Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Raise Your Head, Carl. It's A Long Day Coming
I decided to come out of my internet hermit-hood early, because I have a lot of topics building up in my head. I wanted to talk a little bit about lost causes.
Lately I have become the king of lost causes. I don't know if it is a spell of bad luck, or if it is merely me playing a part I have been fooled into thinking I need to play. Am I really just causing my own unhappiness or am I really a victim of karmic forces beyond my control?
Through the last few years, I do feel as if my assorted failures and hurdles have tempered me into a tougher human. I feel as if I am able to deal with things a little better now, and I am becoming slowly desensitized to disappointment. The little things don't get to me because I have faced and am facing so many large trials. It's debatable if that is a good thing or not, but regardless, it isn;t what I want to talk about here.
What I do want to talk about is the wonderful notion that lost causes aren't hopeless... salvation is always just an outstretched hand away. It can come in the form of a friend that suddenly senses your despair and reaches out to you. It comes in the prescription or regimen a doctor gives you to sort out chemical imbalances. It comes in the art that inspires you and the dreams that propel you into the future. It comes also in the hope that tomorrow is full of potential.
It reminds me of underwater forests. When engineers decide that a Forrest needs to be sacrificed to erect a dam, it is assumed that all of those trees are lost forever. Dams are erected, the water level rises, consumers get their precious electricity, and acres and acres of majestic trees are lost forever beneath the water. Trees become useless; unable to inspire, shade, house animals, or even become useful as lumber. Truly the trees become lost causes.
However, a Canadian man named Chris Godsall does not believe in lost causes. He, like many of us, laments the loss of woodlands the world has seen. According to Forest Enterprises, about 50% of the Earth's forests have been destroyed. We are living in the digital age, the era of the computer, and yet the demand for paper is 5 times higher now that in the 1950's. And it will double again by the mid 21st century by estimates.
It's no secret that many of us are upset that man is slowly depleting rain forests and woodlands to make paper, lumber, and other products. But many of us also realize that it is a trend that will not change; convenience and consumer demand reign over diligence and stewardship.
So Godsall decided to call in the lost causes to make a difference. He has been working on an invention that will not only supply trees for lumber, but also to do it in an environmentally sound way. He has invented a remote control submarine that dives deep into these dam-produced flood sites and saws down giant, drowned trees. It also attaches an inflatable sack to the tree, which raises it to the surface, where a tug boat can retrieve it. It is estimated that 200 million trees await harvesting in dam sites around the world.
To quote Scientific American writer Sarah Simpson, "every waterlogged tree salvaged is one living tree saved." The lost causes have been saved, and become useful once again.
So when I think about my own troubles, and how I feel like a lost cause, I also try to find hope in the fact that a use may still present itself. These trees are being preserved by the water that drowns them, keeping them ready for their big day. I wonder when my big day will come, and what it will be? It could very well be that my current trials are only preserving me for a later use.
So the king of lost causes wants to say to all of his friends, thanks for hanging in there and encouraging me, and I hope that you benefit from my "big day" ahead. Whatever it may be. : ) In the meantime, I will try not to be such a downer. I really do love life, I just wish I was a different character.
See ya!
Lately I have become the king of lost causes. I don't know if it is a spell of bad luck, or if it is merely me playing a part I have been fooled into thinking I need to play. Am I really just causing my own unhappiness or am I really a victim of karmic forces beyond my control?
Through the last few years, I do feel as if my assorted failures and hurdles have tempered me into a tougher human. I feel as if I am able to deal with things a little better now, and I am becoming slowly desensitized to disappointment. The little things don't get to me because I have faced and am facing so many large trials. It's debatable if that is a good thing or not, but regardless, it isn;t what I want to talk about here.
What I do want to talk about is the wonderful notion that lost causes aren't hopeless... salvation is always just an outstretched hand away. It can come in the form of a friend that suddenly senses your despair and reaches out to you. It comes in the prescription or regimen a doctor gives you to sort out chemical imbalances. It comes in the art that inspires you and the dreams that propel you into the future. It comes also in the hope that tomorrow is full of potential.
It reminds me of underwater forests. When engineers decide that a Forrest needs to be sacrificed to erect a dam, it is assumed that all of those trees are lost forever. Dams are erected, the water level rises, consumers get their precious electricity, and acres and acres of majestic trees are lost forever beneath the water. Trees become useless; unable to inspire, shade, house animals, or even become useful as lumber. Truly the trees become lost causes.
However, a Canadian man named Chris Godsall does not believe in lost causes. He, like many of us, laments the loss of woodlands the world has seen. According to Forest Enterprises, about 50% of the Earth's forests have been destroyed. We are living in the digital age, the era of the computer, and yet the demand for paper is 5 times higher now that in the 1950's. And it will double again by the mid 21st century by estimates.
It's no secret that many of us are upset that man is slowly depleting rain forests and woodlands to make paper, lumber, and other products. But many of us also realize that it is a trend that will not change; convenience and consumer demand reign over diligence and stewardship.
So Godsall decided to call in the lost causes to make a difference. He has been working on an invention that will not only supply trees for lumber, but also to do it in an environmentally sound way. He has invented a remote control submarine that dives deep into these dam-produced flood sites and saws down giant, drowned trees. It also attaches an inflatable sack to the tree, which raises it to the surface, where a tug boat can retrieve it. It is estimated that 200 million trees await harvesting in dam sites around the world.
To quote Scientific American writer Sarah Simpson, "every waterlogged tree salvaged is one living tree saved." The lost causes have been saved, and become useful once again.
So when I think about my own troubles, and how I feel like a lost cause, I also try to find hope in the fact that a use may still present itself. These trees are being preserved by the water that drowns them, keeping them ready for their big day. I wonder when my big day will come, and what it will be? It could very well be that my current trials are only preserving me for a later use.
So the king of lost causes wants to say to all of his friends, thanks for hanging in there and encouraging me, and I hope that you benefit from my "big day" ahead. Whatever it may be. : ) In the meantime, I will try not to be such a downer. I really do love life, I just wish I was a different character.
See ya!
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