Live on

Maybe you are gone,
But your memory lives on.
Life taken too quickly -
Was unfair and was wrong.
Thank you for the fishing.
Thank you for the smiles.
Thank you for just being there.
It was always nice.
Time shall heal the sadness.
It will heal the pain.
But what's most important -
Your memory will remain.

No one way

It is never black or white.
It is never this or that way.
It can be a burst of light.
It can be a bit of both ways.
We just like to complicate.
We conform to this or that way.
We must realize - its life.
We should know there is no one way.

Beautiful people

What makes a person beautiful? Some may say beauty is only skin deep. Some may think it varies culture by culture. I would say it is the person that has seen and been through a lot, but no matter the circumstances has stayed a good human being. It is easy to turn negative, to lose your temper, to give up. Being optimistic in the face of adversity, being kind and helpful rather than spiteful and self-centered - things like that are no easy feat, but once accomplished make you truly a beautiful person.

Let the fire burn on

This fire burns inside.

Just let it burn on.

Why not said the heart?

Let the fire go on.

For right now its a flame,

But soon it will get hot.

And as soon as it does,

Silence will not go on.

A resistance will dawn,

Fueled by fire that went on.

And a change will ascend,

Thanks to fire that burnt on.

2012: Challenge Accepted

On April 14-15, 2012 a group of young-professionals and activists came together to discuss a variety of topics, ranging from US security, to climate change, to global justice. The 2012: Challenge Accepted event, a two-day affair organized by the Americans for Informed Democracy, aimed to bring together like-minded people in order to discuss highly relevant topics, especially in the 2012 election season. 

U.S. in the global spectrum

At a panel session on the topic of US in the Global Economy, Patrick Doherty, Director of the National Security Studies Program and Director of the Smart Strategy Initiative, stated that the United States supply chain is brittle and required a new strategy. According to Mr. Doherty, the following are some of the opportunity areas that need to be recognized by the people: 1. The housing industry - in this time and age the image of the "The Brady Bunch" or "Leave it to Beaver" family lifestyle has long past and the young in-fact desire more of a cosmopolitan life, which takes up less land space and is more cost-efficient. 2. Food - we cannot subsist on industrial agriculture anymore to feed the people and need to move to a more organic form of farming. 

Real Hunger Games

Staying on the topic of food, a relevant panel discussion was on the current real world food challenge. The issue of land grabs, which is the unjust takeover of land by well-off organizations for the means of advancing their own interests, has been increasing in the food-insecure countries, such as Ethiopia for example. Roger Thurow, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, who recently wrote a book about the topic titled Enough: Why the World's Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty, stated that by 2050 the world will need to double its food production, which would most likely be coming from small-holder farmers, most likely from Africa. However, one of the cruelest ironies is Africa's hungry farmers, who struggle to stay alive and feed themselves, let alone have the world population rely on them for food. The fact that the climate will keep changing will make it only more difficult to keep track of the weather pattern in order to ensure that the crops will have high yields yearly. However, along with the food crop instability there is also the issue of human displacement.

Human Security

As the sea levels rise and global weather patterns begin to fluctuate even more, the human livelihood (food and water) will become that much more unstable, which will in turn negatively affect the people that rely on that livelihood, according to Alice Thomas, Climate Displacement Program Manager at Refugees International. The biggest burden will be placed on countries that are politically unstable, since they do not have governments that can respond to their people's needs. Ms. Thomas stated that steps need to be taken in order to ensure that the people are well-taken care of and that their homes are saved, as opposed to having them relocate and become refugees. People need to learn to better adapt to the changing environment and focus on human security.

The look ahead

The event was a wake-up call for people, a chance for them to absorb the relevant information and accept the challenge to do something about the unhealthy state of the planet. Taking action, after all, is the hardest part, but at least now that the awareness has set in, it will be that much more likely that plans for improvement will begin to formalize. 

It is up to us to change the world and the time is now. We have waited long enough. 

Different perspective

Look at things from a different perspective.
Things aren't always quite what they seem.
In this life simply try to be perceptive.
He who tries his best, in turn all the best achieves.
And in times, when things look a bit deceptive,
And the ones around you aren't that receptive,
Keep on keeping at it and always believe -
Those that keep on at it and believe, always achieve.

What gives you wings?

 E&F by fikari