country not any in particular) and go back to a situation echoing medieval times when only those with land could participate in matters of state? Or will the "99%" as it were, vote to change system in a way that will benefit the growing number of unemployed?

We may have to accept that something needs to change to create new opportunities for the unemployed and I don't mean we stop technological progress. That would be out and out stupid. But this is a situation that we will be confronted with. Something will have to change eventually.

"Resource based economy" is a phrase that is bandied about a lot these days. Some sort of utopic (is that even a word? Utopia -utopic?) vision of a world where resources of food and power are in abundance because of technology. But then with so many jobs no longer filled by people, what do all these unemployed people do exactly with their "free time" and that still does not resolve the question about who gets what of the resources. To think that this would be under the control of a huge "nanny state" has echoes the Chinese Cultural Revolution and the rationing of resources and people's choices were dictated by a government which had their "best interests at heart".

I would hope that enough people would have learnt from history to not replicate this mistake. But the biggest mistake the Chinese people made in allowing this situation to unfold was to not question authority. And this is why FREEDOM OF SPEECH is so critical to uphold. (See the above link on the Love Police - funny and compelling).

Who really knows what will happen, I just hope that we can all be prepared for change when it does eventually come.

Aside note - I realize that this argument has some huge holes in it, especially when it sounds I'm suggesting that people should get used to the fact that there are going to be more unemployed people and that the employed will just have to suck it up and pay for them. I will jump on the other side of this argument in my next blog.

Protesters and the "Real World"

Facebook is such a wonderful thing for drawing your attention towards bits of news, whether social or no, that you may never have found out on your own.

Okay, it is 10.25pm here and after reading this article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2039409/Eight-arrested-day-Wall-Street-Rage-protests-clogs-New-York-City-sidewalks.html

---- I am burning with passion to tell you why I believe in protesting and why there is always a point to it.

The Article:

Now what got me going was, as usual, not the article itself but I always find the comments on articles more interesting. How did someone else analyse, critique, spin and slot this story to fit in with their own world view? We are all guilty of this.

On this article, which is essentially about people (granted mostly left-wing college students) protesting about the global economic system and banking/ wall street yada yada. Agreed, vague targets, vague demands directed at a.... well... vague system.

Honesty, how many people actually try to understand about all the aspects of engineering that is global economics? I think the deeper down the rabbit hole you go the more you realize there is to it so you either don't have the time or are simply not interested enough to pursue the subject. Understanding economics is almost ethereal to the lay person - like a search for God. "Why are we doing things like this?" "What is it all leading to?" "Who's making this all work?" So instead of looking - we trust to the higher power to look out for our best interests. But unlike the search for God we know there has someone/some people there making the system all work but we don't know if they have our best interests at heart.

Anyway - off tangent on the (perhaps intentional) vagueness and hard to grasp "mystery" that is economics!!!

So these people were protesting and people were commenting on this article and most of the comments were scoffing at the actions and making cruel remarks about personal appearance (that person is fat, clearly by pointing that out you have just won your argument) of the protesters. Of course, when presented with two sides I always tend to side with the under-represented side because I enjoy promoting counter-arguments - but the counter side was just too easy for me this time and I had to post something of my own.

A short and sweet example of the statements made (won't waste your time on the cruel remarks just the thought provoking comments):

"Looks like the protestors consist mostly of college-aged kids who have no idea how the real world operates, because they have yet to operate in it. When they get hungry and their wallets are empty, they can always call up their parents and demand more lunch money be put into their accounts. Thank goodness I totally missed out on that stage of life - I was busy actually going to college and working through the summers in between." - Sue

My analysis of this comment...

Sue is bitter because she too dislikes the way the real world operates and feels angry that she was forced in to conforming and that she felt powerless to do anything about it Therefore, in her reading of the article, she believes these young people with their youthful zeal and ignorance of the "real world" are stupid and she will take some satisfaction from their failure to change things. Because she couldn't change things either.

She takes some pride from her ability to conform to the "real world" through becoming self-sufficient and her understanding of economics. Thank God she didn't have to embarrass herself and display her ignorance by protesting!!!

