The world we live in.

The world we live in.

BOOM!

Silence!

It’s all over!

There’s nothing but dust rising from the ground. The stench of burning flesh mixed with blood would be smelt everywhere should there be anyone left to smell it. The sky would be so filled with smoke that even if anyone survived, they wouldn’t be able to breathe.

No cars, no trains, no motorways and no planes. No food, no water, no crops no takeaways. No trees, no flowers, no animals and no humans to be found. Just silence and complete darkness.

Where once there stood magnificent buildings steeped in history, now lies ash obscured by a vapour of dust. It doesn’t matter anyway, because nobody’s left to appreciate its architecture and beauty.

Where once there were green parks with people basking in the midday sun and swans gliding along the pond, now amass mud banks covered in splatters of blood mixed with earth and water.

How fragile life is. Yet, we live and behave as if it’s eternal.

We are so arrogant. We think we are the superior race. We think we can conquer everything this world has to offer. We think we can own a piece of this world and whatever we like in it. We even go as far as thinking that we own this world.

On an individual level, we fight for a little piece of it every day. We have the arrogance to think that by buying a house or a piece of land it actually belongs to us. It doesn’t. It never will. Sure, we can have a piece of paper that says we purchased it and sure, we can hand it down from generation to generation, but it isn’t ours. A tsunami, an earthquake, a volcanic eruption or a tornado can take it from us at any moment. So, how is it ours? I ask you, how does anyone come to the conclusion that this earth is ours?

We’re extremely lucky we have the opportunity to occupy a little space, at any given moment in time, on this earth. I don’t think many millions of people know just how lucky we are. But, then I guess life takes on a whole new perspective mainly for those who have suffered loss of any kind through natural, or artificially natural, disasters. Perhaps, respect for this planet occurs mostly in those who appreciate, and are grateful, for what they have; instead of constantly seeking more and more.

It’s preposterous! We are territorially separated with borders and barbed wire fences that attempt to define and separate countries and people. NO country OWNS its land. No human being is different from another.

What’s even more ludicrous is we go to war and fight over land and earthly resources we don’t own nor will ever own. People, wake up and smell the coffee, we own NOTHING. Not one little thing. We don’t even own what we think is our own body. We don’t even own what we think is our mind.
We own NOTHING!

The irony! We own nothing and yet we, ourselves, are slaves to everything. We are caught up in this economic frenzy that urges us to be a wasteful consumerism society. We don’t need it but we still buy it. It doesn’t work, we throw it out and buy a new one.

People are starving, children are dyeing and we feel no shame in stocking the fridge to the hilts and then throwing away everything that goes off. We can’t possibly consume THAT amount of food in a few days but we still stockpile.

We waste so much time, energy and money on futilities. Yet, when it comes to giving to a man on the street, we have none of the aforementioned. Our time becomes precious, we feel too tired to help and well, there’s a financial crisis going on. So, please don’t ask me for money!

How much do we need?

The more we have, the more we want and the more complicated life becomes.

Here’s a perfect example. We own a computer and the computer needs programs. Ah, but then we want to connect to the Internet. So, we need a service provider. The Internet has hackers and viruses, so I now need an anti-virus, anti-spyware and anti everything that will provide a little online safety. BUT ... computers aren’t reliable, so now I need an external hard-drive to keep my data on; just in case. Ah, but external hard-drives aren’t reliable either, so now we need to buy another one to make a copy of our backup. Alternatively, of course we could just buy a whole bunch of CDs and dump our stuff onto that. But, there is a risk we run over the disk accidentally with our chair when it falls on the floor.

Of course, God forbid we should lose anything or the computer stops working. Then, we get into a panic and a frenzy of where and how to get it fixed. Worse than that, we get ourselves worked up into even bigger frenzies because we can’t survive without the Internet, and neither can our crops in Farmville unless we harvest them within their time limit!

We’re completely hooked and addicted.

