Karin Pinter

Watching the news can at times be challenging to one’s spirit. If in half an hour you are guaranteed to see some measure of warfare, or insurgents’ exploded artefacts and carnage, it can be hard for some people to find much to look forward to in life.

Sometimes these scenes remind me of the old Giles comics my dad used to collect about a bunch of little kids terrorising whoever they could. That’s when people associated this word with minor acts of antagonism, when parents would demand of their children to stop “terrorising the poor little animal.” Now people think of guns and bombs and planes.

As a writer, I am always intrigued by the many interpretations of a word or series thereof. Perhaps even concerned. ‘Gay’ used to mean happy. Now it’s what some consider a sickness and others something quite natural. Our words are interpreted by hundreds if not thousands, just by the broadness or not of their minds.

We can be great writers, inspiring schools of others to follow suit, boring to the point of exasperation, motivating people to change their lives, mediocre enough to entertain but say little of consequence. We can be judged by one sentence alone, and that sentence can lift or bury us.

Somebody once told me that any artist – musician, writer, or other – has to bare their soul and heart in order for their creations to be real and truly appreciated by others. Taking it in a literary sense, you have to open your book to the world. Some of us can do this, others are afraid. We spend lifetimes in confinement, showing only fractions of ourselves to family and friends… sometimes not even our lifetime partners see everything. It may sound daunting, make you feel that you have to show every page, every word, every little detail you often work so hard to keep secret in order to secure your uniqueness.

Think again. We have the power to bend and break, shape and mould, show and tell. We can create love, fear, hope, rage – all with a few simple words… when sometimes it was not our intention to do any of these. However, we shouldn’t be afraid to show ourselves because we can still take refuge. We can constantly recreate ourselves as and when we want to, there’s no need to hold back. That’s the wonder of creativity.

And this creativity is not just limited to so-called artists… every human being has it. It is our ultimate power. Most of us have forgotten this – dampened and conditioned by rules of society, laws, insecurity, general fear of the unknown, and watered down by fatigue.

“Life,” they call it, with a wry smile.

‘Life,’ ladies and gentlemen, really is a bed of roses, only somebody forgot to take the thorns off.

And we have become accustomed to walking on these thorns over and over again, depriving ourselves of the chance to heal on that softer side. If we’re not shown or told otherwise, we risk becoming those thorns, and we walk into each other with hidden or revealed anger, because that’s what we think we must do.

Yes, we make mistakes. And yes, it is not uncommon for us to make the same ones several times.

“You won’t learn without suffering,” they say.

‘Suffering,’ ladies and gentlemen, is largely self-imposed. Is a result of ignorance and a systematic breakdown of the self. We don’t need wars to destroy each other, we have ourselves. We’re more than enough. The mind can be the greatest friend and the greatest traitor.

Often we find ourselves standing in the arena, with roaring crowd all around and lion straight ahead, ready to leap and make its meal of us. Our weapon lies broken in the dust behind the threatening beast.

But our true weapons – heart, courage, soul – these lie hidden deep within our very essence.

They’ve been there all the time.

And that beast – fear, anger, emptiness – is not as unconquerable as we thought.

And that crowd – the mayhem of our thoughts – we can silence it with our discovered confidence.

We can be the strongest warriors of all time, if only we let ourselves.

After all, change is eternal.

Our lives are constantly being pushed around by outer and inner influences, but we have to learn that we can fight back.

So the lion now lies on the sand, exhausted, defeated. You’re tired too, but you now know what you’re capable of. And if you should have to fight another beast or even the reflection in the mirror, you know what to do.

Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again.

Just this week I was reading one of those ‘food for thought’ emails you can subscribe to and receive daily in your mailbox. This particular one discussed how we often place excessive faith in our leaders. We tend to put them on such a high pedestal that we forget they are still human, with faults, virtues and their own karmic paths to follow. Somehow, they ended up governing a nation or a group of people, and while this requires heightened responsibility, it does not negate them from experiencing shortcomings and outright failures, for which we quickly condemn them (as a good friend of mine would say, “Remember when you’re pointing your finger at someone, you’ve got three pointing back at yourself.”).

A few days prior to that, I had spent the weekend at a yoga workshop in Comares, during which the subject of ‘group karma’ surfaced in one of our discussions. We were struggling to come to terms with how members of certain parts of the world could exist in such obvious mass suffering – the likes of countries in the African continent, for example – and how these groups seem to reappear again and again throughout history.

