An Unpleasant Truth

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! All you earthlings of no particular significance. This is a pronouncement of great global importance. The reason being in the next 10 years, or may be sooner, the earth's climatic conditions will turn global environment and ecology as we know it now, topsy-turvey.
If your first question is: Why bother? Then perhaps now would be an appropriate time to remind you that with the drying up of rivers and hot lands becoming cold and vice versa, the world's economy will automatically go into a tail-spin.
For want of a better word: Be prepared. This is the credo of Scouts the world over. Never as the world of men is in such peril. If you are a senior member of the Cynical Club or a card-carrying member of the Sceptics Association, you may want to verify my dubious claims.
Follow your instinct, check with the latest UN report on global warming and then go on from there. I believe even as I speak, CNN today broadcast a worldwide warning, through its international correspondent Richard Quest, that alarming signs of repeat glacier melting is occurring in the Tibetan region, Himalayas and the effects on China's Yangtze River.
In fact, the famous rivers of the world, including the Thames of London, Ganges of India and the Nile are in throes of rapid changing climatic conditions. In a very short time, as earth knows it, this will lead to a irreversible chain of events that will literally floor the world.
Yes, there could be human casualties. In other words, the human toll may reach unimaginable levels. So your second question is: What can I, as an individual do? For a start, you can write to your Member of Parliament, or just about anyone who cares for this small third rock from the Sun.
Nothing drastic will probably take place in the next two years. After that, all bets are off. Perhaps you think this is another one of those alarmist goobledegook that pervades the Internet. I wish it were so, that would save my fingers from a lot of ache.
The catastrophic consequences of Earth's dramatic and perhaps even sudden changes will be felt by billions. Remember, we only have about 6.5 billion inhabitants on Earth right now.
Not that many, you say. Just think of the millions of flies crowding the carcass of a dead animal and then double that figure - you have a rough idea of how many people are milling around on this dusty, disturbed planet.
I have been staying on this planet for decades. I kinda love it after a while. Humans are generally a nice lot. I wish I was assigned to planet Pleisades, light years away but no, some wise guy handed me this earth assignment.
Frankly, I didn't ask to be here but since I have been mopping around the place for a while, I have got accustomed to a lot of unhappy and sad faces. I suspect there will be a lot more sorrowful looks before the whole biblical phenomenon is over.
But sometimes I ask myself and tell others as well: why bother. Mankind in general has a propensity to ignore the obvious, even when it hits them on their faces! Think back of World War I, World War II, Korean War, Iraq war, SARS, AIDS, Bird Flu and other potential calamities that could decimate the ranks of humankind in a blink of an eye.
Do we really care about ourselves or for ourselves. Frankly, most of us tend to shut our eyes to the earth-shaking events. We see on television everyday the dozens who are killed in suicide bombings in Iraq, killings in Gaza and West Bank and the starving millions in Sudan.
After a while, most of us become numbed and after a few months of watching the same painful event, our sensitivity becomes somewhat affected.
Woe be unto us all, I say. Actually, I have become a little sceptical of late too but the magnitude of THAT unpleasant truth can no longer ignored.
Why don't we call do something about this? Why let it overwhelm us? We should not meet it half-way, we should go all the way to encounter it at its source. That's the only way to solve the problem.

How to live life without trying to be too clever

Most of us spent a large part of our lives trying to impress our families, parents, neighbours, office colleagues and strangers. By the time, we find out that it is simply a waste of time, it's almost too late.
By then, when wisdom finally sets in, we are in the evening of our lives. I too have been guilty of such a silly pursuit. If being classified as clever brings peace of mind and contentment, only clever people can be found in that happy state of mind.
Instead, so-called clever people are always miserable. They are miserable for all kinds of strange reasons. Some of which are "they are not fairly rewarded for their brainwork"; "not recognised for their special abilities"; "being unutilised much to the ignorance of the thespians"; and "everybody is just plain jealous".
If you haven't come across or experience any of the above, you are probably one of the most blessed persons on earth.
Seriously, a lot of us waste our precious time on earth trying to impress others. Why is this so? Even if others acknowledge that you are indeed the smartest of the whole lot, it doesn't really amount to much because nobody likes a smart alec.
A lot of us suffer from a drastic lack of humility. We just can't wait to get that special pat-in-the-back, either from loved ones or from our boss and colleagues.
If only we know that unintentional intelligence is one of the most welcomed traits around. Normally, we tend to shy away from those who openly profess to be clever. In other words, acting smarter than us and sometimes succeeding.
The definition of smartness is not anchored in just one situation. It is relative. Take for example, a resident of a big city who is wise to the ways of the streets. Take him away from his natural habitat, that is the city, he will be just as lost as the native who stays in the jungle and is now left to wander in a city.
I have tried on numerous silly occasions to blow my trumpet, blow my horn and generally sounded the drum so that others will notice that I am "oh-so-smart". The results I got were indifference, a look of disgust or just plain unimpressive looks from all round.
What does that then shows. It indicates that people who are really wise normally keep their trap shut and adopt a low profile. As my grandmother always say: Be smart by all means but don't act like a clever idiot!
Life's journey will be more eventful if others do not feel threatened by your alleged intelligence and overt genius. Why must there be this relentless need to show off?
Really clever people normally keep a very low profile. They are quiet, decent, humble and have a very down-to-earth outlook on life. If you try to be too clever, you normally end up being that unpopular person who will be struck off the invitational list of every person in the neighbourhood and office.
Generaly, nobody loves a big mouth, intelligent crook and an immodest, pompous food who likes nothing better than to bask in the sunshine of his own inflated ego.
If you are really clever, you will realise that it's better to act normal. If you are really wise, you will know that to make everybody comfortable, you mustn't try to beat them down with your level of intelligence.
Just be an ordinary Joe. If it's your time to shine, there's a purpose for you. Otherwise, be sincere, don't brag and remember that for every clever person who walks in the three, there are 30 others who can solve a mathematical problem faster than you.