So it goes...

For those who’ve come across the seas, we’ve boundless plains to share. 

Indeed. The very ground beneath our feet has been sold to the highest bidder.

       A tale of two countries, across the world in time and space; yet in the same boat together, adrift on a bought-and sold sea. Canada and Australia. Two nations running the same course. Weak at the knees and in that grim panic of desperation – that same panic of a man who’s credit card bills and mob debts have run so high his grandkids will have to pay them back. He knows he is doomed. He feels it in his chest. Throbbing heartbeat and racing mind in the darkness as he tries to sleep. He lies awake for hours.  He doesn’t answer the phone anymore. The dread won’t let him. He knows that the time is closing in – that time when at last they send their hired goons around, sledgehammers tucked inside long, heavy trenchcoats. Dark glasses. These boys are mean, and they mean business.

            He knows they’ll be coming ‘round soon enough. They’ll be wanting the money. He can’t pay, not yet. Stuck for options, he logs on. Ebay. He has some valuable assets. Should be enough to keep the goons at bay for a while… at the very least it should be enough to keep them from making rash and final decisions... decisions that may or may not involve said sledgehammers or other dark, unspeakable tools; decisions involving his knucklebones and kneecaps. No. That just won’t do. Fingers tremble and hover above the keyboard.

            Puts a few ads up on Ebay. These things, they’re worth a hell of a lot. They ought to be anyway, they’re heirlooms. Passed down the family for generations. Grim pangs of guilt as he puts it all up for sale; but the fear is stronger… He can just about feel the bastards breathing down his neck. He hears the tortured sounds of a wailing dog somewhere outside, down the street. Horrible sounds.

 Buy Now optional. Yes, indeed… preferable. Those fuckers will be here any minute. 
“Christ, how did it come to this?” he wonders. Stares at the screen in the darkness, face close to the screen. Blue glow bathes the face as he grimly watches the bids. Sweat begins to bead on the forehead… dark thoughts.

            "SOLD". That old wooden clock his grandfather built with his bare hands and long-forgotten handiness that his father tried to pass onto him, but was forgotten in the pace and swirl of life in the Modern Age. He ponders this as he sends an email to the buyer. Chinese. Wonders how the fuck he plans to get the thing to China, but what the hell? A bit of cash. Funny though. Could have sworn it was worth more than that… There’s nothing in the world like it. One of a kind. His grandfather built it with his bare hands. Master craftsman, that old bloke. Shame he never got to make the funeral.Wonder if he's watching now?

          Netbank. Yes! Pay-dirt. Still behind, but it’s a start. One or two more quick sales and he’ll be in the green again. Sigh of relief.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

Fuck. 

Somebody’s at the door…

Blue Dot, 2012 AD. Let's Get Posi, yo!

So here we are, 2012. Amid a chaotic time in history, no doubt about it. 2011 was really something, hey? Arab revolutions, the implosion of Europe, the catastophe of Fukushima. A year when tyrants and superpowers bit the dust. Bin Laden, Qaddafi, Kim Jong-il. Old England and the USA on their knees. Occupation wildfires across the earth. People everywhere fed-up with bullshit. A shift to the East, as well. A thousand natural disasters, Mother Earth's fury. Droughts in Africa, tidal waves, floods, fires; strange weather. 7 billion people and counting. Still no changes in politics or economics -- it seems those up there at the top are hell-bent on pushing it 'til doomsday cometh. Can't learn, can't change now; in too deep. Still they talk and threaten war. Iran, now. So much undue chaos out there, everybody needs to just settle down. Nothing gets solved with a headfull of steam and a mouth full of threats.
       Down here at ground level though, things aren't so bad. I mean, I am in Canada, one of the better-off-by-far countries on ol' Earth at the moment, but as I see it, things don't have to be so bad. We're all different, sure, but face-to-face we can get along. All this shouting and yelling and hysteria, pointing fingers, passing blame... What of it? What good is it doing, exactly? Same goes for the media, as the Wall Street gang. Enough bullshit -- let's sort this out together. After all, we're all adults, not louts. We all want the same shit. Peace, Prosperity, a Healthy Earth. The problem is, everybody is carrying on with demands and accusations; there is no dialogue. None whatsoever. None at all. This problem is the same everywhere, from Syria to Greece to Iran, the CEO's of the big Oil & Coal co's, the people wanting justice on the street. Fuck all of it, enough, enough already. I mean, it's a big job in front of us, the clock is ticking and the world leaders, bankers and fossil-fuel merchants are all so far and away in their crazy schemes, but man, let's talk it out. Let's get it together. As people, human beings. Mates, for chrissakes.
       It's gotta start from the ground up, though. Get to know your neighbors, share opinions with people who's views are different to yours. Talk, talk, talk. Make every conversation worth something. Say hello to every person you meet. Let's get the dialogue cracking, as I know it is already. It's already started. Everyone I meet these days is awesome -- people from all walks of life, from oil riggers to bums to wild-running hippies; white, muslim, 'didgi, whatever, so what. There is something important to learn from every single person you see. We've all been through the shit, we're all still going through it. Pass on some wisdom of your own. Say hello to a tree while you're at it. Let the planet know you still love her and to not lose faith in us just yet.
        It's from this talking that the ideas will come, those gem ideas that will shape our fate. When we realize that we're all not so different and that it's not so hard to live well and share a bottle of milk with our neighbors, well; that'll be the day. So let's stop painting doomsday and just get on with the job.
        The job is evolution, my friends. The newspaper men paint it grim and would have you believe that we're all stupid, fucked up and drug addicted, killers and thieves, just don't listen to that bullshit. if you let the bad apples ruin the bunch, you let a lot of good fruit go to waste. What's the point? Lock the door to your house and you've given in. You've let the bastard's get you down. People tend to bemoan the "lack of community" in society these days, so let's make it happen ourselves like in the old days. Say g'day. Some might take you for a wierdo, but what of it? It'll catch on, good talk is contagious.
        Make some small changes in the way you live, even. Turn off a light switch, recycle things. Dropped a smoke or a dollar? Maybe leave it there in case somebody else needs it. Open a door for somebody, offer your seat to a lady. Little good deeds not only make you feel good, they are good for your Karma, and good karma makes for a sweet, sweet life.
        I guess what I'm trying to say here is have a little hope, have some faith. No matter what happens to us this year and beyond into the new age, we're going to be O.K. Think Posi. Live like a mystic. Criticize everything you read and see, try to understand where it is coming from, try to find the motivation behind it (especially the Media and the Government). Read a good book, whether it be Carl Sagan, Jack Kerouac or the Tao-Te-Ching. Discuss it with the person next to you on the bus or some shit, I dunno. It's all about attitude and the way you look at it. See a world full of shit, you get a world full of shit. See a world full of awesome people and a real hope for brighter days, you'll live it and be a part of the manifestation, straight up.
       PEACE!