Save us now. Life

So, I'm a big fan of life. I enjoy living, chances are..so do you. The occasional pint with friends, the adrenaline rush of work, the awesome lazy Sunday evenings, the smell of wet grass, the complaining about the weather. Generally, life's good. Okay, perhaps not the last one.

If you enjoy life, you really should start taking care of our sustainer. No, this isn't a religious call to prayer, so atheists and non atheists, keep your pants on. I mean our world, our planet. I'm only writing this because this tweet came across my homepage and a 140 character reply wasn't enough to pen it down

JamesLyons ‏@MirrorJames

Top fact of the day - you have to use a cotton bag 3,000 times to be as green as using plastic carriers.

While I can't say anything about the connotations of the tweet I would like to break down the figures.

Let's assume the said statement is true. The average person probably shops once or perhaps twice a week. And this is purely groceries. Assuming one eats normally, we're looking at 2-3 plastic bags per trip to the store. 52 weeks in a year. Let's take 2.5 bags per week, just to take it on the lean side. The figure is hypothetical, but I think the figure is a nice basic to work with. That's a 130 bags a year that we'd cut back on. 

Now this is purely one person. With a 130 bags a year, it would take roughly 23 years to be green. Just a bit over a third of a persons life. While 23 years sounds long, it really isn't, not when average lifespan in the UK is circa 80 years old.

If two people were to continue in the same trend, I presume the figures would half, and so on and so forth. 

My message is simple. Stop thinking you're insignificant, spend 8 pence on a reusable bag, And start being green. We've only got one world and if you don't start saving it, I'll be severely pissed off because I like I said, I generally enjoy life.

Excuse the formatting error. I'm off to Tesco with my cotton bag, to save the world, and to get some food.

Leaving the playground behind.

Do we ever leave the playground behind? Or do we carry it wherever we go?
A chip on our shoulders, reflecting who we are. How much can we carry before it brings us down and buries us?

I see cultural values as a norm in a diverse Britain, but I see at times, glimpses of such bitter racism and I wonder why. The My Tram Experience videos shocked me, and provoked responses across the youtube community and indeed the British community I suppose, but more than that it provoked responses amongst people like me, people whose roots don't lie in Britain.

Deep thoughts pervaded my mind about the playground. Many people from Sri Lanka, and indeed prevalent amongst South East Asia, well I suppose even the greater world are willing to migrate to countries in the hope of providing a better future for their children, a place to build roots but how far do we carry the playground and how far do we assimilate into corporate beings losing traditional culture replacing it with popular culture.

Going to the local masjid, prayers being conducted in Urdu instead of the traditional Arabic, is that going too far? I suppose not, prayer is after all personal but I feel that it is incredibly difficult to strike that balance between fitting in, and standing out. I have a few family members who live abroad who would probably curl in disgust if they were to spend a few weeks in Sri Lanka living as a local, but is that due to leaving the playground or is it merely because they're used to the commodities that living in countries that Britain, Australia, Canada and America provide. Similarly I know people who bring too much of the playground with themselves, celebrating every single holiday that their mother countries have (its a fair bit!) being averse to speaking in English, not engaging in the wider community and either unable but more likely unwilling to adapt.

Pieter Willem Botha, the first president of a very divided South Africa stated to the House of Assembly that "We must Adapt or die" in a speech where he attempted to simultaneously devolve some power to the non white people of South Africa while maintaining the power of the white party. His words though misdirected do ring true. We must, absolutely must, adapt or we too shall perish.

This necessarily includes divesting the feeling or the mindset that people from such countries are superior. They aren't, socially advantaged perhaps but not superior, and this is why I will always support social mobility, I will always support integration, this doesn't mean losing sense of cultural values, it means sacrifice.

One does not meet business executives without putting a suit on, similarly if we are to leave the playground we need to adapt, we need to change but who we are inside need not, our thought process need not. Culture leads to diversity, diversity with direction can only lead to success.

Carry the marks that the playground left on you, but leave the damned swings behind!

A little response in rhyme

So a few things have been on my mind recently. Broadly split up, they include the violence in Syria, another sentencing for a racist Tube rant, a well written article on Sri Lankan Politics, the rise in popularity of certain racially based parties, and watching some amateur rap videos where it felt like the participants felt the need to have something to hate.

My thoughts penned down:

I see people, looking for things to hate,

Like hate unites when mind dissipates,

The Golden Dawn rising in Greece,

Hate strengthens roots, Hate’s spreading seeds,

Always looking for someone to blame

Divided in body, thought stays the same.

It’s like fear’s needed to succeed, hate to unite

But hates just a tool to those who hide in the light

I am bigger than you, you're bigger than me

but hate is what you bring it to; ultimately

You claim I have an agenda but how can that be

I’m just human, and it ain't about me.

This is about you, the actions you choose

Hate's got your mind, the world's got the blues

And though you may hate, you don’t understand,

We’re in the same boat, This ain’t a demand

This is a plea, with all that I feel

For brothers and sisters, and all that is real

Violence in Syria, a different hate

9,000 killed, all up to date

A different hate, racists on tubes

Hates got your mind, the worlds got the blues

If you prick me, will I not bleed?

If you tickle me, will I not laugh?

Jazakallah Khair for the love that feeds

Spread disgust on hate, and all on behalf

You pick a minority, expel your abuse

Hates got your mind, the worlds got the blues

You seek to keep power, use hate as your tool

Hates got your mind, the worlds got the blues

I seek to enlighten, and that’s what I choose

Cos Hates got your mind, the worlds got the blues.