Perceptions of time...

Author: Henrique Vedana
Published on Oct 24th, 2008
http://veds.nomadlife.org/

I watched a video a few days ago and I got totally blown-away. First of all the creativity, the imagination that allowed someone to come up with such a simple concept. Second, at the end, an amount of thoughts came to my mind and today I can't look at stones with the same way I used to!

First watch it yourself, it's the German animation video "Das Rad" (The Wheel), from 2002. It's only 8 minutes long:

What is my perspective of time? Is it real? What is time afterall? When we think a fly has a lifespan of 24-48 hours, who does't think "what a stupid short life!". How stupid short life is OURS, compared to our brothers from the movie... For sure short, too short to think it's important at all, but not stupid, to think it's not relevant. It's all we have!

Today as I get closer to my thirties, I realize that instead of thinking of time I rather think of timing, instead of hours, moments, instead of days, experiences... and stop worrying too much with the moss in my head! :P

CARPE DIEM :D

Guoliang Tunnel

Recently, my flatmate and I started looking at destinations in Latin America, already starting the research that can hopefully lead us to an amazing off road backpacking trip next year. When we were digging into Bolivia's dangerous roads, we were re-directed to a hand built Chinese tunnel that is one of the most impressive things I've seen.

"This tunnel is located in the Taihang Mountains which are situated in the Hunan Province of China. There is an interesting story behind its development. Before 1972, access to the nearby Guoliang village was limited to a very difficult path carved into the mountainside. The village was nestled in a valley surrounded by towering mountains. It was basically cut off from civilization.

In 1972, a group of desperate villagers decided to take matters into their own hands - they would carve a road right into the side of the mountain by themselves!

So they sold goats and herbs to buy hammers and steel tools. Thirteen strong villagers began the project. It took them five years to finish the 1,200-metre-long tunnel which is about 5 meters high and 4 meters wide.

On May 1, 1977, the tunnel was opened to traffic.

There are more than thirty windows. One article suggested they carved windows mainly as a way to push the rubble out. Another reason for the windows might have been the need for light due to lack of electricity."

Source: China Guoliang Tunnel

Living / Dying Planet

In the last week of October, WWF, the Zoological Society of London and the Global Footprint Network released the 2008 Living Planet Report.

Amongst other warning data, the report reveals that we are currently using 130% of the planet's renovation capacity and that, by the early 2030s, we will need two planets to keep up with humanity’s demand for goods and services.

Check the whole report here. And spread the word.

Choices

I'm currently reading Walden, by Henry Thoreau, and that makes me reflect a lot about choices we make in life.

Thoreau says "A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone" and says he learned the walker is the fastest traveler. Whereas a working man works the whole day and pays the train to arrive somewhere else the next day, the walker walks the path, saves the ticket money and gains the experience.

On that same line, I watched a TV show last weekend called Troca de Família (Family Swap), at Record channel, where the Mum of a rich family swaps places with the Mum of a poor family for a week. The kids of the poor family were simple and fearless and the Dad took the new Mum for a boat trip, as he was friends with the boat owner. At some point he declared: "while other people work endlessly to make money to enjoy life, I enjoy life like a millionaire without stressing about the money".

I think these stories reaffirm that we always have a choice, and working long hours is one of them. If at some the activity becomes meaningless, it's much better to leave, enjoy the richness of possessing little and "live the life we have imagined".