Chances are, she doesn't understand the "real world" system either, but she doesn't want to make a fool of herself so she conforms. Cloaking herself in her superior intellect by dismissing the non-conformers as juvenile ignorance which will come about with time while working (i.e. not having enough time to question the system that they are now a part of) or a stupidity that can never be cured.

She has taught herself not to question the system... well, at least not publicly (perhaps this also extends to the internet and her paranoia over who may be watching her remarks is greater than mine; but I'm going to think she's probably not actually a radical in disguise).

Anyway with my pseudo-psychological and biased review on where I think her comment came from, I'm going to plow right ahead with my point I made to counter the popular argument!

The vast majority of comments like this I believe come from the disillusioned lot (our parents generation) who believed they could beat the system and ultimately felt like they failed. Perhaps they did fail! And perhaps they didn't... They achieved a lot and world has been changed enormously in that time and in positive ways too - so perhaps they only see the failures in the things they wanted to change but couldn't.

I think this is a major cause behind the attitude of "Been there, done that! Take it from us we tried to change the system [government, economics, human-run elements of life] but now we're a part of it, so give up kid and conform because it'll hurt you more in the long run if you don't wake up and join the "Real World" now."

But what is the "Real World"?

When we talk about the "Real World" in these terms it's all man-made. There is nothing in economics, government, free-trade, property, banking and countless other institutions that affect our daily lives and are a part of the "Real World", that is natural and pre-dates humans. How can this be the "Real World" then? Like a cheap sneaker, our "Real World" is probably completely synthetic and has no decent, breathable ( and frankly less smelly), natural and more valuable leather component anywhere near it. So why do we call our global system that man has made the "Real World" ? And why do we think that this is what we are stuck with and that we are incapable of changing the system?

Here's a few reasons why:

A lack of imagination.

A superiority complex that assumes that the systems of the powerful, white west are the right way to go (Might is Right).

Fear to experiment with a system that now permeates every facet of our lives.

Ignorance of the system in place (whether intended by the powers that govern them or not - and it's certainly not God who's in charge of this man-made system).

Easier to do nothing.

You live the good life whether directly or indirectly as a result of the suffering of others. You do not want to face this fact or loose your pleasures in life so you turn a blind eye.

For whatever reason, there is a reason why we complain, complain, complain and still NOTHING CHANGES. And nothing ever will change UNTIL you face one of these reasons why you are inactive and YOU decide to change it. Because there's that thing that Michael Jackson once said and this thought has been echoed by countless others... "I'm starting with the man in the mirror, I'm asking him to change his ways".

"Be the change you wish to see in the world" - Mahatma Gandhi.

PROTESTERS CHANGE THE WORLD - EVENTUALLY...

Thank God for Protesters because they remind us that all is not right with the status quo. Not everyone is happy - perhaps I should find out why he/she is not happy. Because there may be something I have missed here?? And it gives people another crack at trying to work out what they want from this world. Can you imagine hundreds of years ago when the peasants of Britain protested again and AGAIN over the centuries to be represented in parliament, what would happened if they had given up after that first attempt and no other subsequent generation tried again? Or more recently in the woman's protests to vote? Or for black rights in America?

Just because one generation failed to do something, doesn't mean that we shouldn't try...

By the way, here's what I said on website:

Betty S - " Looks like the protestors consist mostly of college-aged kids who have no idea how the real world operates, because they have yet to operate in it." Rich - "Sadly, there are thousands of people like these who waste their energy and time screaming about how they are not being treated fairly when they could be doing something productive." I agree that these kids are probably protesting because they don't get how the "real world" works. But I disagree that the protesting is a waste of time. Perhaps these kids have not been brainwashed into thinking this is the only system we can have? Instead of doing "something productive", (which probably equates to in your view as getting a job and conforming to a system that they never question) they are raising the question of "why do we do things the way we do?" And in times like these where world economics is a house of cards ready to fall, perhaps this is the best time to be asking those sorts of questions. No?

- Alice, Milan, Italy, 20/9/2011 21:10

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Italy - Some initial impressions gathered

I'm going to start off this blog by saying that I am going to avoid getting in intense here - both because of the other blogs transforming into soapbox stands by the time I ended them (I tend to get really passionate about discussing some things) and also because I have only been in Italy for a month and a half. But since I will be here for about a year I figure and before and after impression might be interesting to catalogue.

