Wisdom of the world - Week 165

Mustard Seeds
A grieving mother approached Buddha, carrying the body of her dead child in her arms. She begged him, "I know you can bring him back to life." Buddha replied, "Death is inevitable; I cannot restore his life." The woman was devastated, and was not prepared to accept this answer. Seeing her pain, Buddha said, "I can bring your child back to life, but only if you bring me mustard seeds from a person who has never had a death in his family."
Hearing these words, a hope was awakened within the grieving mother's heart. Immediately she rushed out to beg. She knocked at the first door and asked for some mustard seeds. The middle-aged lady answering the door was very kind and asked her to wait a moment. The woman asked, "There has not been a death in your family, has there?" The lady started crying and said, "Six months ago my husband died in his sleep." The mother was disappointed and she moved on.
The second person she approached was a young man, who said that his grandfather had passed away only a few days earlier. The third was an old woman whose grown up son and daughter-in-law had been killed in an accident. One after the other, the woman found that someone or the other had died in every family.
By the time the woman returned to Buddha, she was full of compassion for her village and realised the truth that death touches us all.

Wisdom of the world - Week 164

Two Jars
The preacher placed two identical jars on the table next to the pulpit.
"These jars came from the same factory, were made of the same materials, and can hold the same amount. But they are different," he explained.
Then he upset one of the jars and it oozed out honey. He turned over the other jar, and vinegar spilled out.
"When a jar is upset, whatever is in it comes out. Until the jars were upset, they looked alike. The difference was within, and could not be seen. When they were upset, their contents were revealed."

Wisdom of the world - Week 163

Changing Attitude

“Over the course of one year, give a coin to each person who offends or upsets you,” instructed the abbot of a young man who wanted people to follow a spiritual path.
For the next twelve months, a boy gave a coin to each person who offended of upset him, as he was instructed. At the end of the year, he returned to the abbot to find out what the next steps were.
“Go into town and buy food for me,” the abbot responded.
Once the boy left, the abbot changed his clothes, and disguised himself as a beggar and went to the gate. When the boy approached, he began to insult him.
“Good!” said the boy, “for a whole year I had to pay the people who upset or offended me, and now I can be attacked for free, without spending anything!”
Hearing this, the abbot removed his disguise. “He who does not take insults seriously, is on the path to wisdom.”

Wisdom of the world - Week 162

 

Does The Master Not Suffer With Bad Disciples

A disciple asked Firoz:
"The mere presence of a master causes all sorts of curious people to gather round, to discover something beneficial. Can't this be a hindrance and negative? Can't this divert the master from his path, or cause him to suffer because he could not teach that which he wished?"
Firoz, the Sufi master, replied:
"The sight of an avocado tree laden with fruit whets the appetite of all those who pass by. If someone wishes to satisfy his hunger beyond his needs, he will eat more avocados than necessary, and will be sick. However, this causes no indigestion to the man who owns the avocado tree.
It is the same with our Search. The path must be open to all; but it is for God to set the limits of each individual."

Paulo Coelho

Wisdom of the world - Week 161

Does The Master Not Suffer With Bad Disciples

A disciple asked Firoz:
"The mere presence of a master causes all sorts of curious people to gather round, to discover something beneficial. Can't this be a hindrance and negative? Can't this divert the master from his path, or cause him to suffer because he could not teach that which he wished?"
Firoz, the Sufi master, replied:
"The sight of an avocado tree laden with fruit whets the appetite of all those who pass by. If someone wishes to satisfy his hunger beyond his needs, he will eat more avocados than necessary, and will be sick. However, this causes no indigestion to the man who owns the avocado tree.
It is the same with our Search. The path must be open to all; but it is for God to set the limits of each individual."


