Our beloved Mother Earth

 

The poem “Mother Earth” is a beautiful description of the Earth as the mother of everything, including all objects in the world as well as human beings. The main idea of the poem is the love of nature and the role of the Earth as part of nature’s beauty.

Our Mother Earth is currently facing a lot of environmental concerns. Environmental problems like global warming, acid rain, air pollution, urban sprawl, waste disposal, ozone layer depletion, water pollution, climate change, and many more affect every human, animal, and nation on this planet.

Our environment provides a wide range of benefits, such as the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink, as well as the many materials needed in our homes, at work, and for leisure activities.

Healthy ecosystems clean our water, purify our air, maintain our soil, regulate the climate, recycle nutrients, and provide us with food. They provide raw materials and resources for medicines and other purposes. They are the foundation of all civilization and sustain our economies.

The environment gives us countless benefits that we can’t repay in our lifetime. It is connected with forests, trees, animals, water, and air. Forests and trees filter the air and absorb harmful gases. Plants purify water, reduce the chances of flooding, maintain the natural balance, and provide many other benefits.

We hear about threats to the environment every day. Whether it’s the ravages of climate change, deforestation, or pollution, apocalyptic-sounding events fill the news cycle. It can be overwhelming and challenging to discern what exactly it all means. The environment — which includes everything from the ocean to the forests — impacts every area of life. Here are 10 reasons why that’s important:

If you work in an office setting, you may not think about how the environment affects people’s lives and jobs. However, billions of people depend on the environment. Take forests, for example. More than 1.5 billion people rely on forests for food, shelter, medicine, and more. If crops fail, many turn to the woods. Two billion people, or almost 27% of the world’s population, earn their living from agriculture. Another 3 billion people depend on the ocean.

Caring for the environment could create millions of new jobs and help reduce poverty. In a report from the International Labour Organization, shifting to greener economies could create 24 million new jobs by 2030. Many fear that switching to green energy and more sustainable practices would cause more people to fall into poverty, but if green jobs take the place of old jobs, it does the opposite.

The loss of biodiversity has many negative consequences, but weakened food security is a big one. As the world loses animal and plant species, the ones that remain are more vulnerable to disease and pests. Our diets get less healthy, as well, which increases the risk for diet-related illnesses like heart disease and diabetes. Protecting environments like forests and oceans ensures there is food for every living thing.

Polluted air is a major issue in our world. Nine in 10 people breathe unclean air, which affects their health and lifespans. Health effects include developmental delays, behavioral problems, and diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Every year, polluted air contributes to the deaths of 7 million people. Trees are an especially effective filter. They remove air pollutants like nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide while releasing oxygen.

Environmental factors account for many infant and childhood deaths every year. Issues include a lack of access to clean water and clean air. Waterborne diseases alone kill about 1.4 million children each year. To save the lives of children, healthy environments and basic rights like clean air and water are necessary.

The vast majority of medicines have origins in the natural world. As an example, chemicals from the Pacific yew tree led to the creation of two chemotherapy drugs. Scientists and pharmaceutical companies constantly look to the environment for new and better medicines. Unfortunately, about 15,000 medicinal plant species face extinction, so if they disappear, humans miss out on potentially life-saving drugs.

Mental health is complex. It’s the result of factors such as genetics, lifestyle, relationships, and the environment. Researchers have studied the effects of nature and green spaces on mental health for years. Many studies show a significant benefit. In a 2019 review in Current Directions in Psychological Science, researchers found that green spaces near schools encourage cognitive development and better self-control in children. Another review from Science Advances found that nature is associated with greater happiness, well-being, and a sense of purpose.

Humans drive climate change. In the sixth report from the IPCC, the authors determined that the last decade was the hottest in human history, and we can now link specific weather events to human-made climate change. Climate change’s effect on the environment is hard to overstate. Diseases, droughts, severe weather events, and more threaten plants, animals, and humans. If fossil fuel emissions aren’t reduced immediately, the environment will become uninhabitable.

It’s challenging not to feel hopeless in the face of environmental disasters and climate change. However, we can’t afford to be hopeless, and there are many solutions we still have time to implement. Protecting plant and animal species, conserving healthy green spaces, and reducing emissions will make a difference. Humans can save the planet for future generations by caring for the environment.

We are all thankful to our mother, the Earth, for she gives us all that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk upon her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us, as she has from the beginning of time. To our mother, we send greetings and thanks. But how long?

What is your contribution to keeping Mother Earth alive?

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Email: doringklaus@gmail.com, visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com, or follow me on Facebook or LinkedIn.

Anger

 

By Klaus Döring

Anger. A day rarely goes by without us feeling angry. It is not necessary to cite examples. Sometimes, it’s just a minor reason, like hating the fly on the wall. Sometimes, anger has important reasons.

