Did you ever stop to notice?

Photo credit: Ólafur Eggertsson (icelandic farmer). Click to enlarge.

An Icelandic volcano, dormant for 200 years, has erupted, ripping a 1km-long fissure in a field of ice. The last volcanic eruption in the Eyjafjallajoekull area occurred in 1821.

This news remained a bit unnoticed at first because Iceland is "an island far away in the North"... So why should WE care?

Now, 2 days later the entire flight traffic in Northern Europe is stopped because the volcano ashes all over the continent are extremly dangerous for flight engines.

NOW, we do care! But what do we care about? We ask: Will I get returns for my ticket? How do I get to the place I wanted to travel? Who pays me for it?

Well, you will get returns because the flights got cancelled by MAJOR FORCE!

Ok, now start thinking. MAJOR FORCE? What is it? WHO is it?

We all know that air travel is a part of a major problem we have with global warming. But we "need to fly" around the world all the time. Because we're all so busy...

Now this MAJOR FORCE fights back and leaves us grounded without exceptions. Not for presidents, not for CEOs, no one.

Did you ever stop to notice?

What happens? Nothing. The earth doesn't stop because you can't fly. Because you don't have to.

I see this incident as a kind of "Earth Hour" forced by Planet Earth. She leaves us grounded with time to think... Think about our very own relationship we have with her. Think about the "importance" of our being. Think about our modern mobile life.

If we're not doing it by ourselves, she's doing it for us. Reminding us of our equality, belittling our constant rush.

We have got to slow down. We have got to listen.

Another interesting fact. Volcano eruptions are cooling down our global climate because the ashes absorb a bit of the sunlight. It's global and measurable.

Did you ever stop to notice?

I have been to Iceland and wanted to return this year because in my eyes it is the most beautiful country in the world that is so full of nature and contrast that it keeps leaving you speechless by the beauty of God's creation. This is the country where you can see the evolution of our planet like it was everywhere millions of years ago.

I remember the Icelandic people being very aware of that and living with the forces of nature totally different from us. They know from their daily experience that MAJOR FORCES rule their lives more than their own urgencies. After being strongly affected by the consequences of the financial crisis they have returned to their roots. MAJOR FORCE.

So I had to smile about Hjördis Gudmundsdóttir, the head of Iceland's flight authority ISAVIA when asked about duration of the eruption (hello?): „Maybe the weather gods can tell us? We don't know if it will stop tomorrow or after a year or what. Nobody can answer that question."

It lasted more than two years the last time it erupted...

Take your time, slow down. Join "Earth Year", feel the MAJOR FORCE.


Did you ever stop to notice? This crying earth, these weeping shores?