Paulo Coelho

Wisdom of the world - Week 160

 

Why Are You Crying

A man knocked at his friend’s door to ask him a favour:
“I want you to lend me four thousand dinars because I have a debt to pay. Can you do that for me?”
The friend asked his wife to gather together everything they had of value, but even so it was not enough. They had to go out and borrow money from the neighbours until they managed to get the full amount.
When the man left, the woman noticed that her husband was crying.
“Why are you sad? Now that we’ve got ourselves in debt with our neighbours, are you afraid we won’t be able to repay them?”
“Nothing of the sort! I’m crying because he is someone I like so much, but even so I had no idea he was in need. I only remembered him when he had to knock on my door to ask me for a loan.”
Paulo Coelho

Wisdom of the world - Week 159

The Prince and the Dark Horse

There was once a young prince who, having reached the age of maturity, left home to live on a grand estate given to him by his father. He was told that if he ever needed help he was to put a light in the uppermost tower window, and his father would send a special horse and carriage to carry him to safety.
However, his father also warned him that an evil wizard, an enemy of the kingdom, lived not too far from his new home. The prince was told to be wary when setting his signal, for this wizard would also see this light and might himself send his own horse and carriage to carry the prince off to who knows what kind of danger.
Of course, this frightened the young ruler-to-be. After all, how would he be able to tell the difference? His father assured him there was a foolproof measure. Each time, before entering the rescue carriage, he was to closely examine the horse pulling it. A light-coloured horse would always take him to safety, but a dark horse would always take him to danger.
As one might imagine, many of the ordeals that come with the ruling life befell the prince, each one causing him to put a light in the window. And for many months, because he was in such a rush to escape his castle when he felt in danger, he failed to heed his father's warning; time and time again he neglected to examine the horse that came to get him. As a result he often found himself on one painful wild ride after another where, too late, he realised his inattentiveness was causing him as much distress as the condition he was trying to escape.
Eventually, he found the presence of mind before he would get into the carriage that had come for him to see if the horse pulling it had been sent by the evil wizard or by his father.

Guy Finley

Extreme Rose Pruning!!!

Wisdom of the world - Week 158

Loving the People

My son Paul got a job with a large chain of music shops. He had never worked in a retail organisation before. The pay was based on a small salary plus commission. They put him through an extensive sales training. It was the usual stuff on how to approach a customer, present the product and mostly of course, close the deal and make the sale! It was almost like a car dealer's pitch, "Do you want the red car or the white?"
He wasn't doing well. To make matters worse, they had an embarrassing gimmick. A photographer was based in the car park and took a picture of every customer who left without carrying anything. These photos were posted on what they called "The Be Back" board in the employees canteen. Many of the "I'll be back" customers were his.
Paul dropped by for coffee one morning. He said, "Mam, you used to be in sales. What am I doing wrong? What's the key?" I answered him, "The key is that you have to love those people you are selling to. Never count the commission in your mind. Do what is best for them if they are just buying some strings or an expensive guitar."
I went on "I believe that 99% of communication is mental. People sense if you are coming to them with a loving attitude or as a desperate salesman looking to close them."
He said he'd try it.
His sales started coming in. Then they really escalated. He became the top salesman in the shop. And his salary reflected it. (the management started to watch him carefully to make sure he wasn’t giving stock away) In six months, he was one of the top ten salesman in the entire chain out of 40 around the country. This company gives an extravagant party once a year to honour their top ten salespeople. Limos, deluxe hotel, elegant dinner - the works. Paul was of course included.
After the dinner, the president of the company approached him.
He said, "Paul, how did you do this? You came up out of nowhere."
Paul answered, "I don't want to tell you. You won't believe me."
"Of course I'll believe you. Tell me."
Paul gulped. "I started loving the people who come in."
The big boss replied, "Okay Paul, now tell me how you REALLY did it."

Wisdom of the world - Week 157

The Chess Game


A young man said to the abbot from the monastery: "I’d actually like to be a monk, but I haven’t learned anything in life. All my father taught me was to play chess, which does not lead to enlightenment. Apart from that, I learned that all games are a sin."
"They may be a sin but they can also be a diversion, and who knows, this monastery needs a little of both," was the reply. The abbot asked for a chess board, sent for a monk and told him to play the young man. But before the game began, he added:
"Although we need diversion, we cannot allow everyone to play chess the whole time. So, we only have the best players here; if our monk loses, he will leave the monastery and his place will be yours."
The abbot was serious. The young man knew he was playing for his life, and broke into a cold sweat; the chess board became the centre of the world.
The monk began badly. The young man attacked, but then saw the saintly look on the monk’s face; at that moment, he began playing badly on purpose. After all, he would rather lose; a monk is far more useful to the world.
Suddenly, the abbot threw the chess board to the floor.
"You have learned far more than was taught you," he said. "You concentrated yourself enough to win, were capable of fighting for that which you desire. Then, you had compassion, and were willing to make a sacrifice in the name of a noble cause.
Welcome to the monastery, because you know how to balance discipline with compassion."