First of all, our concept of suffering has become highly visual – unless we see a starved child’s ribs poking out of sun-beaten leather skin, or a mother crying over her baby’s lifeless, fly-ridden body, or blood pouring down somebody’s face after an explosion, we don’t seem to sense their pain or qualify it as suffering. However, in the so-called developed countries we have different types of suffering – drug or alcohol dependencies, suicidal tendencies, mental illnesses derived from a fast-paced style of life, financial stress, threats of terrorism…

So, regardless of our personal sufferings if we have them, there are communities of souls tied together in this ‘group karma’. From here we could list the starving in Sudan, victims of The Black Plague, or those of the Irish potato famine.

It is, no doubt, a difficult concept to stomach, let alone accept. Not only is our personal karma as individuals there to be interpreted and dealt with, but also that which may bind us to a given and recurring group suffering. One hopes, as we should, that this will be overcome through one’s actions and heightened consciousness, so that eventually the group suffering will be dissolved, or that others further along their karmic trail are able to provide for and alleviate them (as we can see from improved efforts worldwide to generate more awareness and aid to communities in need – sometimes, the power of the media does come in handy after all).

But herein lies a question – if, for example, the leader of a given nation sends his troops in to confront another given nation (for whatever reason, justified or not), how much of that karma is his own and how much is he pushing onto that of his soldiers, or are they all tied in to the same karmic knot?

Where does your individual karma merge with somebody else’s? After all, are we not the masters of our own fate?

When we try to define ‘what is meant to be,’ and somebody philosophically brushes another person’s death off as, “Well, that was their fate,” are they able to think of this on the grand scale?

Could they comfortably say the same of the 30-60 million who died in the Mongol Conquests of the 13th Century, 11 million documented who died in the WWII Holocaust, 12 million children in Africa who die of starvation every day, the 3 million who died of AIDS worldwide in 2006, the 200,000 who died in the atomic bomb explosions of Hiroshima & Nagasaki (not to mention the thousands affected in the aftermath), the nearly 3,000 who died on 9-11 attacks in the US, the 191 on 11-M in Madrid’s train bombings, and countless other examples…

Did these people die not because of their race, sexual orientation, political or religious beliefs, age, social & economic status, health or location… but purely, and ‘simply’, because it was their fate as individuals?

I haven’t watched the news properly for the last week. In that time, a Basque terrorist on hunger strike managed to convince the president of Spain to modify his jail sentence. This in turn caused thousands to demonstrate against the government’s policy in the capital yesterday. Today, we will be commemorating the three year anniversary of the train bombings in Madrid. And once again, more innocent people have died in assorted attacks in Iraq, along with so many more newsbites I can’t be bothered to list…

Friday night I was out for dinner with one of my clients and his staff. We were bidding a former member goodbye and fare well in her pursuit of newer pastures green. In amongst the crowd of English & Irish expats, there were two Spanish girls who I see on occasion at the reception area where they all work. We’d never really had a chance to socialise and this proved a great night to get talking. We immediately agreed on how bad television can be for one’s mental health – how it distracts us from our so-called boring lives by showing us how bad and ugly the outside world appears to be. But my discrepancy lies in how normal and drama-free our personal worlds often are. Most of us live in ‘civilised’ areas, where there is no hint of warfare, starvation or devastating climates. Train derailments are so far and few between that yes, they are shocking when they happen, but are admittedly far less frequent than in the Asian subcontinent, for example. Most of our air traffic is quite up to date as well so no great worries about falling out of the sky either. So you could say that our lives are far less ‘endangered’ than the lives of those living in known areas of conflict. So why then, do we have this drummed into our brains, why are we constantly shown only a piece of a world that is only falling apart in selected areas? Why are we not kept more up to date on advances to improve our educational systems, provide more efficient healthcare, reduce negative environmental impact, aid the poorer members of our own communities as well as those in countries that are in conflict…

It’s all well and good to be kept informed of the ‘outside’ world, unlike many countries whose governments and media keep their population in a bubble of isolationism; but when we are shown images of the outside world, why are we only shown the bodies of those who have been murdered by ignorants in far away countries – why are we not told about agreements being reached behind the scenes to improve trade that will aid stability and development? Why are we only shown the artificially ravaged carcasses of slain African elephants but not informed about improved funding, monitoring and protection to safeguard the species and reduce ivory trade? Why are we shown only angry crowds demonstrating against a government’s policy on terrorism when said country hardly sees a bomb scare anymore and is in a delicate stage of transition between ongoing acts of violence and some form of peace?

