Band aids or long term solutions – Saving the Amazon rain forest

One of the things that I regret is that while I was living in Colombia I never went to visit the Amazon rain forest. It is one of the world treasures that Colombia has. The problem is no my unfulfilled wish but the fact taht the Amazon is disappearing quickly.

I was reading in a recent article that each year a area the size of Belgium is cut down (12,500 square miles). The total area of the Amazon jungle today is 3 million square miles. So in a matter of 267 years there will be no more Amazon. Doesn’t sound so bad actually. That’s just the problem. That we live in a society that puts band aids on the world problems instead of looking for long term solutions. Even our way of solving problems is merely superficial.

I was eating dinner with my great friend Åse yesterday and she was telling me about when she arrived in Sweden in the 70’s how all political decisions where discussed on the television and radio constantly. And the question politicians always asked themselves was, “How is this going to affect our children?” How wonderful it would be to live in a society that thinks in this way, where the leading factor in making decisions is not money, but the well being of all children. What governmental actions would take place immediately if the leaders of the USA began to think this way? More money to schools, free medical health, economic assistance to families with children, more paid leave for parents after childbirth, homes for all families, more parks and green areas, social assistance for homeless children and those with physical and mental illnesses.

All of these things remind me of Sweden. Schooling is free (even University studies) and all children are fed free lunch everyday (up to High School graduation). Health care is free for everyone. Every family receives about 200 USD per child per month. Parents have the right to 450 days of paid leave (to be split between the mother and father). If a family does not have the means to pay rent, the government provides assistance. All cities are full of parks and green areas and excellent public transportation to minimize the need for cars in the city! It’s to bad that most of this is quickly going down the drain…

What inspires me to mention the Amazon today? Recently Greenpeace celebrated a protest in Brasilia in honor of Sister Dorothy Stang who was assassinated in the area of Anapu, Brasil where 31 illegal lumber industries which, despite working 24 hours around the clock, where unable to quench the thirst both the USA and Europe has for wood. What is the solution? We could put all of the workers and their illegal bosses in jail (just put a band aid on the issue) or we could reevaluate our own lives and the society of consumerism we live in.

For whoever is interested, find out what Greenpeace is currently doing and how we can all be involved in helping stop the deforestation of the Amazon jungle.

Make friends, not customers

I have learned that most people don’t think like me. I am clearly and bluntly reminded of it from time to time in the swedish business world. There is an overall lacking sense of customer service, which I think is the number one reason why the swedish economy (within a global community) could wash down the drain in a matter of seconds. I am not making a moral judgement here, I simply believe that because of the small size of the country and their instantaneous economic success after World War 2 has created an economy where competition has not been a factor. So as long as you produce something of decent standard (by the way Swedes have excellent standards when it comes to quality), it will sell. Almost no advertising necessary, no consideration to competitive pricing and certainly no customer service necessary. In my ten years of living here, there are only two examples which come to mind that live up to the standards I know of business excellence in all areas (quality, pricing, CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!), IKEA and Clas Ohlson.

My example today is of absolutely no significance, but it is just its minuteness that I think illustrates the situation so well.

I am building a box to ship the few belongings I have left to the US. It is a very educational experience, as I have no knowledge about how shipping things around the world works, but am curious to learn. As I know it is a multi billion dollar industry and one of the corner stones of western consumer society (which I have very alternative thoughts about). In any case, merchants have standardized certain things and of course come up with very simple and practical solutions. There is a concept most of us are familiar with, the pallet. Basically a wooden base designed in such a way that it can easily be lifted with a fork lift. What I didn’t know is that these pallets can have collars. Which is exactly how I am building my box. A collar is basically four wooden sides held together by metal hinges. The most common standard for a pallet I have learned is 120 cm x 80 cm and each collar is 20 cm high.

So you can stack one collar on top of another, thanks to small holders which overlap on each of the 4 corners, making it all very stable and simple to do.
 

My box is 160 cm high, giving me almost 2 square meters of packing space. But I am taking a keyboard which, when in its case is exactly 160 cm. I’m not sure how dangerous it will be to have it so exact as the lid you put on top of the box seems to go into the packing area 2 cm. Of course I don’t want to damage my keyboard, so maybe I should add another 20 cm and leave some empty room on top. But maybe it is better for the packing to be tight and if nothing terribly heavy will be put on top of my box it would be fine, I don’t know. So I decided to call the company where I bought the box for some friendly advice.
I called and told him my situation and the two options I was considering. He didn’t really have any advice as he is not sure how things are packed or shipped on the boat. So I asked him if I could buy an extra collar (which costs roughly 8 dollars) to take with me to the harbor the day I will be shipping it. If at the harbor they advise me to add some extra room, then great I will use it be a happy camper. If I don’t use it, I was wondering if I could return it, as I will have no use for it. Logical, I thought. This is were we differ.

