April 21stFive Minutes on Friday #69
EARTH DAY
Fifty-three years ago, the first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970. Today 190 plus countries engage in some kind of action to signal care for our planet. Following are some quotes to ponder as we observe this day.
“The last word in ignorance is the person who says of an animal or plant, “What good is it?” [A. Leopold]
‘Help us to be gentle with your creatures and creation, so that we may abide in your eternal salvation and continue to be held in the hollow of your hand.’ [Amish prayer]
“It is of interest to note that while some dolphins are reported to have learned English - up to fifty words used in correct context - no human being has been reported to have learned dolphinese.”
“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.” [Carl Sagan]
MANIFESTO: THE MAD FARMER LIBERATION FRONT
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.
Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years….
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts. [Wendell Berry]
REFLECTION
If you must be heard, let it be like the babbling brook,
laughing over the rocks.
If you must be seen, let it be like sunlight
giving warmth and comfort to all.
If you must be acknowledged, let it be as the eyes
behold the skies in all their glory.
If you must lead, let it be like the wind and all its unshackled direction.
If you must learn, let it be like breathing,
the natural flow of in and out,
and done without thinking.
If you must teach, let it be like the water,
deep and flowing,
for your words are like pebbles in a pond,
the ripples they cause spread out in all directions,
and what you give out eventually returns.
If you must know, let it be flowing and growing.
And above all, if you must:
shine!
Kerry Hillcoat
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=mcmjTE4ynzk&feature=share – Look at the world