Why have we allowed ourselves to become disinterested in all these necessary and positive issues, when we know just how badly the rest of the news affects us? You who wake up jaded at life, tired of paying your mortgage, wondering why you go to work stressed if the rest of the world seems to be eroding in violence that’s waiting to hit you… remember to take a closer look at the world you know, the world you live in day to day, and appreciate the positive things that surround you. It’s not so bad after all, is it… or am I missing something?

Sadly, this world has become so cynical many people find it hard to see a celebrity’s acts of kindness as genuine, rather than a publicity stunt to improve their image (dwindling or not).

Recently, I was talking to a friend who complained about famous artists setting up companies in tax-advantageous areas. These people are among the frontline of those politically driven to force a change for the better in terms of health and financial aid to the poorer regions of the world. I was compelled to interrupt my friend’s argument. I can understand the possible hypocrisies that arise from such behaviour, for example, “If those people have so much money then why do they live in such luxurious homes and evade taxes? Why don’t they live like the poor they claim to be defending?”

I say, “Why the hell not?!”

If a person has worked long and hard to get to where they are, what is wrong with making a comfortable life for oneself and still have a conscience to use those extra millions to help others less fortunate? And what is wrong with saving money on taxes when a high percentage of that money is then specifically given to those in need? Can we not help our confused governments spend our money more wisely? In fact, if you look into some charitable organisations’ accounts and deduct all administrative and assorted fees, quite often not even 10% of their generated income is actually passed onto the cause they were set up to support.

We live in different cultures, and there is little point building a mansion in the middle of the out-backs to house others who are still surviving on rubbing two sticks together to make a fire, when they wouldn’t understand how to use its many appliances (no doubt, however, they would learn). This is not to say one is less than the other, but we are admittedly on different levels, and it did take the countries in the so-called First World a long time to get to where we are now. Which is why we should have the right to live in commodity if it so pleases us. This should not, however, negate our ability to empathise or assist those who currently have less so they can move up the ladder too.

After all, the man who hunts his food in the desert may well be happier than the one worrying how to maintain his luxury home or financial assets.

But let’s put the materialistic aspect aside, for the main concern is health and wellbeing… it takes a lot of money to provide optimal aid to poverty-stricken areas. And nobody can deny there is a much healthier cash-flow in our modern-day philanthropists’ coffers than there is in those of most governments the world over. So, let the politicians do their slow bureaucratic thing to pass laws on improved education, human rights, fair trade, etc. Meanwhile, those who can drop cash with little or no stall from the lobbyists should have the freedom to do so without snide remarks from those who are starved of their faith in humanity.

“Oh, did you say this donation was tax deductible?”

Abso-f***ing-lutely…

Genocide: noun
The deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group
[Source: Merriam Webster Online]

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The world has just celebrated International Holocaust Rememberance Day. There will have been ceremonies, prayers, intimate gatherings and other expressions of rememberance for those who perished in the horrors of persecution and the concentration camps.

An estimated 11 million human beings, of any age, gender, race, social class, nationality, religion, belief, health, sexual orientation or general disapproval of Hitler’s regime were tortured, experimented with, and murdered.

Some scholars limit the definition of the Holocaust only to members of the Jewish community – while it is not my wish to upset anyone, I find this perspective short-sighted and disrespectful of all those others who suffered the same tortures. Limiting this view is akin to denying the other estimated 5 million human beings any recognition.

So please, when we remember the Holocaust and make quiet or great ceremony, let us include everyone. In one way or another, since humanity itself was affected.

And whilst in that reflective mode, I wish to take a moment for all those past and present who have suffered the ills of genocide the world over.

And yet, life in the south of Spain has its drawbacks. As a result of a previous town management’s decision to make the coastline more attractive and remove many of the piers that jutted out, we now experience a lack of so-called beautiful beaches. Now, our freak storms wash away the sand that is hardly ‘white’ from all the dust and dirt that washes up without the barriers or catchments these piers created (although somehow the beaches still receive blue flag standards). So a leisurely walk along the artifically created promenade reveals a sorely fragmented sandbank, with jagged drops near the many beach bars & restaurants that have accumulated like mushrooms summer after summer to benefit from the mass influx of tourists. Palm trees planted around nearby showers display half their roots and are bait for foolish drunks to push over and leave as further evidence of decay. Every spring, tractors and a big ugly ship are brought in to dredge the sand back in an ever vicious circle that could be reduced if not eradicated, if only we put those piers back – imagine how much the town hall would save on that expense alone!