He was shocked that I could have the nerve to call and suggest such a thing. To quote him exactly, “I’m sorry Mr. but that is not how I do business. What you are requesting would basically mean I am lending you a pallet collar. You can’t call and ask such a thing.” I thought to myself, “I just did call and ask such a thing.”

Yes, to some extent he is right. If I were to go to the docks with the extra collar and it turned out I didn’t need it, he would have just leant it to me. If I did need it, he would have made a happy customer. As of now, he’s lost a customer and all the other people I was going to recommend to him. Isn’t that the idea with test driving a car? I lend it to you, if you like and need it, buy it, no strings attached. I bet you could crash during your test drive and still walk away without buying it (I’m sure the test car is insured for that, though I would definitely ask, before trying it). I’ve heard of music albums which have been recorded entirely on borrowed studio equipment. A band goes to a pro-audio store. buys everything they need, keeps the receipts and packaging and as long as they keep the stuff in new condition and are done within a month, return it all for a full money back refund. Who cares, why not promote culture, and I’m sure if that band ever makes it big, they will be back to buy everything they used and more. That fits my view of modern consumer society. We all collect to much stuff, don’t buy what you don’t need in the long run. Borrowing is a great idea, even in the business world.

I work primarily to survive and feel fulfilled. Not to make cash. My dad once gave me a sign with 5 steps to success in business and one of them was, “Make friends, not customers.” My work place, in my adult life, is probably one of my main sources for socializing. I want to meet people, make friends! Of course I want to do favors, of course I want to lend out something that someone else maybe or maybe doesn’t need. Am I crazy? Somebody pinch me!

My last 5 cents. Never open an account in a Swedish bank unless you absolutely have to. I still don’t understand how they get away with the concept of “I give you my money for safe keeping, so that you can use it to make more money and charge me for that privilege.” Has nobody here heard of “Free banking”? The only bank I do recommend is JAK Member Owned Bank an interest free banking cooperative, which I am happy to be a member of. Very interesting, check it out!

Oh and finally, free advertising and a recommendation to an excellent business partner during this learning experience of mine. The guy who I am sending the box through is a wonderful, caring, effective and knowledgeable man in the shipping industry, whom I highly recommend if you ever need to ship anything anywhere from Gothenburg, Lorenzo Urquiaga. I’m not surprised to see the first thing you see on his website is his motto: 35 years of service excellence. So I guess I was wrong, there were 3, IKEA, Clas Ohlson and Lorenzo Shipping.

Have any experiences you’d like to share, I would love to hear them (write a comment!). Are there any other examples of business excellence in Sweden I should know about? Hopefully they will catch on soon. Otherwise it is a great place to live and work and I’ve gladly paid a lot of taxes to help sustain a society that cares for the less fortunate. I am very blessed.

Aikido, non-violence and emotional intelligence

I have a wonderful friend called Brent who is passionate about aikido. He invited me to come along and see one of their trainings. It was a beautiful night where I saw discipline, human bonding, care for the body and mind, respect and joy. Of all the martial arts, it is probably the one which I identify most with. I love their thoughts and philosophies. Here is a short but good description of aikido which I found in one of the books I am reading at the moment “Emotional Intelligence” by Daniel Goleman (which by the way was the most influencial book in my life last year, a book that deserves and will eventually get its own blog entry):
“Aikido is the art of reconciliation. Whoever has the mind to fight has broken his connection with the universe. If you try to dominate people you are already defeated. We study how to resolve conflict, not how to start it.”

As much as I enjoyed the aikido training I felt it still did not call to me. As many males say when trying to break off a relationship, “It’s not you, it’s me.” I wasn’t trying to squirm my way out of any commitment and there is nothing wrong with aikido. It is just that I live by a philosophy of non-violence. So even if the goal is right, that of resolving conflict, the method is not what I would choose. Although aikido is actually not violent (since by definition violence is aggressive and with the intention of causing harm), the physical strength and techniques used in aikido can be, of misuse or plain mistake, quite harmful.

A problem I have always had, is that in some situations where confronted with violence, I have maybe not really understood a better solution. But today I had one of those “Aha” moments of enlightenment. The tool I need to be able to solve violent situations and live by my philosophy of non-violence is emotional mastery.

Here’s the story Daniel Goleman tells that inspired this entry. A friend of his, Terry Dobson, who was at the time studying aikido in Japan, found himself in a situation where he was met by violence in a subway and was about to put his knowledge from aikido into practice and in some way physically dominate a big, drunk man, who was being violent towards fearful passengers on the train. Just as he was about to do use aikido in this situation, an older, wiser man taught us all a lesson in emotional mastery.