Paulo Coelho

Wisdom of the world - Week 156

Two drops of oil

A merchant sent his son to learn the Secret of Happiness from the wisest of men. The young man wandered through the desert for forty days until he reached a beautiful castle at the top of a mountain. There lived the sage that the young man was looking for.
However, instead of finding a holy man, our hero entered a room and saw a great deal of activity; merchants coming and going, people chatting in the corners, a small orchestra playing sweet melodies, and there was a table laden with the most delectable dishes of that part of the world. The wise man talked to everybody, and the young man had to wait for two hours until it was time for his audience.
With considerable patience, he listened attentively to the reason for the boy’s visit, but told him that at that moment he did not have the time to explain to him the Secret of Happiness. He suggested that the young man take a stroll around his palace and come back in two hours' time.
"However, I want to ask you a favour, “he added, handing the boy a teaspoon, in which he poured two drops of oil. "While you walk, carry this spoon and don't let the oil spill."
The young man began to climb up and down the palace staircases, always keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. At the end of two hours he returned to the presence of the wise man.
"So," asked the sage, "did you see the Persian tapestries hanging in my dining room? Did you see the garden that the Master of Gardeners took ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?"
Embarrassed, the young man confessed that he had seen nothing. His only concern was not to spill the drops of oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.
"So, go back and see the wonders of my world," said the wise man. "You can't trust a man if you don't know his house."
Now more at ease, the young man took the spoon and strolled again through the palace, this time paying attention to all the works of art that hung from the ceiling and walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around the palace, the delicacy of the flowers, the taste with which each work of art was placed in its niche. Returning to the sage, he reported in detail all that he had seen.
"But where are the two drops of oil that I entrusted to you?" asked the sage.
Looking down at the spoon, the young man realized that he had spilled the oil.
"Well, that is the only advice I have to give you," said the sage of sages. "The Secret of Happiness lies in looking at all the wonders of the world and never forgetting the two drops of oil in the spoon."

Wisdom of the world - Week 155

Should He Bite Me
One time a large stone fell upon Snake and covered her so that she could not rise. A man came upon her and lifted the stone, but when he had done so, she wanted to bite him. The man said, "Stop! Let us first go to someone wise." They went to Hyena, and the m Man asked him, "Is it right that Snake should want to bite me, even though I helped her so much?"
Hyena (who was looking for his own share of the man's body) said, "If you were bitten, what would it matter?" So Snake thought that settled it, but the man said again, "Wait a little, and let us go to other wise people, that I may hear whether this is right." They went and met Jackal, and the man put the same question to him.
Jackal replied, "I don't believe that Snake could ever be so covered by a stone that she could not rise. Unless I saw it with my two eyes, I wouldn't believe it. Take me to the place where you say it happened so I can see for myself whether it can possibly be true."
They went together to that place, and Jackal said, "Snake, lie down, and let yourself be covered." Snake did so, and the man covered her with the stone; and although she tried with all her strength Snake couldn't get up. Then the man wanted to let Snake go again, but Jackal stopped him saying, "Don't life the stone. She wanted to bite you, therefore, let her get up and lift it herself."
Then they both went away and left Snake there, just as before.

Roger D. Abrahams

Wisdom of the world - Week 154

The handwriting on the wall

A weary mother returned from the store
Lugging groceries through the kitchen door.
Awaiting her arrival was her eight-year-old son
Anxious to relate what his younger brother had done.

"While I was out playing and Dad was on a call
T.J. took his crayons and wrote on the wall!
It's on the new paper you just hung in the den
I told him you'd be mad at having to do it again."

She let out a moan and furrowed her brow
"Where is your little brother right now?"
She emptied her arms and with a purposeful stride
She marched to his closet where he had gone to hide.

She called his full name as she entered his room
He trembled with fear -- he knew that meant doom!
For the next ten minutes, she ranted and raved
About the expensive wallpaper and how she had saved.

Lamenting all the work it would take to repair
She condemned his actions and total lack of care.
The more she scolded, the madder she got
Then stomped from his room, totally distraught.