If we bought a TV, then we needed to have a Betamax. Then, all videos became VHS and now it’s all DVDs, Wiis and Play-Stations (and my head hurts); not to mention the Internet right on your TV set. Of course then, depending on your country, you need a TV license and cable or a great big satellite dish outside your house.

Heaven forbid anything should go wrong with any of the above mentioned. That would mean a huge amount of stress to the customer service call centre, which is actually not located in your region or even in your country. In fact, sometimes, the customer service representative might not even speak your language. They could be as far away as India! Now that’s what I call bringing the world a little closer together.

Oh well, I suppose it gives people something to talk about. Let’s face it, when we spend so much time in front of a computer or a television, conversation and communication skills do have a tendency to die a bit.

Hello!!!! ... life was never meant to be complicated. We complicate it!!!
Our children are hyperactive because of what they watch on TV; as well as the great amount of additives they consume in packed and processed foods. Yet, we cleverly define it as some kind of disorder and pop them full of pills or inject them, because we want a quick fix solution that will work here and now. Of course, we also sustain the growing pharmaceutical industry that is really out to keep us all ill, and legally addicted to drugs, so they can make gazillions and fund underhanded government tricks around the globe.

People, wake up and smell the coffee.

I’m not even going to start on chem-trails, CERN, HAARP and vaccines that are being forced upon us. I’m not even going walk down the road of power, greed and lies.

I just think it’s time to wake up and see how we’re being manipulated as a human race. We’re being turned against each other, as brothers and sisters living on this one planet, by those who would see it fit to rid society of whom they please. We don’t formulate opinions of our own anymore because we’ve given too much power to press and media. We let them spoon feed us what they want.

More to the point, we don’t ask questions anymore!

The big question, though, is why?

Through my eyes ...

See the world through my eyes.
It’s our world. It’s yours and it’s mine. It’s ours. It belongs to everyone.
We spend so much time and energy trying to own a piece of this world, but it’s only ours on loan. We are only here for a short time.
We’re just passing through on this journey called life.
When we die, we take nothing from this world, so nothing is ours to own.
Yet if we kill this world, we and future generations will have nowhere to call home.
The real beauty of this world costs nothing.
It’s free for all of us everywhere.
It doesn’t matter what colour your skin is. It doesn’t matter whether you’re tall or short. It doesn’t even matter what language you speak.
From London to Bahrain, from Paris to Baghdad, from Lisbon to Kathmandu and Tunisia to Tibet, we are one people under one sun, under one sky; living in this world.
We all cry the same way. We all suffer the same way and we all know what it feels like to fear something.
We are not different to one another.
In my world we can live in peace together and share this beautiful world, which is yours and mine.

Know your Consumer Rights!!!

Good afternoon Citizens of the world.

As I previously wrote, ignorance is definitely not bliss!

On the 27th March 2011, my very expensive 14 month old Apple Macbook Pro decided to take early retirement. Apple! The one gadget range I was told supposedly lasts a lifetime; just quit working; after 14 months!

Apparently, its ailment is it needs a new logic board, which, for all you PC users out there means it needs the equivalent of a Mother board.

Well, that was a blow to the Apple reputation as far as I am concerned. I'd only switched to Apple Mac because I'd heard nothing but wonderful things about it from a very good friend of mine, and I've never had much luck with computers in general.
So, the logic was make a greater investment for a better product that is more durable in the long run. How wrong could I be.

Here's my story so far and it comes with a warning for all Euriopean consumers. My warning is: "Know your consumer rights!" because as I wrote yesterday, ignorance definitely is not bliss; especially when it could potentially cost you a small fortune.

So, the laptop broke down on the 27th. On the 31st March 2011 it was handed over to the only authorised Apple Care centre in madeira. The person who kindly took the laptop in for repairing was quoted 498 Euros (including VAT.) At this time, I was in the United Kingdom, so I decided to give Apple (Ireland) a call and ask for confirmation of my date of purchase and issues regarding the guarantee.

