I have been offline for a few days and N1 the thread has continued to grow and blossom beyond our discourse. I just want to say that instead of the usual feeling of sticking ones head into a toilet that one often gets following the usual topics on this forum, this thread instead is a breath of fresh air. Whether one agrees or disagrees is irrelevant but what is happening is a sharing of views as one would a good meal tasting and comparing ideas not with an attempt to convert but rather to enrich the perspectives. Well done all!
828...beautiful quotes my friend...
N1 Vibes, where have you been as I sat on many an overnight craving a decent conversation as the crew warbled on in some puerile attempt at intimacy by bashing whoever the particular collectively perceived enemy was all the while terrified to show any weakness or doubt in their confidence in the direction of the "general Matey consensus of the day"
From what I have seen in my half century of existence is often as the standards of life rises so often the quality of life declines. The more people have to loose the more fearful they become. CX was long the golden grail of aviation jobs and the cost of displacement that we have all paid in becoming ex pats is evident everywhere, KA was like to smaller brother to many who realised it was a potentially quicker route to freedom (back home) if they were clever and stable enough to hit the ground running and maximise every penny they earned. The fact is though very few have any idea of the cost to them ex pat life brings where the longer you stay, the better you become at saying goodbye to friends, family and loved ones and the further away that idea of home is. Sadly if one leaves it too late when they return home they realise time has not stood still and the person that they were when they left and the place they left are now worlds apart and so sadly often are their wife and kids. If you can and you feel you need to get yourself off those sleeping tablets, get your head out of the virtual world of the internet, get your wife off those anti depression tablets the docs hand out here like smarties on the company health insurance and get your kids off those antibiotics and revisit your dreams and priorities. If you have a base or an offer that suits grab it. Or hold your breath and jump, you can grow your wings on the way down. If you choose to stay then keep well away from the toxins, people places and media and make the best of the place and wish others well in their choices. In this narcissitic place, do something everyday to bring you out of your comfort zone and reach out to someone who needs some help.
(edit, this is a very long post...so if you are bored at this point here is me (in my dreams) singing a little melody about the magic of flying (volare and) Cantare (singing)...just look at the expression in 00:38)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YtKrXbGEAd4 Volare, oh oh
Cantare, oh oh oh oh
Let's fly way up to the clouds
Away from the maddening crowds
We can sing in the glow of a star that I know of
Where lovers enjoy peace of mind
Let us leave the confusion and all disillusion behind
Just like bird of a feather, a rainbow together we'll find
....Poi d'improvviso venivo dal vento rapito (then suddenly the winds got faster )
E incominciavo a volare nel cielo infinito (and I was flying in the infinite sky)
And I flew and flew happily to the heights of the Sun
And higher and higher into the sky.
While the world slowly, slowly
Disappeared in the distance down there.
Sweet music sounded
For me alone.
Now, Barbossa you comments on the "reverend" I believe are somewhat unfair and your discussion of "God fearing" leaves you wide open to proving such a strong position. I would suggest that God fearing is not a healthy foundation for anything to be built upon and it is our own inner demons that we should fear. God if you believe in one should not be feared I would suggest. Projection of ones own fears onto god or management or even Apple Tree yard is not the way to go.
NI you mention the effect the media has on people. Shortly after 911 THEN The IRAC Invasion SARs and up to the tsunami I realised that I was actually becoming quite frightened of the world and stressed. I also noticed that that fear was being fed and fed by hours of watching CNN Fox and reading though endless newspapers. I had become addicted to the toxic propaganda that was big shoveled out in buckets by the media. I decided to stop it. I no longer spend time in hotel rooms with the remote in my hand glued like a zombie to the TV, 2 minutes on a news channel just grabbing the headlines suffices and a glance on the headlines on the on line papers is quite enough. I can tell you something. The world seems like a much nicer place. One can still see the problems and the issues but I am not overwhelmed by despair. Out there if you look there are some magnificent authors and journalists and philosophers who can stand back and look at the bigger picture rather than stirring the crap in the pot and force feeding it as all there is. Our energy goes where our attention goes and in a world that is in such dynamic transition at the moment we should be careful what we feed our minds with.
It doesn't really matter how much damage we little humans do "to the planet" Old Mother nature will adjust and correct things her way the only ones that will suffer is us. Our measly lifespan of circa 70 years or so, is just that. I watched that movie I am Legend and the thing that struck me was the depiction of the grass growing up through the center of the city streets and the wild animals regaining their habitat in the city after a couple of years... Lets not overestimate our effect here on the plane and lets not underestimate the potential we all have as individuals and a group to begin to re balance ourselves and the damage being done.
Greed is just a mask of fear, a lack of abundance of spirit a hole in the soul that will never be filled from the outside. Its based on a feeling of being alone, separate and vulnerable and the childish idea that there is such a thing as security. Choice is always a better goal because that is within our ability to attain albeit sometimes at a sacrifice.
Busbert, I hear you! Simpler times!