Change?

Yesterday, one of the staff members (a fellow American from South Dakota) said the mission of ARI is to see the potential of every community member, whether participant or staff or temporary working visitor, and to support that community member in the struggle to realize his or her "the latent excellence." For many of us, Steven said, that struggle involves change - change that is often painful, that we often resist - because developing our potential means learning to think less of how to serve ourselves and more of how to serve others. As Steven said, "As babies, we are self-centered beings. We rely on others to serve us - there is no other way for us to survive. As we get older, we gradually begin to look outside of ourselves. We begin to serve others... I hope to die without a selfish thought in my head."

I've heard similar speeches many times before, but, surrounded by a community of people who have dedicated months or years to serving others, Steven's words really struck me. I sought this opportunity to challenge myself, to live and work with people from all over the world, to listen to their stories, but am I really open to change? ARI has already changed me, in ways both small and large, but will I work to keep that change alive once I return home? Or will I return to a way of living that is more comfortable, with fewer questions?

Food for thought.

And for some thoughts on food and food production, I read an article this afternoon that examines the threat agricultural pesticides pose to many animal species, species as diverse as seals, frogs, bats, and honeybees. According to the article:

"Today, drips and puffs of pesticides surround us everywhere, contaminating 90 percent of the nation’s major rivers and streams, more than 80 percent of sampled fish, and one-third of the nation’s aquifers. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, fish and birds that unsuspectingly expose themselves to this chemical soup die by the millions every year.

But as regulators grapple with the lethal dangers of pesticides, scientists are discovering that even seemingly benign, low-level exposures to pesticides can affect wild creatures in subtle, unexpected ways — and could even be contributing to a rash of new epidemics pushing species to the brink of extinction."

Does anyone remember the Haagen Dazs "save the honeybee" campaign? Several years ago, Haagen Dazs began soliciting money for research on honeybees (honey is an essential ingredient for much of their ice cream), after 35 percent of the domestic U.S. honeybee population died between 2006 and 2009 due to a mysterious new disease. Many scientists now believe that agricultural pesticides, particularly a new class of pesticides based on nicotine, killed the bees rather than disease. (For more details, please read the article here).

It seems that change is needed.