I am still quite the restless soul when it comes to
wondering what on earth I really want to do with my life . . .Naturopathy is
turning out to be somewhat full of contradictions and is more complicated than
I expected, for the simple reason that to avoid all toxins in today's world, one
should turn primitive, grow their own produce, raise and kill their own meat,
breathe a completely different air and drink an entirely different water.
That’s today's world for you. Is there hope?
I have always been a lover of nature, but the past 5 years
or more have represented an eye-opener to today's world in the way of where we
are heading. Last year was awesome. I have delved into so much knowledge, and
now feel as though I know everything to take on the wrongs of the world,
although this, however, cannot be done, considering so many wrongs are brought
about by the most powerful people on the planet, also representing but 5% of
the entire world’s population. Shocker.
My passion lately, particularly the past year (probably due
to being introduced to so much more evidence) is the environment. I am
extremely keen to take on a career role that involves working with the
environment in some way, whether it be civil construction or land management,
much as the sales area I am now involved in, or even simple administration or
campaigning/volunteering duties for an ethical organisation, such as the WWF,
or The Wilderness Society (for those in Australia). There are so many of them
out there.
Which also makes me wonder . . . with the internet at our
fingertips, numerous organisations out there putting their efforts in to make
change and spread the word, and even the media now throwing the threat of
climate change and hidden dangers around us in our faces . . . why are there
still so many ignorant, careless people?
I have almost finished an amazing book by David Suzuki . . .
simply a collection of his “lifetime of ideas” consisting of numerous small
essays published into the one book, summing up a lot of the problems we are
facing, and will face, into the one copy. It’s a brilliant read, and I feel so
proud to have picked it up from a second-hand market stall for $1. Bless the
lady that sold me that book (she also sold me the dalai lamas Key To Happiness,
but somehow, that is not on the top of my list of books to read!) In one of the
later chapters, he speaks about how our children, and our youth, are part of
the power that needs to be – they are to be in control of this world, and they
haven’t got the time to waste. They need to be educated properly, but
unfortunately, our education systems aren’t all that knowledgeable. Full of
gaps and silences, they don’t provide enough detail. And the kids get bored.
They aren’t feeling threatened . .. well
they should be!
David talks of an amazing Japanese teacher who travels to
schools around the country for a programme where she shows the kids that
everything in nature is sacred and connected. Once we start diminishing these
connections, the power wheel that is known as nature begins to fail, and we
will go with it. She taught children to close their eyes and kind of put
themselves into an act of visual meditiation, where she gets the children to
imagine they are an egg about to hatch, a newborn animal running form
predators, scouring for food, flying free through the air or swimming in the
chilly waters of a stream.
A lot of it all makes me think . . .hmm, what the shit do I
want to do with my life, how can I incorporate my love of nature and dedication
to making a difference on this earth, whilst still spreading the word and educating
others? Something that will take me somewhere ... . could teaching be the way?
I have always considered being an English/History teacher. I
am just that kind of person – yes, you are usually either a “Maths” brain or an
“English” brain, and I , being the latter of the two, decided to embark on the
challenge of the science-based course of
Natural Medicine a few years ago now. I’m still only halfway through it,
and probably get no further due to my doubts, my financial insecurity with it
all, and my guilty feeling of hypocrisy, when I am studying a field that
recommends organic foods and all things healthy, when I am trying to live
frugally on a tight budget and am going for grains and dairy, with the additions
of tinned foods here and there to bulk up my meals. Tomorrow night I intend on
having baked potatoes filled with fresh tomatoes, tinned beans and probably
some diced fried bacon on top. Healthy, but not healthy. It’s like a cross
reference. Beans are full of protein and nutrients, but they are canned.
Potatoes are a vegetable, but a starchy one full of carbs. Fresh tomatoes are
good in each adn every way, except they are acidic, and one’s blood should be
alkaline to be of ideal health. Bacon . . . there isn’t much positive about
fried bacon bits. Not at all. But it is a cheap meal. And filing.