She headed for the den to confirm her fears
When she saw the wall, her eyes flooded with tears.
The message she read pierced her soul with a dart
It said, "I Love Mommy," surrounded by a heart.

Well, the wallpaper remained, just as she found it
With an empty picture frame hung to surround it.
A reminder to her, and indeed to all
Take time to read the handwriting on the wall.

Wisdom of the world - Week 153

Paying Double For Camels

A camel dealer reached a village to sell fine animals at a very good price. Everyone bought one, except Mr. Hoosep.
Some time later, the village received a visit from another dealer, with excellent camels, but they were much more expensive. This time, Hoosep bought some animals.
“You did not buy the camels when they were almost for free, and now you pay almost double,” criticized his friends.
“Those cheap ones were very expensive for me, because at that time I had very little money,” answered Hoosep, “these animals might seem more expensive, but for me they are cheap, because I have more than enough to buy them.”

Wisdom of the world - Week 152

Puppies For Sale

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the 4 pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy.
"Hey farmer," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."
"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, "These puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money."
The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer.
"I've got thirty-nine cent. Is that enough to take a look?"
"It is," said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle. "Here, Dolly!" he called.
Out from the kennel and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur. The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight. As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the kennel.
Slowly another little ball appeared this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner, the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up...
"I want that one," the little boy said, pointing to the runt.
The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would."
With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, " I don't run very well myself, and he will need someone who understands."
With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and picked up the little pup. Holding it carefully he handed it to the little boy.
"How much?" asked the little boy... "No charge," answered the farmer, "There's no charge for love."

Keeping Blackspot on roses at bay

It looked like autumn last week as the dead leaves damaged by the winds floated down to the ground. Don’t let this fool you into thinking that things are slowing down in the garden. Quite the opposite. Everything’s shooting up. There’s a new problem coming to light, blackspot on roses. I have asked the help of James Kilkelly from Gardenplansireland to give us some help at combating this perennial problem... organically.

Halt the rise of black spot, organically.

Its back! Black spot has once again raised its ugly mottled head to infect the roses of Ireland (including mine), causing leaf loss, and die back of the plants stems. Black spot (Diplocarpon rosae) is a fungal disease encouraged by much the same conditions that encourage potato blight, which are warm, moist locations with stagnant air. Most Irish roses especially those grown in areas of high rainfall are destined at some stage of their growing life to play host to blackspot.

Maybe you are lucky enough to have never had a run in with blackspot, and therefore you require an introduction to help you identify this plant ill. Blackspot is aptly named, initially appearing as purple or black circular spots with yellow-fringed halos. Over a short period of time these halos spread and join up causing the leaves they appear on to yellow and shed prematurely.

Although blackspot will rarely kill a rose outright, it will however leave you with a sickly, twiggy rose, which flowers poorly due to a lack of its life-giving leaves. Now, there are many combined chemical products available in your garden centre for the control of blackspot, for example Rose-clear, Benlate or Multirose, to name a few. But you may actually have all the raw materials already within your kitchen to create your own homemade, organic and most importantly safe black spot spray.


Method 1, Milk.
Walk across your kitchen as far your fridge. Mix equal parts milk and water, then apply this each week with an atomiser or a sprayer to the upper and lower section of the roses leaves. This milky solution causes an invisible and friendly fungus to form, which will help prevent the formation of the dreaded black spot.


Method 2, Baking soda.
Mix one tablespoon of baking soda or baking powder into one litre of water and add a drop or two of washing up liquid for stickiness. Again, apply this each week with an atomiser or a sprayer to the upper and lower sides of the roses leaves. The baking soda (Sodium bicarbonate) causes the rose leaf surface to become exceedingly alkaline which again prevents the blackspot from thriving. Both method 1 and 2 are effective only if used at the first sign of symptoms.

Method 3, The rake and clippers.
It is important to rake up the withered rose leaves and petals that litter your beds and borders, as these can act as a breeding ground for the blackspot fungus. Also, pick or snip off any live leaves that exhibit black spots, as well as looking unsightly they aid the spread of the disease. All infected rose leaves and clippings should be burnt not composted.