Arrived in Gignese (near Lake Maggiore) while on "holiday" This is nowhere near a holiday for Au Pair/Nannys I had heard so I was prepared to be having a full on introduction. Of course, this was going to be a fantastic opportunity to increase my knowledge of Italian and of course forming relationships with the kids before they started back to school in a month's time.

So it wasn't until a month later that I finally got in to Milan, which is not nearly as beautiful as Gignese and is stinking hot and humid and full of mosquitoes at this time of year but I had my FREEDOM again! I must confess that at week 3 I started to feel the cabin fever. I could go walking around and exploring but I was missing meeting with young people and being able to travel easier.

Discovering Milan

Many Italians don't like Milan and were so over the top about asking me "But why Milan???!" (in a comical way of course). It is too unfriendly, stressful and not a beautiful city (but does not having the feeling like it's about to explode like in London).

Another thing that I discovered is that the "fact" that I everyone in Milan dresses amazingly and I would feel pressured to conform is bullshit. As a city it has people of all shapes, sizes and dress senses. But there of course a lot of opportunities to pick yourself up something either from the center from a high end shop or at a market (or by the Metros as I checked out), so you can by on a budget for sure!

Before leaving Italy, advice number on the internet was "Do not discuss politics" and "Do not discuss religion". As you can imagine that these might be particularly explosive topics in New Zealand, you can imagine how much more explosive they can be in the company of Italians. It seems though that younger people do really want to talk about it. Broaching the subject was not too difficult. Both the young guy I met working in Barclays in London (from Italy) and the Italian girl who has befriended me both had stark criticisms (primarily of politics). A documentary was showing at the film festival about whether young people should stay in Italy or leave because of the lack of opportunities and a government which makes it so difficult to stay.

"Il bar" in Italy, is more of a place to pick up an ice-cream, chewing gum, bus tickets and quick shot of coffee here. It is very strange to hear this refereed to as a bar. I think cafes and where you go to drink coffee and alcohol, sit down and have a meal. And then there are places which specialise in Aperitivo which is the BEST idea EVER! Aperitivo is when you go to have "Happy Hour" so you pay 6-8 euro for beers/cocktails/wines and during that time you can help yourself to a buffet of free food. So essentially you can have 2 cocktails and dinner for 16 euro. It's the best!

Speaking of alcohol.... you know how most bars in the world have a strict regulation about how much alcohol you are served per glass of booze (usually with the caps with the ball bearing that serve a measured shot). This does not exist here. They do not care about how much booze they give you, except to get your vodka and soda half vodka, half soda. It reminded me of university parties.

Buses are weird here. Unlike other countries you can't buy a ticket on board, you have to buy one before hand either from a metro or from a bar. It was so weird when I got on at the front of the bus when I first arrived and told the bus driver where I wanted to go and with my euro to give him. He did not respond at all. A man behind me sold me a ticket. I assumed it was this job to do this. Apparently not, as my host family said and because I never saw people doing this again. He was just a kind soul or a clever business man. This also makes it really easy to ride the bus for free though.

That's all I can think of to say right now (brain not functioning well today) so a bit of a departure from the more intense topics but hope you enjoyed.

Big Time "Sell Outs"

While I'm still thinking on Asia I will recount something else I saw that really affected me (which once again contributes to my unease about the way the global economy works).

Boeung Kak Lake:

Elf and I stayed at the Grand View Guest House in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia. I had booked it on the understanding that it had a "grand view" of the lake. Well it may have done, if there was any lake to speak of.

Boeung Kak lake was a large natural lake which is at the heart on Phnom Pehn, but what we saw was a narrow strip of polluted water with sand encroaching and construction equipment on the opposite bank.

The area where we were staying used to be a backpacker haven, but it was being abandoned and the people living there were suffering both from the lack of customers but also because their beloved lake was being destroyed and they were going to be relocated by the government. Of course people were protesting, Elf and I saw it and it was in the newspapers, but after a few days of peaceful protests they were told to stop protesting.