Anger seems to become the main part of our daily life. That’s why it is really important to talk again about this phenomenon. As I said, anger is one of the most basic emotions. Everyone can really get angry. If someone tells you he won’t get angry, better not believe him.

Anger is a terrible feeling of being against something or someone. It can be my neighbor because he is still burning poisonous plastic and rubber garbage. Many of us get angry observing some politicians these days worldwide.

Anger is a hostile emotion that sets people against one another, or even against themselves. By its nature, anger involves opposition, hostility, hatred, and dislike. Anger, however, is simpler to define than to identify. Emotions of antagonism can take a wide variety of faces. Expressions of anger range from the overt, in-your-face brand of open hostility to the cold indifference of a silent individual.

Anger in the workplace is becoming very common nowadays.

One of my good friends works as a stewardess. Imagine yourself 35,000 feet up, pushing a trolley down a narrow aisle surrounded by restless passengers. A toddler is blocking your path, his parents not immediately visible. One passenger is irritated that he can no longer pay cash for an in-flight meal, while another is demanding to be allowed past to use the toilet. And your job is to meet all of their needs with the same show of friendly willingness. For a cabin crew member, this is when emotional labor kicks in at work.

A term first coined by sociologist Arlie Hochschild, it’s the work we do to regulate our emotions to create “a publicly visible facial and bodily display within the workplace.”

At times, anger can feel like an inner fire. It hits you in the gut. You see red and feel hot and maybe sweaty. Your stomach gives you problems, your blood pressure rises, and your breathing rate increases. Neighbors or politicians are not the only reasons for anger. The silent withdrawal and lack of understanding and innumerable shortcomings of a partner or family member are often an indication that one is angrily punishing the other for not doing things his or her way.

Back to the workplace: Unhelpful attitudes such as “I’m not good enough” may lead to thinking patterns in the workplace such as “No one else is working as hard as I seem to be” or “I must do a perfect job,” and can initiate and maintain high levels of workplace anxiety.

When research into emotional labor first began, it focused on the service industry with the underlying presumption that the more client or customer interaction you had, the more emotional labor was needed.

However, more recently, psychologists have expanded their focus to other professions and found burnout can relate more closely to how employees manage their emotions during interactions, rather than the volume of interactions themselves. Perhaps just today you turned to a colleague to convey interest in what they said, or had to work hard not to rise to criticism. It may have been that biting your lip rather than expressing feeling hurt was particularly demanding of your inner resources.

But in some cases, maintaining the facade can become too much, and the toll is cumulative.

As I stated earlier: Minor things could become the start of anger. Over the years, handling the stress caused by suppressing one’s emotions became much harder. Small things seemed huge, we easily dreaded going to work, and anxiety escalated.

Across the globe, employees in many professions are expected to embrace a work culture that requires the outward display of particular emotions — these can include ambition, aggression, and a hunger for success.

The way we handle emotional labor can be categorized in two ways — surface acting and deep acting.

“How we cope with high levels of emotional labor likely has its origins in childhood experience, which shapes the attitudes we develop about ourselves, others, and the world,” says clinical and occupational psychologist Lucy Leonard.

“Unhelpful attitudes such as ‘I’m not good enough’ may lead to thinking patterns in the workplace such as ‘No one else is working as hard as I seem to be’ or ‘I must do a perfect job,’ and can initiate and maintain high levels of workplace anxiety,” Leonard says.

When things get tough, you might be very lucky to talk to colleagues to unload. “It’s the saying it out loud that allows me to test and validate my own reaction. I can then go back to the person concerned,” one of my former officemates in Germany explained many years ago.

Those who report regularly having to display emotions at work that conflict with their own feelings are more likely to experience emotional exhaustion.

Remaining true to your feelings appears to be key — numerous studies show those who report regularly having to display emotions at work that conflict with their own feelings are more likely to experience emotional exhaustion.

Of course, everybody needs to be professional at work, and handling difficult clients and colleagues is often just part of the job. But what’s clear is that putting yourself in their shoes and trying to understand their position is ultimately of greater benefit to your own well-being than voicing sentiments that, deep down, you don’t believe.

Where it is possible, workers should be truly empathetic, be aware of the impact the interaction is having on them, and try to communicate in an authentic way. Easy to say, yes, I know. But let’s give it a try!

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Email me at doringklaus@gmail.com, follow me on Facebook and LinkedIn, or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com.

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HAPPINESS IN TODAY'S WORLD

By Klaus Döring

Happiness in today's world is a complex, evolving state increasingly defined by mental well-being, meaningful relationships, and resilience rather than just material success. While often seen as elusive due to modern pressures, it is considered a manageable, intentional state of contentment and purpose. Genuine happiness stems from inner peace, while many struggle by equating it with constant pleasure.

As society pressures individuals to be happy, this "new religion" of constant positivity can create an impossible, exhausting task, leading to cynicism.