Method 4, The shovel.
When all is said and done, probably the best method of organic black spot control is to plant roses resistant to the disease. And there are quite a few.
Black spot resistant roses include...
Amber Queen (golden yellow),
Iceberg (white),
Trumpeter (red),
Electron (Deep pink),
Helmut Schmidt (Golden yellow),
Just Joey (Creamy peach),
Keepsake (Dark pink),
Las Vegas (Dark peach with yellow highlights),
Peter Frankenfeld (Dark pink),
Polarstern (White),
Precious Platinum (Medium red),
Silver Jubilee (Salmon pink),
Voodoo (Orange),
Love (Crimson red with white backs),
New Year (Orange),
Tournament of Roses (Rose pink),
Bonica (Rose Pink),
Escapade (Mauve-pink),
Europeana (Dark red),
Impatient (Orange-red),
Liverpool Echo (Orange),
Matangi (Red),
Orangeade (Orange-red),
Play Girl (Bright pink),
Playboy (Reddish orange),
Redgold (Golden yellow edged in dark pink),
Regensberg (Pink and white),
Sarabande (Orange-red),
Sexy Rexy (Rose-pink),
Showbiz (Scarlet red),
Viva (Red).


Top Tip
Gareth Austin from Newtowncunningham has a good tip for us too.
“I have another practice on keeping roses disease free, and it comes from the old method of preventing blight on potatoes.
Use Sulphate of Potash in Spring and early summer as a feed for the roses. The growth which develops is less soft and more disease resistant. Also as the foliage is harder they are less prone to pest attack. This method can also be used on your spuds. Mulch in Autumn with Turf or wood ash as a soil improver.”

Photo: Wild roses (dog rose) don’t seem to suffer from blackspot although the leaves did go brown after the cold winds recently.

Wisdom of the world - Week 151

A Taste of Wisdom

An aging Hindu master grew tired of his apprentice complaining and so, one morning, sent him for some salt.
When the apprentice returned, the master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then to drink it.
"How does it taste?" the master asked.
"Bitter," spit the apprentice.
The master chuckled and then asked the young man to take the same handful of salt and put it in the lake.
The two walked in silence to the nearby lake and once the apprentice swirled his handful of salt in the water, the old man said, "Now drink from the lake."
As the water dripped down the young man's chin, the master asked, "How does it taste?"
"Fresh," remarked the apprentice.
"Do you taste the salt?" asked the master.
"No," said the young man.
At this the master sat beside this serious young man, who so reminded him of himself, and took his hands, offering:
"The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains exactly the same. However, the amount of bitterness we taste depends on the container we put the pain in. So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things. Stop being a glass. Become a lake."

Wisdom of the world - Week 150

Keep Driving

One day a young lady was driving along with her father. They came upon a storm, and the young lady asked her father, What should I do?"
He said "keep driving".
Cars began to pull over to the side, the storm was getting worse.
"What should I do." The young lady asked?
"Keep driving," her father replied.
On up a few feet, she noticed that eighteen wheelers were also pulling over. She told her dad, "I must pull over, I can barely see ahead. It is terrible, and everyone is pulling over!"
Her father told her, "Don't give up, just keep driving!"
Now the storm was terrible, but she never stopped driving, and soon she could see a little more clearly. After a couple of miles she was again on dry land, and the sun came out.
Her father said, "Now you can pull over and get out."
She said "But why now?"
He said "When you get out, look back at all the people that gave up and are still in the storm, because you never gave up your storm is now over."

Malladi Venkata Krishna Murthy

Corner 2001 Book Danish Contemporary Art Book

 

Seven day ebay auction 

Magic Lantern Slides c1890 - 1930 ish

Link:Seven day auction on ebay

Wisdom of the world - Week 149

Follow the Rhythm

When I was an adolescent I envied the great ‘ballerinos’ among the children on the street. At parties I used to pretend that I wasenjoying chatting away to every-one. In fact I was terrified of looking ridiculous, and because of that I would not risk a single step.
Until one day a girl called Marcia called out to me in front of everybody: "Come on!"
I said I did not like to dance, but she insisted.
Everyone in the group was looking, and because I was in love (love is capable of so many things!), I could refuse no further.
I did not know how to follow the steps, but Marcia did not stop; she went on dancing as if I were a Rudolf Nureyev.
"Forget the others and pay attention to the bass," she whispered in my ear. "Try to follow its rhythm."
At that moment I understood that we do not always have to learn the most important things; they are already part of our nature.
When we become adults, and when we grow old, we need to go on dancing. The rhythm changes, but music is part of life, and dancing is the consequence of letting this rhythm come inside us.
I still dance whenever I can. With dancing, the spiritual world and the real world manage to co-exist without any conflicts.
As somebody once said, the classic ballerinas are always on tiptoe because they are at the same time touching the earth and reaching the sky.
Paulo Coelho