The houses by the lake were now opening directly on to incredibly polluted water, garbage spilling out in to it. It was disgusting and heartbreaking and I remember not being in Phnom Pehn long before I wanted to leave again.

Phnom Pehn has an odd feeling of optimism and growth after Pol Pot killed nearly 2 million of his own countrymen in mid-late 70's. That vibe still haunts the city, as of course many people who lived through that are still alive and the people are still seeking justice for those crimes. Had this not happened, Cambodia may be a very different country today. But it's behind and is a 3rd world country playing catch up now - but at what cost? How much does it need to sacrifice (i.e. Sell out) to wealthier nations that capitalize on the fact that Cambodia is their bitch?

Some people may put this story down to necessary progress; that perhaps the money made by selling this land could be used to benefit the local people. And maybe it will - but I doubt it. There are concerns that by filling in the lake, come rainy season there will be nothing to collect the extra water and the city will flood. This is nature people, where do you think all that water will go? The monsoon isn't going to come along and go "Oh! There's no lake here this year! Better go dump all my water somewhere else!" Also, can you imagine how these families will feel that after hundreds of years living by this lake, suddenly there is no lake and you've been relocated to somewhere, God knows where and in what conditions?

Captain Planet would have a freaking field day. He seriously needs to come back. A film like "Avatar", though completely unoriginal in plot, is great to bring back in to the consciousness of people again. Because this story is really happening there and I'm sure it's happening in places other than Phnom Pehn.

.... And while perhaps most of you will feel your moral compass being turned in favour of this story, what I say next some of you may disagree with....

The Blame Game:

Now take a moment to consider why situations like this happen. Why does a 3rd world country feel it must sell the land the lake occupies to a foreign development company and fill it in? Why a government puts a foreign corporations interests ahead of the interests of the families who live around and rely on the lake for their livelihoods? Because if you have a reason for why these things happen different to mine I would really love to hear it.

In my opinion - these things happen because of idea of free trade.

Frankly I think that free trade is a load of crap. It's modern day slavery on a giant scale. It allows powerful countries to take slaves, like in the old days, except they don't ever have to visit that country! Fantastic! You can just sit on your butt and you never have to ever see your slave, house him, or worry about him sleeping with your wife. And even better - no one considers it as slavery! Because it's "FREE TRADE" and it's WONDERFUL!

The idea, in principal, is fair. But in practice it cannot work when you are asking 3rd world countries to directly compete for business with 1st world countries with corporations to slowly buy other countries bit by bit (if not in land, than buying business). It's like a race between Usain Bolt and a paraplegic. How can we continue to believe in the "fairness" and "freedom" of Free Trade? It's a sham.

What I'm trying to say is...

Please remember that when I say all this stuff I'm not asking you to go out and do anything physical - do what you want to. All I am asking is for you to think and consider these things that are going on. Think about what we are told by politicians, economists and others who we may think:

"well they're more educated and more experienced than me so they must know what they are talking about, so I'm not going to question it".

Do question it! Since when have these people ever been infalliable?

The recent American debt crisis is a prime example. We are in uncharted waters, economically speaking. There has never been a situation like this in the world where there has been this much money, even more debt and inter-connectivity of countries been so thick. It's an orgy and someone is about to blow their load and whole thing is going to end (possibly even little fingers will be lost, like in the conversation I had with one girl from Sussex). They have NO IDEA what is going to happen or how to proceed. They are shitting themselves; that's why the ceiling of borrowing just gets higher and higher. The "science" of economics is becoming even more harder to grasp than the science of climate change. And it cannot sustain itself.

Ever hear that phrase, "Can't teach an old dog new tricks?"As people become older or more educated they either become so confident in their education that they don't want to think in different ways, or they become too lazy to challenge their thinking and find it harder to think in different way - this is when we become "old fuddy duddys" that kids roll their eyes at. So we all need each other to teach each other that we don't know everything - that there are gaping holes in our knowledge and there are new ways of doing things even if you can't imagine it yet. This is why we need young people (or older people to keep their brains open) to use their youthful zeal to introduce new concepts and challenge old ideas, or, as you can imagine, we would still be in the dark ages.

And perhaps we are still emerging in to the light...

