April 17, 2010

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?


7 comments:

mike1909 said...

Thank you.
We don't have patience anymore to slow down and see the beauty around us.

Maybe this forced limitation from our Mother Earth will make us stop and look around when the sky clears. Maybe we will remind ourself of our worlds wonder. And stop killing it.

Thank you @ doublebeee - it's a wonderful post.

doublebeee said...

Thank you @mike1909!

Hjordis Gudmundsdottir of the Icelandic Airport Authority, talks with Bloomberg about the impact of an Icelandic volcanic eruption on air travel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Uj8u8rDDEM

Cassarah said...

I have nothing to add - THANK YOU for this great post.

Gime Vacarezza. said...

I've nothing to say but thank you. I've been out for a couple of weeks because the uni got me so busy, but today I took some time to read the blog because I missed your wonderful articles.
I love them all and I was really emotional by reading them and cried.
I'd like to write Michael Jackson and his impact on my life like @Kiki_MJfan4life and @mike1909 but I still don't feel ready to do it. I can't write a line without crying, so I'll have to wait and I know it will come eventually.
Yesterday something happened at the uni that was very emotional, and bring tears to my eyes, and automatically thought about Michael. I'm not going to say anything because I wanna to write it here, but I can assure you that it will be bring tears to your eyes too.
Thank you again!.
L.O.V.E to you all : )

@MJacksonwords said...

hm..and they say it wasn't the biggest volcano eruptions, but we must realize that Mother Nature is trying to tell us something.. thank you for posting..

I just wanna add something *probably you had read my tweet*, the earthquakes statistic for the past 3 years: "32 earthquakes in 2008, and 19 earthquakes in2009..'till this Apr'10,it has reach 24 earthquakes! and It's not even midyear!
Here's the link to the earthquakes list http://bit.ly/da2UM6 (not listed is the one in Samoa Island (Apr 21st) and Ambon-Indonesia (today-24 Apr).. Do we give a damn?

doublebeee said...

@MJacksonwords I missed that tweet. But thank you... interesting! And adds to the message!

Do we give a damn?!?

ichliebemjj said...

oh yeah. very impressive post and picture! thank you @doublebeee!
being one of those directly affected by the ash, i have to share some feelings here...something i find a little strange but quite comforting: everyone around me who was stranded was very much under stress of work and delayed schedules because that would be affecting so many people back home, but NO ONE that i have noticed complained about the volcano, mother nature, or even any airlines. It was chaotic everywhere especially train stations and airports, but what people did was struggling to go home soon. To me, the significance of this eruption is bi-fold: it reminds people how important going home is, and it reminds people how little and insignificant human beings are in front of mother nature...we have absolutely no say, and there is no need to complain about that at all. The rest is just personal decision on detouring or staying etc which involves financial losses but that's an issue of totally different level compared with home and nature.
so, yeah, i consider this as a very efficient way of raising the world's concern about planet earth. and i appreciate this iceland volcano (sorry, can't spell...) for its work!

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