It was an incredibly relaxing vacation. We had a great time and didn't worry about anything. We had a lot of sun, had some great meals both in and out and managed to care for a family of cats that adopted us for the week. This little family reminded me of God's incredible providence. Our first encounter was with the mother, who looked beaten up and was very thin. No doubt, food was scarce and she was working overtime providing nourishment for her two kittens. The first night we fed her, she laid down on the front porch after chowing down on a cup full of cat food we found in the pantry. She gobbled it all down and had herself a great sleep. What satisfaction she must have felt having eaten such a meal after what must have been a long and difficult time of scrounging for food.
The next day we fed her in the morning and a black tom cat appeared who no doubt was her partner in crime. It was tough for him to get any room for a few morsels of food as the mother cat buried her head in the cup of food and was chowing down again! I thought of how interesting the cat world is, with the females as the hunters who provide food and the fathers who provide protection - not unlike our present culture where so many women are out their hunting in the market place to provide for their families.
That evening the two kittens emerged. Now secure that we were no threat to them, they were comfortable to bring their two little ones out and for the rest of the week, at every feeding, the cat family emerged with mother and father and two kittens to enjoy the meal that was so lovingly given. As the week wore on, we began to worry about how they would do when we were gone. Who would feed them? They would have to revert to their previous scrounging and the danger that came with it.
I have to say that it was very difficult to think about. This little cat family became part of our family and it was heartbreaking to not be able to help them and wonder what danger would come their way. Then we realized that somehow they made it this far. God was their provider and in the scheme of things, He allowed this little cat family a reprieve from working hard for their food with our presence. One week of not having to worry about where food was. One week of rest from the rat race [literally]. One week of enjoying one great meal after another and one great accompanying nap after another.
I guess in an ironic parallel, this little family met us in our time of kicking back to enjoy our vacation with us. What a great surprise and what a privilege it was to be part of God's providential plan. It reminded me of our incredible connection to creation and how the harmony that God imprinted on his creation was so very evident to us during 10 days of rest and relaxation.
Thank you God for the shear joy of being part of your creation and knowing your incredible love and presence in this world and reminding us that we are a part of a masterpiece creation that fits together and runs in a graceful unity. It was a taste of the future, when all harmony will return to the creation and we will rest in your presence in the space that you have given us and so enjoy everyone and everything around us.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
What will we pay for Gas in the future?
I thought of posting a note about Gas and wanted to avoid ranting about how the price of Gas has hit our wallets. My initial feeling every time I hear about the price of gas going up, the price of a barrel of oil rising to its highest ever, and record setting profits by oil companies, is anger. I'm angry that I'm paying more for a product that I can't live without. In fact, I reason with myself that Gas is an essential product in my life. I need to put Gas in my car so I can get to work so that I can earn a living so that I can ....... you get the idea!
And then I came across a thought provoking article that hit me between the eyes. It provoked me to think about whether high Gas prices is actually a consequence of my buying it. The reasoning centred around the fact that prices go up when demand goes up. Hmmmm ..... very interesting! The opposite is also true: when demand goes down, so do prices. Am I to blame for the high demand in fuel? Do my habits in how much I drive and how few times I actually walk or cycle somewhere affect what I pay at the pump? This made me think.
All along during these past 3 months of soaring gas prices, I quickly and willingly blamed it on the oil companies and tycoons [feeling justified in doing so since they are so filthy rich], on other countries like China and India where the demand for Gas is soaring, or on politicians and the taxes that they impose. Never did I once consider that my daily routine and habit of relying on a motorized vehicle is responsible for what I'm paying at the pump.
There is something deeper going on than just my seeming refusal to see my culpability in all of this. I wonder if it is a down right selfish consumeristic attitude that is so ingrained in me that I have lost perspective. I know I'm not alone in this. [Hopefully the culpability feeling is rising as you read this] I think of the habits of generations past: my parents and their parents. My grandfather has never owned a car. He walked everywhere, and took transit if he needed to get somewhere that was unreasonable to get to by walking. My parents, especially when they were young, were very conscious of using the ability to "walk" as an excuse [at least I thought it was] not to pick me up from where ever I was. In fact, I just knew not to ask. It would be embarrassing to do so. We assumed "walking" was a mode of transportation. Now, we drive everywhere. I drive my daughter down the street to drop her off at school in the morning. I drive to the closest grocery store that is about half a kilometre away and a very reasonable distance to walk.