Links:

Boeung Kak lake - before and image and piece of news

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43720

Boeung Kak lake - after

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150190459698554&set=a.10150190451268554.339658.626133553&type=1&theater

Protests disrupted

http://www.cohre.org/news/press-releases/cambodia-boeung-kak-residents-meeting-stopped-by-authorities

Asia - A Wake Up Call on Reality

I'm on a real writing vibe at the moment with this blogging so I've decided to roll just straight on in to number two blog of the day!

I wanted to write some of my perceptions on the small amount of Asia (specifically South East Asia) that I have seen. In light of the fact that two of my ex-flatmates Hayley and Tim have been in Thailand and Vietnam respectively; I would find it particularly interesting to get everyone's perceptions on this part of the world. If you care to share...

Arrival to Asia

Frankly, arriving to Bangkok's huge Suvarnabhumi Airport alone at 10pm was terrifying. Thank God Elf was arriving shortly afterwards or as a first time traveller I would have fought the temptation to hide in the bathrooms indefinitely. But with Elf's arrival I knew it was my responsibility to look after him (he needs it sometimes!) so I had to suck it up and together we found the hotel I had booked.

But all of the daily activities have been posted in a travel log on Facebook (under my Notes section) so I'm not going to go over all that again. This blog is for my perceptions on the experience.

South East Asia (SEA) specifically Thailand, Laos and Cambodia as I went to these places, is a culture shock to most people only familiar with the western world. I felt slightly better prepared because during the time I was over-planning every little detail or thing that could go wrong I read up on some of the culture and history, not only to gain a better appreciation while there but to avoid making cultural faux pas and the tourist scams.

While exhilarating, SEA does not allow you to let your guard down (unless you are staying exclusively in a 5 star hotel, in which case you are not seeing a fraction of the story the country has to tell). I will be the first to admit I played it safe and barely scratched the surface but what I saw was an alternating mixture intoxicating, mysterious, terrifying and heart-breaking - a backpacker's dream adventure. It really grabs you and confronts you with things you hadn't expected to find - but a great deal of that interesting stuff that you find is inside. For that reason I would say visiting is a fantastic way to challenge all your old ways of thinking and discovering new thoughts you had never considered before.

I hadn't really planned on going to SEA. My first plan was to head straight to London and spend all my money on Europe. It was my friend Rob (a travel veteran) who suggested to break the travel up and go via SEA; his reason being, "you should see something completely different from Europe first and actually have your money be worth a lot before you're poor in Europe" (not verbatim but that's the gist) and thank God I took his advice.

So what did I discover in SEA other than the fact that I dislike Bangkok taxi drivers?

1. That you should always haggle, but try and let go that feeling of paranoia about how much you are getting ripped off. (You still paid waay to much for that thing you just bought).
2. A sense of humour helps immensely, conduct all social activities with a smile and a soft voice. People find you embarrassing to be around and ignore you if you are legitimately upset and start crying/shouting in frustration etc...
3. Having your food spicy and following it with a shot of moonshine reduces your chances of contracting a tummy bug. In the event this happens - drink some moonshine.
4. People are friendlier the further away they are from big cities.
5. That some people are legitimately poor, starving and suffer from horrendous injuries and disease and that you have the power to help them today. Don't leave it up to their local governments. A lot of governments don't give a shit about the people they are supposed to be looking after.

Confronting my own ignorance

These points are just a few of the tiny lessons I learnt a long the way. But what SEA really made me realize was that I know shit all about the world. A major lesson was that what I considered as "being poor" was not accurate at all.

Now, I had heard about what "poverty" means through the media, stats and doing the 40 hour Famine - but actually going to Laos and Cambodia in particular was the most powerful teaching method. Poor does not mean that you don't have enough money to go out this weekend or buy the latest Smart phone. Being truly poor means that no one is there for you to help you when you have nothing to eat, drink, you are sick and have no skills or education to help you shape your future. These people have no freedom they are totally dependent on people who choose to notice them and help and even now there are places in the world where systems and programmes have not yet been implemented to assist the truly poor.

If this doesn't bother you - IT SHOULD. Here is why:

The sympathetic reason....