“Terry stood up slowly and with deliberation.
Seeing him, the drunk roared, ‘Aha! A foreigner! You need a lesson in Japanese manners!’ and began gathering himself to take on Terry.
But just as the drunk was on the verge of making his move, someone gave an earsplitting, oddly joyous shout: ‘Hey!’
The shout had the cheery tone of someone who has suddenly come upon a fond friend. The drunk, surprised, spin around to see a tiny Japanese man, probably in his seventies, sitting there in a kimono. The old man beamed with delight at the drunk, and beckoned him over with a light wave of his hand and a lilting C’mere.’
The drunk strode over with a belligeren, ‘Why the hell should I talk to you?’
‘What’cha been drinking?’ the old man asked, his eyes beaming at the drunken laborer.
‘I’ve been drinking sake, and it’s none of your business,’ the drunk bellowed.’
‘Oh, that’s wonderful, absolutely wonderful,’ the old manreplied in a warm tone. ‘You see, I love sake, too. Every night, me and my wife warm up a little bottle of sake and take it out into the garden, and we sit on an old wooden bench…’ He continued on about the persimmon tree in his backyard, the fortunes of his garden, enjoying sake in the evening.
The drunk’s face began to soften as he listened to the old man; his fists uncleanched. ‘Yeah… I love persimmons, too…’ he siad, his voice trailing off.
‘Yes,’ the old man replied in a sprightly voice, ‘and I’m sure you have a wonderful wife.’
‘No,’ said the laborer. ‘My wife died…’ Sobbing, he launched into a sad tale of losing his wife, his home, his job, of being ashamed of himself.
Just then the train came to Terry’s stop, and as he was getting off he turned to hear the old man invite the drunk to join him and tell him all about it, and to see the drunk sprawl along the seat, his head in the old man’s lap.
That is emotional brilliance.”

I come from Colombia and the violent situation there is something I hurt for and feel very deeply about. I would not be able to handle a drunk on a subway as the elder man did. Someday I hope I could. I can not imagine having to face some of the horrors of violence that occur in my country on a daily basis, both physical and psychological, let alone have the peace and strength to be able to react with emotional mastery. Kidnapping is one of the most horrendous things that I can imagine, for both the person kidnapped and for all the loved ones left in that psychological horror of uncertainty.

I have met someone who has that kind of emotional mastery. He is the father of a friend of mine from school, a man of much culture and understanding, an actor by profession. He was kidnapped in the early nineties and was retained for almost two years. His reaction to the situation was to try to understand and love his captors in any way he could. After some time he made friends with some of the members of the guerrilla group who had him in captivity and realized that many of them did not know how to read or write. So he dedicated those two years of his life to teaching some of those who had kidnapped him to read and write. He was “miraculously” released unharmed and with no ransom paid. That is emotional brilliance.

I know that Colombia is full of everyday heroes, whose stories are never heard, since the media has an interest in publishing fear and horror. If you know of one, I would love to hear his or her story.

(The image I posted is my favorite picture about the war situation in Colombia, taken by Leon Dario Pelaez. It was published in the October 2007 issue of the magazine “Reporters without borders” that was given to me by my wonderful friend and mentor Malle. Thank you Malle!)

All things happen for a reason

This is a belief I have always had and for which I am very thankful. I am not really sure exactly where it came from, but most probably a mixture of the positivism my parents instilled in me and the hope taught by religious beliefs. In any case, yesterday I read a story in a book that put this idea very clearly and I thought I would share it. The book is called “A New Earth” by Eckhart Tolle, the author of “The Power of Now”. His thoughts are very interesting and though I don’t agree with everything he says I think he is on to some very interesting psychological theories about how we perceive our lives. You can check out his website to learn more: www.eckharttolle.com.

The Story goes like this:
“… a wise man won an expensive car in a lottery. His family and friends were very happy for him and came to celebrate. ‘Isn’t it great!’ they said. ‘You are so lucky.’ The man smiled and said, ‘Maybe.’ For a few weeks he enjoyed driving the car. Then one day a drunken driver crashed into his new car at an intersection and he ended up in the hospital, with multiple injuries. His family and friends came to see him and said, ‘That was really unfortunate.’ Again the man smiled and said, ‘Maybe.’ While he was still in the hospital, one night there was a landslide and his house fell into the sea. Again his friends came the next day and said, ‘Weren’t you lucky to have been in the hospital.’ Again he said, ‘Maybe.’
The wise man’s ‘maybe’ signifies a refusal to judge anything that happens. Instead of judging what is, he accepts it…”
I can’t really be sure if all things happen for a reason, but just the fact that I see it that way and don’t fight situations, but accept them and go with them makes life easier. Not that I am passive and don’t fight for what I want, but what is done can’t be changed, what can be changed is how I react to situations and what I do about them. As my father once told me, “When you’ve made a mistake, the best thing you can do is pick yourself up and think, what is the best thing I can do from where I am right now?” This view on life also allows me to see coincidences as meaningful, instead of them being pure chance, which makes life more exciting to live. There is a great book that talks about this whole topic of coincidences called “The spontaneous fulfilment of desire” by Deepak Chopra, which I recommend highly. It is very interesting reading regardless of what you believe and opens your mind to a lot of interesting subjects like synchrodestiny, cell memory, etc. “A New Earth” was given to me by a good friend, thank you Lili! One last quote I liked from the book was “This too will pass” which puts things in perspective… life, fame, fortune, blogs, etc. So let’s enjoy the now!

