From an integrated global system we’re probably going to move to a more fragmented system over the next few years. This weekend I experienced virtually unbearably hot weather in Bloemfontein, in South Africa’s Free State region. This means if you fail to have a decent night’s sleep, you can scrap your chances of catching up on sleep during the day.
During the drive back to Johannesburg this morning, the landscape became progressively luxurious, with grasses burnished in fecund flourishes of pink, orange and brown. Some enterprising farmers had already rolled up the best of it for the lean winter months. All along the national road – the N1 – sunflowers and bright green maize stems glistened in the French sunshine under soft, Monet-like skies. A far cry from the Free |State’s infernal conditions – and yet not such a far cry. Perhaps 150 kilometres.
It may sound like an exaggeration, but in 2005 when I left South Korea I had had enough of a few things, but at the top of my list were things like:
- pollution
- unbearable humidity
- heat
I have friends in Johannesburg who have also vowed never to spend another Christmas/New Year’s in Bloemfontein again (although this year they stayed in Johannesburg over this period). My point is that the fragmenting of an integrated global community will begin to occur in more ways than due to mere economic factors.
And while more than 50% of the world now live in urban areas, those selfsame urban areas will take increasing strain as more and more people converge on places with better resources, and better living conditions.
Johannesburg is already on the edge of several crisis – water, energy, crime, pollution, congestion etc. So are other favored cities around the world (including the Far East counterpart to South Africa, South Korea, and its capital, Seoul.
Art and Discipline
A friend of mine watched the latest movie from Woody (I wonder how he got the name Woody?) and cited a faintly disgusting lack of discipline in his Spanish fantasy. In my opinion, discipline is what is the most lacking in our current circumstances, and is the reason behind so many of the malady’s we face – including depression, obesity, the failure to respond to many urgent problems.
On the other hand, the artist needs a certain amount of flexibility to be creative. Great artists need to be allowed the freedom to express themselves. This freedom might extend to the way they dress or conduct themselves.
It is a fallacy however, to imagine that an artist (well, an artist worth his or her salt) is better the less disciplined they are. Certainly, to sample, to experience life, and then to render it, an artist needs to crave and to indulge in some sensory perception.absorption.
But the process of rendering this experience requires an extremely strict program – fussing, perfecting the brushstrokes for a painting or the keystrokes for a dissertation.
I am not convinced that there is either art or discipline imbuing our current conundrum. It is far more base. It is lust and desire. It is appetite and indulgence. The extent to which a person can imbibe enthusiastically in a burger, or alcohol, or marijuana isn’t a credible talent. The reward is a ‘feeling’, and one the person has given up on finding incidentally through life (probably because of dysfunctional living, or habits, or thoughts, or a combination).
In my experience, being healthy is what makes us happy. It may seem a very simple premise, and indeed it is. But think about it; someone who is truly healthy is also balanced, and attractive and thus likely to be in demand socially. Being healthy also makes sense, because it tends, somehow, to also be healthy to those around us and our environment.
The good things in life are free, the luxuries come at a premium.
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