Feeling that the conditions of your life are good. Enjoying positive, healthy relationships with other people. Feeling that you have accomplished (or will accomplish) what you want in life. Feeling satisfied with your life. Feeling positive more than negative.

Happiness is a state of mind. Specifically, it is a state of “well-being and contentment.”

But the definition can be tricky and assumptions about the word can cause confusion. Many don’t even realize learning how to be happy is something that can be intentionally practiced. Some people, when they hear the word ‘happiness,’ assume it is speaking of an emotion such as pleasure or joy. For them, it is what people feel in the immediate here and now.

This is the reason some people say, “Don’t pursue happiness, seek joy. Happiness is fickle and fading, joy remains forever.”

But this short-term definition of happiness is not how everyone understands the word. Some define it to mean long-term satisfaction.

In fact, when I speak of experiencing happiness in life, I am not thinking of short-term emotions at all. I think of a quality of living—a much longer-term view of the word.

Both definitions are understood to be correct and speak of different realities.

But are they really that different? I don’t think so.

After all, a long-term experience of life satisfaction is almost certainly made up of many short-term feelings of joy and pleasure. Does that mean every day is a great day with no trials, temptations, or downturns? Certainly not. But it does mean when we look back at the many seasons of life, we can look back satisfied at how we navigated them.

The long-term feeling of life satisfaction is most experienced when we embrace the emotion of joy in the here and now.

And we accomplish that by taking steps each day to be happy.

What makes you feel happy now? Doing something you're good at, such as cooking or dancing, is a good way to enjoy yourself and have a sense of achievement. Try to avoid things that seem enjoyable at the time but make you feel worse afterwards, such as drinking too much alcohol or eating junk food.

Why is being happy important? Experiencing happiness is important for our emotional and physical health. A stronger sense of happiness and wellbeing has been shown to lead to better relationships, increase social connection and contribution to the lives of others, as well as contributing to healthier physical wellbeing.

Is being happy the most important thing in life? Happy people are healthier all around and more likely to be healthy in the future. Happy people live longer than those who are not as happy. Happy people are more productive and more creative, and this effect extends to all those experiencing positive emotions.

Am I happy? Yes. Living in the Philippines for almost 28 years for good, I learned to be happy. Even during hard times. Filipinos are generally a happy people. They can smile whatever the situation. Their happy-go-lucky nature and positive mindset allow them to bounce back from the direst of circumstances, from disasters, from wars, and surely from today's global situation.

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Questions, comments or suggestions? Email me: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me on Facebook or LinkedIn  or visit one of my websites www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com .

An intoxicating love

You’re so intoxicated with each other. You tell your friends (and each other) how it’s so different with this person. They are unlike anyone you’ve ever met. They’re so special, so unique. You’re moving too fast but neither of you care. You love each other, you’re together and you don’t want anyone else. Within a couple months you’ve integrated fully into each other’s lives and you absolutely love it. You’re drunk, you’re wasted, high, intoxicated. You just know that this feeling will never end, it will last forever and you will die in a blissful, blurry euphoria of each other’s love. Until it all comes crashing down.

US musician and author Ted Gioia argues in his excellent book Music: A Subversive History (2019): “At every stage in human history, music has been a catalyst for change, challenging conventions and conveying coded messages – or, not infrequently, delivering blunt, unambiguous ones. It has given voice to individuals and groups denied access to other platforms for expression. Pop music has often been dismissed as “lightweight” given its young audience, simple snappiness and mainstream status, but those elements are really where its strength is concealed. Pop songs don’t originate themes of mental wellbeing, equality, liberty, activism – but they do transmit them to the broadest platforms possible”.

Snap the radio on, zip to any station, and what are you likely to hear? Love songs. Songs of new love, songs of disappointed love, songs of grateful love, songs of crazy love. I still remember my time as a radio host in Davao City several years ago playing the Hits of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Nothing has changed. Times change, but through history the flow of love songs is a constant.

Plenty of people are surprised or even shocked to find an explicit love song in the bible – complete with erotic lyrics. But “Song of Songs” is exactly that. It shows no embarrassment about lovers. Consequently, intermittent attempts have been made  to rule “Song of Songs” out of the bible. It’s like making it “for adults only”. Imagine, my dear reader, in 16th century Spain for instance, professor Fray Luis de Leon was dragged out of his classroom and taken to jail for four years. His crime? He translated “Song of Songs” into Spanish.

If you start reading “Song of Songs”, you will find out that this book conveys a very different atmosphere from most modern love songs and pop music. Since love songs are always popular, many people approach “Song of Songs” with great expectations. However, readers often find the book much different from what they had expected. One is the poetic imagery. Second: “Song of Songs” is hard to follow. One part  doesn’t seem connected to the next.

Try to explore the “Song of Songs”. One thing is for sure. You’ll learn a lot about the love between God and His people.