Because it very easily could have been you to be born to this existence and for no other reason than human empathy we should strive to make the world better for people outside our small bubble of existence. New Zealand is not my only home. We live on planet Earth and we share it with many other people. Our reality of what kind of world this is, is like living in the Matrix; we can only see what we choose to see and breaking yourself out of your beliefs about what you think life is all about is the scariest part of travelling.

The selfish reason...

As I have come to understand through travelling, reading, watching and many "brain happenings inside my head" (bad quote from King Julian - Madagascar) - people often become assholes when they want something they can't get (*cough* London riots). Their government has failed its people and has allowed millions to fall by the wayside. Whatever the reason as to how this came about (personally I blame the way world economics operates but that's a debate for another time and place) people are pissed off. And if enough people get pissed off a lot then shit hits the fan (*cough* Middle East uprisings). So if you think you can go through life being happy as Larry (however happy that dude is) thinking that you're an island and this can't possibly affect you in some way one day - you are dead wrong. Your own self-interest should inspire you to invest in keeping the underdog happy.

When something that doesn't fit in your understanding is shoved rudely in your face, you either do the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" monkey pose or you face it and try to work it out. Clearly you will see that my belief is that EVERYONE should face what they don't understand and TRY to understand it.

Okay - that's enough of a rant for today! I hope everyone had fun. There was more I picked up from Asia, but this was the kicker.

Hope to hear your thoughts, if anyone is listening...

Pre-Travel Anxiety and Letting it Go.

Va bene! (OK)

After almost a year after setting up this blogspot and doing nothing with it I have kicked the squatters out and will now refurbish my blog. Possibly writing blogs about changes that have occurred within this time frame would be a good starting point to reboot it.

A year ago - Pre-Travel Anxiety

A year ago I was recovering from an operation to remove my appendix after it decided to "pack it in". During this time I visited a Naturopath in Hawkes' Bay who "determined" (with a machine, a metallic pen looking object and some of my saliva on a piece of paper) that the reason my appendix burst was because of my inability let my life flow naturally as I couldn't trust the world or my own ability to look after myself.

For those who dislike the "namby-pamby" turn of phrase, we can simply put it down to stress. As we all know stress (among other things) contributes to poor digestion, weight gain around organs, weakening of the immune system, ulcers and blood clots etc., all of which contribute to appendicitis. So after several days of using a technique to re-programme my subconscious with positive affirmations, one of the peculiar things I noticed was that the burping I had been doing a lot more off since 2nd year of university had stopped and went back to the normal only after fizzy drinks thing. So needless to say if the technique works why stop with a good thing? I am still using the subconscious reprogramming technique occasionally.

Before travelling I had been in a state of mind of considering every conceivable thing that could go wrong and coming up with solutions to problems that did not exist yet. Now this is not necessarily a bad thing, but I could have done all that planning ahead with less stress attached (and in retrospect spend a little less money - though I now have lifetime first line of defense against rabies so there is that!)

My stress was all a mind set and eventually I got to the point where I become conscious of my thoughts and so I consciously decided to just start to let go of worrying about the future and trying to live more in the moment and accept things as they come. This is not easy as anyone who has tried this will attest to. It requires attempting to be constantly vigilant of your thoughts and monitoring how your body responds to it. But when you notice what's going on you can control it.

I read a book by a man called Eckhart Tolle called The Power of Now. It came endorsed by a host of celebrity devotees such as Oprah Winfrey, Jim Carrey, Annie Lennox as well as personal friends and while I wouldn't say that the book completely revolutionized my life I would definitely say that it gave me a LOT to think about regarding my life; how I can to be more aware of it and thereby live in a more conscious proactive way, not in a reactive way. To become the Captain of my own ship and knowing every detail about the goings on on board so to speak. I still consider the ideas that came from that book and for that I am grateful for the book's existence and the opportunity to read it.

(For those who are interested her is a link Power of Now quotes

http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/4493.Eckhart_Tolle )

So however you perceived my attitude towards leaving, I was in actual fact a nervous wreck and perhaps (if you believe it) my appendix was screaming at me to get the message to CHILL OUT! Appendix won - for two weeks I was forced to do this and reflect at home as I recovered.

If you are about to undergo a life changing event and are anxious about it, I hope what I have learnt will assist you in some way :)