It’s been more than six months since my last blog post, and for good reasons. And it’s not for lack of content to write about. In fact, 2019 has been a year of drastic changes.
The Old making way for the New kind-of-change. Speaking of which, I am writing this three days before our official move to Amsterdam, Netherlands.
When I first arrived here from Tokyo, Japan in January, 2011 to start my undergraduate program, little did I know what to expect. Eight years later, I look back at all the incredible experiences I’ve had: the good, the bad, and the ugly. All contributed to my growth (especially the painful ones!) which sculpted my present beingness. And yet, if I had to do it all over again, I don’t think there’d be a different way I would choose.
Since I want to keep this minimal, let’s look at what future I wish to manifest. I view this big overseas moving as an opportunity for growth, and gaining skills. I’ve also learned through the years that what interests me most are in the domain of wisdom, exploration, and compassion.
What better place for these elements than to look into Nature’s infinite mind? Blessed be my Mother, without whom I would have never acquired good and wide-ranging tastes in food throughout my childhood (which no-doubt provided me with a healthy gut flora). In fact, it was her that suggested I work my first job at 16 at Mos Burger (a gourmet, Japanese burger joint famous in Japan). While I enjoy cooking at home for myself and others, I could never be a professional cook. Nor do I want to, really.
Instead, I found that I am more passionate about uncovering ways in which to grow food at home, and more recently, about ways in which I can reduce food-and-food-related-waste (including packaging, etc). My last article on the Blue Economy with Gunter Pauli probably reinforced this passion more than ever before, with initiatives like growing mushrooms with coffee grounds. Since that time, I have also read books written by Vandana Shiva on agroecology; on Natural farming by Masanobu Fukuoka; on Humanure by Joseph Jenkins and Gene Logsdon; on Biochar by Kathleen Draper; on Vertical Ocean Farming (3D Farming) by Bren Smith; and other equally important and inspiring topics.
The general pattern I got out of all this information paints a clear picture: Business as Usual is no longer morally justifiable, nor is it economically sound. We, as in Humanity, have grossly underestimated how clueless we were/are in our daily rituals. Like a mold-spore going about on a piece of aging bread (host) to survive, our Planet Earth is now diseased, and we need to hold ourselves responsible for a good deal of it. However, and this is probably the biggest plot twist ever known, it turns out that the crisis is also a turning point, and the opportunity for unleashing collaboration on a massive scale.
The good news is, there’s never been a better time for acting than now: we have all the technologies we need; we have the knowledge, and even the wisdom required to do so. The only thing that’s needed is now the awareness, education, and political will to do so. I am more faithful now than ever before, that we will ride this massive wave in ways we would have never imagined.
We are Nature, and the Universe is feedbacking on itself within each proton at the atomic to the galactic scales, at every single time-frame (moment).
My goal forward, is thus to be able to sharpen the skills I already have; to gain more of those which I am passionate about (like growing food, but not only) and most of all, to collaborate with a vast network of people who are on the same page, and inspire those who that are yet to be.
The World I want to live in, is one based on Harmony and collaboration, not competition, which includes a wise inter-working of all beings, from plants to animals to fellow humans, as well as our intergalactic cousins, and even the spirit world. A shift from cleverness to wisdom. From materialism to synergism (Buckminster Fuller). From scarcity to abundance for all. While this may sound like utopia today, it is no more unattainable than a home-made meal was to the caveman before the discovery of fire.
I doubt if anyone will read this, ever. But that’s okay, as it is more for my own preparation, and conviction. To prepare me for my long ride forward.
My heartfelt thanks to everyone everywhere in this cosmic process.
May your hearts be filled with joy and compassion. May the wounds and traumas heal with forgiveness and Light. May the soils of the earth be covered with mycelium and vortexed water so that bountiful food and biodiversity thrive everywhere. Let us take care of this magickal, unique home we call Earth before we even contemplate moving elsewhere to spread elsewhere.
In Service of The One.
In Service to All.
Paul Cohen-Tannugi
August 15, 2019 (Vancouver, BC CANADA)
Quiet Eccentric 