Your thoughts and comments are of course more then welcome!

2405 days imprisoned wthout trial

Today is almost a year ago since I first wrote about Dawit Isaak. He is a Swedish journalist who has been imprisoned in Eritrea without being given the right to a trial. He is one of many who is receiving such unjust treatment by a government that seems to be breaking human rights left and right. And someone like me feels small and powerless against such evil. What can we do? You can begin by signing the petition on www.dawitisaak.com and showing your support for him and many others. One of the issues at hand is freedom of word and press. To think that I can freely sit here and write and publish to my hearts desire and that there are some place on earth where one would be imprisoned, tortured maybe killed for the words I type is mind boggling. I think their postcard is a wonderful image of the question at hand, a typewriter with upsidedown nails on each key. Thank you Emma for making me aware of this issue.

I am posting the original blog which was written the 2nd of may, 2007.

070502
Politics, socialism, injustice, freedom of speech, peace, love and pizza
Yesterday was the 1st of May and in Sweden like in many socialist countries it is a day where the working class go out to the streets to express their political opinions, commonly known as International Worker’s Day or in the US, Labor Day. I was there with Sebastian (our wonderful guitarist) and he was telling me about the Haymarket martyrs who were killed on the 4th of May, but was the culmination of a labor unrest which began the 1st of May 1886 in Chicago, where the celebration of this day comes from. So I marched with the left party, behind a Uruguayan drum group playing “Candombe”, mostly to accompany and support Sebastian who is very politically inclined.
I am a pacifist and think that the problems of the world need to be solved from within each of us. Not that politics isn’t important, I value highly my right to vote. One of the things that can really make me angry is injustice. I think greed and selfishness is the cause for most of the problems in the world. And those are issues that can’t be corrected by law enforcement or power but need to be addressed by every individual. I believe in being active and working within my circle of influence. Those around me who I can affect, my money that I can use as I see best fit and mostly my music which can wake an interest within others is how I like to be political.
Today, May 2 I was at a conference about freedom of speech and heard a seminar about Dawit Isaak who is a Swedish/Eritrean citizen who is in jail in Eritrea and has not been given a fair trail despite his arrest in 2001. The arrest of Dawit as well as other journalist and opposition politicians took place shortly after the World Trade Center attack when the eyes of the world where focused on the US and Eritrea’s government could do horrors without being noticed. These acts of horror are due to selfishness and greed, external results of internal fears and weaknesses. I believe no person who is truly at peace with themselves will do such horrors.
So I influence you reader by encouraging you to go to www.dawitisaak.com and reading about the situation in Eritrea and signing the letter of protest if you are in agreement. As I said earlier I am a pacifist, like my father before me, and as I wrote a friend earlier this month, make Pisa not Warsaw (a take on Berkeley’s Fat Slice slogan, ‘make pizza not war’, which in turn is a take on the original 60’s slogan, ‘make love not war’). So in conclusion, eat pizza and make love in Italy.

An angel wtih paper wings

I went to see a play yesterday that was both inspirational and disturbing, “My name is Rachel Corrie”. It tells about the story of Rachel Corrie, a girl from Olympia, Washington, USA, who travels to Palestine to serve as a human shield and brutally gets killed as she is run over by a bulldozer when she is trying to prevent the demolition of the home of a Palestinian family. What I found inspirational was to see the purity of her heart and her willingness to give her life for another (by Jesus terms, there is no greater love, John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends”). What I found disturbing is that I had never even heard of her. Our media is covered with information of the whimsical, pity inspiring behavior of a spoiled and confused little girl (take Britney Spears of Paris Hilton for example) and we can totally ignore the heroic voice of one like Rachel Corrie. Go to www.rachelcorriefoundation.org to learn more. The foundation encourages and supports grassroots efforts in pursuit of human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice, which they view as pre-requisites for world peace.

Thank you Therés for a wonderful cultural evening! Then we went on to a concert to see a Chilean/Swedish artist who goes by the name El Perro del Mar (The dog from the sea) who had the stage filled with huge old lamps which created a wonderful atmosphere.