I wonder ......... if I made a conscious effort to walk where I could walk or transit where I could transit and leave the car at home, would there be a difference in the demand for Gas. Immediately I think of the fact that I personally, along with my family, will benefit. We won't be spending as much on gas and we would have the added bonus of living healthier as well because we're actually exercising. Then I think ...... what if a whole lot of other people did this as well. As I think about this I think of how true it is that we are just as culpable as those we blame for high Gas prices.
I definitely think that I need to start making some immediate changes. I also think that if we want lower gas prices in the future, we need to evaluate our own habits and determine whether a change in habit and behaviour will give us lower gas prices. It seems to me that what we pay for things in the future will depend on how much we feel we need them or how badly we want them. And at the end of the day, was I better off because I had it or didn't have it? Thinking of this in terms of my personal need for Gas, there are times that I would benefit if I didn't have it and it would also benefit others as well.
By the way, you can click on the following link to read the article I mentioned above: http://www.thecoachingpair.com/files/QBQ-Economy.pdf
And then I came across a thought provoking article that hit me between the eyes. It provoked me to think about whether high Gas prices is actually a consequence of my buying it. The reasoning centred around the fact that prices go up when demand goes up. Hmmmm ..... very interesting! The opposite is also true: when demand goes down, so do prices. Am I to blame for the high demand in fuel? Do my habits in how much I drive and how few times I actually walk or cycle somewhere affect what I pay at the pump? This made me think.
All along during these past 3 months of soaring gas prices, I quickly and willingly blamed it on the oil companies and tycoons [feeling justified in doing so since they are so filthy rich], on other countries like China and India where the demand for Gas is soaring, or on politicians and the taxes that they impose. Never did I once consider that my daily routine and habit of relying on a motorized vehicle is responsible for what I'm paying at the pump.
There is something deeper going on than just my seeming refusal to see my culpability in all of this. I wonder if it is a down right selfish consumeristic attitude that is so ingrained in me that I have lost perspective. I know I'm not alone in this. [Hopefully the culpability feeling is rising as you read this] I think of the habits of generations past: my parents and their parents. My grandfather has never owned a car. He walked everywhere, and took transit if he needed to get somewhere that was unreasonable to get to by walking. My parents, especially when they were young, were very conscious of using the ability to "walk" as an excuse [at least I thought it was] not to pick me up from where ever I was. In fact, I just knew not to ask. It would be embarrassing to do so. We assumed "walking" was a mode of transportation. Now, we drive everywhere. I drive my daughter down the street to drop her off at school in the morning. I drive to the closest grocery store that is about half a kilometre away and a very reasonable distance to walk.
I wonder ......... if I made a conscious effort to walk where I could walk or transit where I could transit and leave the car at home, would there be a difference in the demand for Gas. Immediately I think of the fact that I personally, along with my family, will benefit. We won't be spending as much on gas and we would have the added bonus of living healthier as well because we're actually exercising. Then I think ...... what if a whole lot of other people did this as well. As I think about this I think of how true it is that we are just as culpable as those we blame for high Gas prices.
I definitely think that I need to start making some immediate changes. I also think that if we want lower gas prices in the future, we need to evaluate our own habits and determine whether a change in habit and behaviour will give us lower gas prices. It seems to me that what we pay for things in the future will depend on how much we feel we need them or how badly we want them. And at the end of the day, was I better off because I had it or didn't have it? Thinking of this in terms of my personal need for Gas, there are times that I would benefit if I didn't have it and it would also benefit others as well.
By the way, you can click on the following link to read the article I mentioned above: http://www.thecoachingpair.com/files/QBQ-Economy.pdf
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