However, nothing will be done about any of this at least until we have local elections this year, which will hopefully bring in new leadership after a series of fraud-ridden governing bodies that have systematically stolen from the town coffers for their own personal benefit.

All that said, this part of the coast is not a crucial ecological area, as in the case of Dubai’s coastline, for example, where I read that the developments being created in the sea have destroyed coral reefs and ruined turtle nesting grounds, just so millionaires can enjoy beachfront properties with an unbridled sea view. I wonder, does nobody care that this thing called ‘development’ causes the environmental fallout we suffer later on?

Why do we continue to allow these power struggles that are constantly won by those with more money and lobbying ability to feed their financial cravings? Why are we not able to reach a compromise between socioeconomic inevitability and care for the environment – allow for conscious development of our land not only for the here and now, but for later on when our children have grown and can appreciate it? Does everything have to be bigger, better, faster, more, knowing full well we’re going to pay for it dearly sooner or later?

It is the old short-sighted adage once again… and we still aren’t learning…

As you drive along the toll road between Marbella and Malaga, you see more and more property developments cutting into what used to be rolling hills of what one might call ‘Andalucia green’. In previous times, we took pride in a flag going up on the moon or the Poles… now companies replicate this act (which I can only assume to be the commercialised 21st century conqueror’s version, or something to that effect!) by marking off the hills they have purchased and are soon to level off and build on.

They say this is all in the name of progress. I ask what kind of progress allows for the rape of the land, careless town management and planning, little or no cultural development to cater for an increasing resident count (besides more pubs, clubs, restaurants & shopping centers that create consumer-only mentality), projected doubling of golf courses that require water we hardly have for human consumption due to property-eroded land that no longer slows or retains rain water for the local environment (to add to changing weather patterns that provide less of that rain), and infected palm trees that nobody deals with and are sure to endanger the rest of those that line the main streets & beaches of the area? What future then, for this so-called luxury enclave if it is left bare and unkempt?

People are sold this idea of sun, sea and a fantastic lifestyle – now think about the extreme opposite. Those of you with money and ‘power’ to invest, have a little more foresight and interest in the land around you. Otherwise your investment will wash away with the crumbling beaches… and who will take the time and effort to pretty it all up again when you’ve all fucked off to the next place?

And so with that I leave you now while the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra charges up the day with the vibrant Radetzky March.

Feliz Año Nuevo.

You get up in the morning, watch the news while you eat breakfast, switch on the computer, work till it’s dark, perhaps go see some friends for dinner or drinks, come home, fall sleep, get up the following day and do it all over again. Sometimes you don’t see anyone you know for a day or two because they’re all busy with other commitments or tired from their own jobs (which may range from working in a fashion store, a restaurant, or a school…). Sometimes you nip out for a quick coffee between projects and meetings, but by the sheer nature of its briefness, maybe the encounter doesn’t always fulfil that need for friendly human interaction, “Hi, how are you really? What’s ticking away in that little mind that keeps so quiet from the rest of the world but works overtime even in your sleep?”

Sometimes these motions become automatic, and it’s only when you stop (or fall over) to take it all in that you realise how tired you yourself have become of that work routine. How drained you are when confronted with a challenge or situation that you would love to dive into and give it “your best” but somehow the car’s run out of fuel and putters to a halt… Such a routine can be all-absorbing, dumbing even. The last thing you might want to do in the evening is exert your mind with the simplest act of reading a book, which you generally enjoy and know is good for you but you just can’t be bothered…

I guess I would be considered a workaholic – I rarely seem to give myself a break (read, ‘proper holiday‘). But alas! I won’t paint too dire a picture because I do let myself out of the cage more frequently than before. I don’t own a PDA or Blackberry, so when I’m out of the office and away from the computer, I am safe from email hell and its terrible addictions and afflictions. I have broken the habit of using the computer on weekends. And sometimes, frankly my dear… I don’t give a damn if the phone rings, that’s what answerphones were made for… Granted, I may not be all-present in some conversations as pending tasks spin around my head, but my mind has a habit of wandering anyway (thank goodness there’s no mental passport control…).

So today I turned it all upside down. The computers buzzed away while emails piled in and urgent calls were diverted to my mobile – in the meantime I was out having random meetings and coffees and a browse in the local shopping center. Considering the late nights I’ve had this week working to offload projects that were near completion and holding up new ones… I think I deserved the time out. And now it’s time to switch this thing off and prepare for a good meal… lamb & vegetable samosas anyone?

PS: Happy Friday everyone, and enjoy the weekend for what it is!