And makes me feel guilty to think that I am supposed to be
on the track of a health lifestyle and promoting it to others . . . when I struggle to do so myself. How am
I supposed to tell people, who are stuggling to keep a roof over their heads,
feed their families, work full time then come home to cook and clean and look
after the kids, that to live a healthy lifestyle, they need to take drastic
actions such as fresh fruit and vegies, often requiring more preparation and
therefore time for meals, a decen filter on their tap, which can cost $800 if
you don’t wnat fluoride in your water, cut down on your personal care products
due to the chemicals present in them, when so many on the market are there they
are so hard to find and escape from, and the healthier alternatives are often
triple the price . . .all these little things people just find too hard. People
don’t want to bother spending more time cooking a meal just because it will
bebetter for then. They don’t ahve the money to buy that organic lipstick as
opposed to that $10 one from the chemist up the road. All these factors I see
in everyday people around me, and it makes me wonder if I am talking to brick
walls.
As with the environmental matters. Brick walls.
Children, on the other hand, are more open minded. Their
minds are like sponges. And teaching would be a great way to get in there. The
issue being, I couldn’t just sit and force feed it down their throats, ignoring
all other learning techniques. Even with high school students, you woulnd’t get
away with that.
But it could be a start. It could be that little nudge in
the door, to spreading the word about what matters most in this world. IT could
make a difference.
Do I want to embark on this career?
Maybe. It would me much more convenient then taking on
Environmental Science, which holds that nasty science word again. It’s not a
generic science, either, something that I could teach to high school students.
No ,it’s 3 years of very in-depth, biological, chemistry-related, jargon. IT
would be a challenge, as my science-related subjects already have been with
this Naturopathy thing happening here, but a positive challenge. And once I’m
out of it, wow, the things I know. And the proof I could shove in people’s
faces. And when they turn around and say “Bullshit, you just read that on the
internet” I can say “No actually I studied it indepth for 3 years at university
. . .” For the time being, I can access basic
case studies online. And my “old friend” Dan has been a great source of comfort
and knowledge in this regard, proving many things to me that he himself has
learned through his studying. It’s getting to be “No, but I have learnt this
from a god friend of mine who studied it intensely at university and has passed on much evidence and knowledge to
me for my own use . . .”
For the present time, however, I will continue to work at a
challenging, yet stressful job, that is at least in the field I want to be in,
that can still get me somewhere now I have the experience and the big words to
put on my resume, with some decent references. It’s like a foot in the door.
And then when I get my foot in that door to open it wider, I can embark on a
more fulfilling career, that would nicely earn me soem more comfortable money,
so I can then get myself out of debt and not have to play a role in the GFC,
and start saving aside for some travel time.
My early next year, I do hope, fingers crossed, that I will
at least have enough money to get myself out of this country and travelling
into Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. There is also Thailand as a possibility, but
everyone has been there, which bores me. I know 2 people, both very beautiful,
who have done Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Their climate and landscapes, their
history and their temples, all intrigue me. It is a nice start, anyway, into
the world of travel which I have so dearly wanted to embark for some time now.
When I had the funds, I never had the thoughts in the right place, and now that
my thoughts are there, the funds are not. And they dwindle more and more as
inconveniences pop up, like my laptop dying right before Christmas, my blender
dying just then so no more green smoothies for a while. My amplifier to play my
music is still sitting gathering dust, unable to turn on for some reason,
wanting to be replaced or repaired, and to help reimburse my sanity with the
sound of music. My car needs new brakes, and my rear tyres are hardened. My
rego is due next week, and my electricity bill next month. My credit card is
out of my wallet in hope that I will refrain from spending it on bits and
pieces, mainly food, sadly, and I can get it paid off in a few months, with my
lousy $80 a week put towards it.
But then, if I didn;t ahve a credit card, that $80 a week
could go toward flights out of here.