Wisdom of the world - Week 148

Follow the Rhythm

When I was an adolescent I envied the great ‘ballerinos’ among the children on the street. At parties I used to pretend that I wasenjoying chatting away to every-one. In fact I was terrified of looking ridiculous, and because of that I would not risk a single step.
Until one day a girl called Marcia called out to me in front of everybody: "Come on!"
I said I did not like to dance, but she insisted.
Everyone in the group was looking, and because I was in love (love is capable of so many things!), I could refuse no further.
I did not know how to follow the steps, but Marcia did not stop; she went on dancing as if I were a Rudolf Nureyev.
"Forget the others and pay attention to the bass," she whispered in my ear. "Try to follow its rhythm."
At that moment I understood that we do not always have to learn the most important things; they are already part of our nature.
When we become adults, and when we grow old, we need to go on dancing. The rhythm changes, but music is part of life, and dancing is the consequence of letting this rhythm come inside us.
I still dance whenever I can. With dancing, the spiritual world and the real world manage to co-exist without any conflicts.
As somebody once said, the classic ballerinas are always on tiptoe because they are at the same time touching the earth and reaching the sky.

Paulo Coelho

Wisdom of the world - Week 147

A Positive Disposition
A little girl walked daily to and from school. Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made her daily trip to school. As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with thunder and lightning.
The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school, and she herself feared that the electrical storm might harm her child.
Following the roar of thunder, lightning, through the sky and full of concern, the mother quickly got in her car and drove along the route to her child's school.
As she did so, she saw her little girl walking along, but at each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up and smile. Another and another were to follow quickly, each with the little girl stopping, looking up and smiling.
Finally, the mother called over to her child and asked, "What are you doing?"
The child answered, smiling, "God just keeps taking pictures of me."

Food Sovereignty

Title: Food Sovereignty: Growing Alternatives to the Global Food Crisis

Speaker: Richard Intriago (Head of Small Farmers Association of the Coast of Ecuador and elected representative of (La Conferencia Plurinacional e Intercultural de Soberanía Alimentaria) Intercultural and Plurinational Conference on Food Soverignity in Ecuador

Location: Carndonagh Library, Co.Donegal
Date: Tuesday 12th April 2011
Synopsis of Talk: Jonathan O'Gorman

Richard began by explaining the key differences between “Food Security” and “Food Sovereignity”.
Two commonly used definitions of food security come from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA):
● Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social[23] and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.[24]
● Food security for a household means access by all members at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food security includes at a minimum (1) the ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, and (2) an assured ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways (that is, without resorting to emergency food supplies, scavenging, stealing, or other coping strategies). (USDA)[25]
These definitions raise some key points of debate. For example, who determines what is safe and what is nutritionally adequate? Who determines what is socially acceptable? In particular, the definition of Food Security makes no assertions as to the means of production, distribution and consumption of food. Neither does it rule out the use of potentially harmful chemicals in food production, nor the production, distribution and consumption of genetically-modified food as a means of implementing global Food Security strategy.
Food Sovereignity is different in that it refers to the “claimed right of peoples to define their own food, agriculture, livestock and fisheries systems, in contrast to having food largely subject to international market forces”.
Richard then went on to speak about his experience in Ecuador as a farmer and as a political activist in the organisation of farmers and community groups throughout Ecuador.
He spoke at length about organic farming techniques, the production of compost, the use of natural fertilizer, the distribution of food at local level through community markets.
As a political activist Richard is one of eight elected representatives of La Conferencia Plurinacional e Intercultural de Soberanía Alimentaria. This organisation is comprised of over 60 groups comprising of local farmer and consumer organisations, indigeneous tribes, universities and various other social and cultural organisations throughout Ecuador. Together these dispersed groups formed one organisation with 8 elected representatives to formulate national policy on Food Sovereignity and related issues. Through amendments to the Constitution of Ecuador this group has thus far succeded in introducing Food Sovereignity as a basic right for all Ecuadorians. This Group also has the right to present policy documents and legislation in relation to Food Sovereignity to the Ecuadorian National Assembly (equiv. Dáil). Ecuador is therefore the first country in the world to include Food Soverignity as a basic right for its citizens in its Constitution. In particular, the definition of Food Soverignity in the Constitution of Ecuador specifically sets out the right of citizens to produce, distribute and consume food that is free from chemicals, inorganic fertilizers and mechanised production techniques. It also declares the right of citizens to determine what food is culturally appropriate to them rather than this being determined by an exterior power such as a government or faceless market speculators.

