*This blog was originally written over a decade ago for my old 4WD Conservation Club (4WD’ing Responsibly) and has been rewritten to relate to today’s communal conditions here in PERTH and our worldly situation to inspire us all to BRING BACK THE UNITY IN commUNITY.
We have all heard the words “We are living in unprecedented times”. Pandemic and the worldwide lock downs, loss of jobs and income, cost of living through the roof and inflation rising like a balloon, floods and fires, supply chains down, food and shopping shortages, fuel rising etc. All adding to feelings of helplessness, neglect, worry and no groundation. The list just goes on and on. All fear and doom is making us as a whole community develop division, lack of trust, confusion and unbalance. Not much to smile about it seems…..Or is there?!!?
Can we take these years and stage of DISUNITY in our Earthly and SPIRITUAL life from negative and darkness into one with positive and Light? Can we BRING BACK THE UNITY within commUNITY and foster betterment here and abroad.
Absolutely we can. For VICTORY IS CERTAIN with UNITY, LOVE and OVERSTANDING.
How do we do this today? Simple! Its all about our reaction to things. The more we read and watch the news, the more we rely on systems that are broken, the more we look for information that is aligned with how we are told to feel, the more we disengage with nature and rely on machine, the more we rely on convenience and not on our ability to be sufficient, the more we feel helpless. The more we fell helpless the more we become SELECTIVE in our SECURITY and less COLLECTIVE in our SECURITY. We are all in this TOGETHER, and TOGETHER with COLLECTIVE SECURITY, OPENHEARTS, HUMBLENESS, RESPECT AND LOVE – WE CAN BRING BACK THE UNITY! The appearance we cannot, is an illusion.
Again, the list goes on. But notice, if you will, the notion of cause and effect, the philosophy of the more we have the more we lose. These same very principles can go in reverse also. Ever heard the saying “LESS IS MORE” well that couldn’t be more poignant. How about the saying “STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES” or perhaps AKAE BEKA?
So, what things can WE ourselves actually do to make an impact? Funny thing is the size of the act isn’t as powerful as the frequency of it. We do not have to change the world as some people think. This brings on too much stress, negativity and shortly after, the feeling of failure. So, try a smaller approach. One that you can achieve, on a daily basis, with succession, purpose and fulfillment.
Something like a wave and smile. This may seem insignificant, but the power of such a small gesture in terms of UNITY with other’s is massively overlooked. This is the first step to BRINGING BACK THE UNITY. Put down your phones and devices, actually take the time to smile at someone. This may have little impact on you now but, could potentially have an enormous impact on the recipient of such a wonderful gift. That smile will pay dividends to you later. FAITH.
Go help Nanna cross the road , if at the shops and someone is short of money and you have excess – offer to pay, same as if you had two items and only need one, share, if someone is rude to you – don’t bite back – smile (this one’s not for them but for you), go and plant a tree or help in someone’s yaad (yard), go and mend someone’s fence, go clear the gutters of the Retired Servicemen/Women nearby, extend and stretch forth your hand and see what happens. When we do this for other’s and start to leave false life of self-servitude and move towards COLLECTIVE SECURITY and doing for others because it is the right thing to do, we in return start the change necessary for positive progression and plant the seeds of life to inspire COMMON UNITY aka commUNITY.
Before SUBURBAN FARMER I started doing this 15+ years ago with 4WD’ing Responsibly. With a bag of rubbish collected at Jindalee Beach Perth Western Australia. One bag turned into another, one day turned into another, one car turned into two cars, then many more. We went from two people who didn’t know each other just having a fish, to two people now doing an Emu scavenge for rubbish walking km’s away from our cars. Together we build a commUNITY that still exists today. UNITY. This is where it all begins. Starting with LOVE, the rest naturally follows/flows.
RAS MARK SUBURBAN FARMER