The talk was well attended in the circumstances given the short notice to the public of its taking place. In attendance were Donegal County Council Sinn Fein representative Jack Murray, Teagasc representative Seamus Campbell as well as interested members of the public, local Organic Growers Groups, and a post-graduate student researching Food Security. Following the talk, a lively discussion took place in relation to the perceived threat of GM Food entering the Irish agricultural market. Richard gave great insight into the role of GM Food production in Latin America and the role of multinational GM Food producing companies in altering beyond recognition the land, customs and cultures of Central and South Latin America. In particular he spoke about how genetically altering the food we consume can have serious effects on health such as severe allergic intolerence often causing death or severe disfiguremant. He spoke about how GM crops spread, cross-fertilize and destroy native species thus forcing local growers to become totally dependent on commercial GM seed. Seamus Campbell, of Teagasc, also contributed a great deal in relation to agricutural practices in Ireland, the role of the EU in terms of regulatiion and subsidies and the role of global markets in determining the commodity price of food and the difficulty for many small farmers in Ireland to turn a profit from food production in an otherwise high-cost economy. Unfortunately there were no local members of the IFA present.

To summarize, Food Soverignity can be seen in context, as a movement of people and ideology that places the nutitional needs of citizens along with basic rights of land ownership and sustainable organic farming practices at the centre of policy and decision-making.

In this context, Food Security can be seen as taking a diametrically opposite viewpoint where the rights of citizens in relation to food production, distribution and consumption is determined by unseen and unaccoutable global market forces with no defined regard for local, sustainable farming practices and culture.

Special thanks is extended to Carndonagh Library for hosting this event.

References: Wikipedia  Thanks to Jog Ideas

Wisdom of the world - Week 146

 

Image : Sally Stitch

The Tailors Needle

A tailor was at work. He took a piece of cloth and with a pair of shining, costly, scissors, he cut the cloth into various bits. Then he put the pair of scissors at his feet. Then he took a small needle and thread and started to sew the bits of cloth, into a fine shirt. When the spell of sewing was over, he stuck the needle on to his turban.
The tailor's son who was watching it asked him:
"Father, the scissors are costly and look so beautiful. But you throw them down at your feet. This needle is worth almost nothing; you can get a dozen for an anna. Yet, you place it carefully on your head itself. Is there any reason for this illogical behaviour?"
"Yes, my son. The scissors have their function, no doubt; but they only cut the cloth into bits. The needle, on the contrary, unites the bits and enhances the value of the cloth. Therefore, the needle to me is more precious and valuable. The value of a thing depends on its utility, son, not on its cost-price or appearance."

Wisdom of the World - Week 145

 

Laughing until you laugh no more

A wise man once sat in the audience and cracked a joke.
Everone in the audience laughed uproariously. After a moment he cracked the same joke again and a little less people laughed this time.
He cracked the same joke again and again, when there was no laughter in the crowd, he smiled and said:
"When you can't laugh on the same joke again and again, then why do you keep crying over the same thing over and over again?”

Wisdom of the world - Week 144

 Ron's delicious stir fry...

The youth of today....

"Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company; gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers." - Socrates c250BC

"I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words... When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise [disrespectful] and impatient of restraint" (Hesiod, 8th century BC).

"The world is passing through troubling times. The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient of all restraint. They talk as if they knew everything, and what passes for wisdom with us is foolishness with them. As for the girls, they are forward, immodest and unladylike in speech, behaviour and dress." Peter the Hermit in A.D. 1274

Wisdom of the world - Week 143

Pay No Heed
A novice went to Abbot Macarius seeking advice about the best way to please the Lord.
"Go to the cemetery and insult the dead," said Macarius.
The brother did as he was told. The following day, he returned to Macarius.
"Did they respond?" asked the abbot.
The novice said, "No, they didn't."
"Then go to them and praise them."
The novice obeyed. That same afternoon, he returned to the abbot, who again wished to know whether the dead had responded.
"No," said the novice.
"In order to please the Lord, behave as they do," said Macarius. "Pay no heed to the insults of men, nor to their praise; in this way, you shall forge your own path."
Paulo Coelho

Free Gardening Course in Inishowen

Free hands-on vegetable growing course – run by volunteers

Grow your own healthy veggies in an organic, easy and successful way.
Learn how to plan, sow, feed, protect and grow.
Prepare your beds with mutual help from the group.

Open info evening Monday 11th April 7.30pm......

Wisdom of the world - Week 142

Digging A Way Out

There's a man who has been by himself in a prison cell with a dirt floor, crude stone walls, and there's two windows one of which looks out towards the ocean. All of the sudden, he hears a scratching noise, and he looks down at the ground that is furthest away from the window facing the ocean. He sees the ground moving, and he starts to think he's losing his mind. But soon the ground breaks, and up pops a head with long hair and a beard... it's a prisoner.
And the prisoner says "Sssh. Listen. A group of us have been tunneling for about six years, and we've finally reached your cell. We have ways to cover up my entrance into this, but now it's all on your shoulders, man. All you have to do," he said while pointing out the window towards the ocean, "you just start digging here and go down about six feet and about 75 feet in that direction and there is freedom, and we're outta here!"
"Oh, I love that! That's great; I want to be free!"
"Okay, I'll check back with you in a few weeks."
Two weeks later, the pops back in to check on his friend's progress, and his friend nods back with great affirmation. "Yeah, I've done it."
So the man who was providing the instructions pops down the hole, and two seconds later pops right back up and says, "What have you done?!?!?"
"Huh?"
"I told you to dig in the direction towards the OCEAN! This tunnel that you dug goes back under the wall and into the prison yard."
"Well, the digging was easier in the other direction..."

Wisdom of the world - Week 141

Remember the Small Things


Some of my sisters work in Australia. On a reservation, among the Aborigines, there was an elderly man. I can assure you that you have never seen a situation as difficult as that poor old man's. He was completely ignored by everyone. His home was disordered and dirty.

I told him, "Please, let me clean your house, wash your clothes, and make your bed." He answered, "I'm okay like this. Let it be."

I said again, "You will be still better if you allow me to do it."

He finally agreed. So I was able to clean his house and wash his clothes. I discovered a beautiful lamp, covered with dust. Only God knows how many years had passed since he last lit it.

I said to him, "Don't you light your lamp? Don't you ever use it?"

He answered, "No. No one comes to see me. I have no need to light it. Who would I light it for?"

I asked, "Would you light it every night if the sisters came?"

He replied, "Of course."

From that day on the sisters committed themselves to visiting him every evening. We cleaned the lamp, and the sisters would light it every evening.

Two years passed. I had completely forgotten that man. He sent this message: "Tell my friend that the light she lit in my life continues to shine still."

I thought it was a very small thing. We often neglect small things.

Mother Teresa

Wisdom of the world - Week 140

Swing Set

Mr. Jones wanted to build his son a swing set. He slaved away each evening and grew tired and irritable causing concern for his wife.
"You're working so hard," she said. "Wasn't our neighbour, Mr. Williams, a carpenter when he was young? Couldn't you ask him for help?"
"But Mr. Williams has done enough work in his life. I wouldn't want to bother him."
So Mr. Jones kept working, until finally the swing set was finished, and he set it up in the back garden. A few days later, Mr. Jones went outside and found Mr. Williams gazing at the swing set.
"Hi, Mr. Williams. How do you like the new swing set?"
"Oh, it's wonderful. I built something like that for my son many years ago." His eyes looked sad, and Mr. Jones remembered that Mr. Williams' son had moved far away for a job.
"I wish you had told me you were building it," Mr. Williams said. "Your son is a good boy. I would have loved to help you do something nice for him."
They chatted for another minute, and Mr. Jones went inside, realizing for the first time that Mr. Williams was lonely.

London to Brighton....