The unhelpful person I spoke to informed me that without the serial number of my laptop, he could not answer any questions. But, he was very quick to say that my one year warranty would have expired and that it would be very expensive to replace the logic board.

Yesterday was the 13th April 2011 and I still have no laptop. It still hasn't been repaired. But, and here it gets interesting, I was having a conversation with a friend who informed me that all articles purchased within the European Union come under a 2 year Garantee and that I shouldn't be paying a penny for the laptop to be fixed; regardless of my Apple warranty having expired after 12 months.

So today, 14th April 2011, with another very good friend, I had the opportunity of speaking to the manager of the Consumer Rights Association in Funchal. Low and behold, and to my complete delight and amazement, it's true!

Any product purchased within the European Union has an automatic consumer protection warranty of 2 years, which means that if our beloved goods break down before the 24 months is up, we DO NOT PAY to have it repaired; regardless of whether the manufacturer only issues a 12 month guarantee!

This little snippet of information saved me a whopping 498€. Yet, nobody I'd "professionally" spoken to was willing to inform me of my rights.; especially Apple. I understand though that it is not within their best economical interest.

This is the "nutshell" version quoted online and it's available for all of us to know:

<<...a two year guarantee applies for the sale of all consumer goods everywhere in the EU (Directive 1999/44/EC). In some countries, this may be more, and some manufacturers also choose to offer a longer warranty period.>>

http://ec.europa.eu/publications/booklets/move/64/en.pdf

I'd recommend anyone, anywhere in the world to check their rights as a consumer.

Going back to the Apple Care, I was stunned into silence today when I learned that Apple Ireland sent Madeira two, not one, but yes TWO faulty replacement logic baords! Hence the reason why my laptop hasn't been fixed. How is this possible? How can a company that is reputedly one of the best in the world send faulty parts to their Care centres?

So, here I am still computerless, a little better off because I won't have to pay for any repairs, a little richer in knowledge about my rights as a consumer ... and wait for it ... if Apple don't return my fixed laptop to me within 30 days, I will be entitled to a complete refund or a new computer. Roll on May the 2nd!

Be informed, be aware and be safe!

Ignorance is not bliss!

Ignorance is an ugly thing. It's like a big black stain on a beautiful white gown. It's that permanent blackhead on the end of our nose that comes in many shapes and sizes and just keeps growing; the less we open our minds.

When I talk about ignorance, I'm not just talking about rudeness. I'm talking about all the negative qualities that impede us from being positively and potentially the best we can be; especially with regards to others.

In today's article, I'm talking about arrogance, inflexible mental attitudes, false beliefs and this innate desire we have to make others look wrong. In doing the latter, we are guilty of a sin far worse than trying to belittle someone, which we have a tendency to do to hide our own shortcomings, we are actually planting seeds that potentially make other people feel insecure about who they are, what they do and what they know.

Worst of all, we insist to the point of trying to convert someone to our way of thinking by resorting to quoting unreliable leads, misinterpreted information and speculative and/or somewhat dubious facts. We resort to any tactic possible in the name of attempting to show we have superior knowledge; even when we don't.

Worst of all, and ironically so, most of the time we are perfectly conscious of what we are doing. And, we all know it's not what we say but it's the way we say it. We could make the most outrageously absurd statement in the whole wide world, but if we said it with conviction, proper stance, confidence and good posture; nine times out of ten we'd probably get away with it.

Have you ever closely watched someone who wants to be right? Have you ever noticed how someone behaves when they know their back is up against the wall? Have you ever stopped to analyse your own behaviour when you want to win an argument or when you're feeling insecure about something and become a little more agressive than usual?

We've all done it at some point in our lives. It's a part of human nature; only some people eventually learn to control it and others never do.

If we are face to face with the offender of our intellect, we adopt a more authoritative position. We plant our feet firmly on the ground, stand tall, stick our chests out, and as if we were some kind of peacock, we start ruffling our feathers in preparation for the "blurt" about to exit our mouths.

Naturally, the other person takes the same stand right back at us and nothing is ever won. In fact, most of the time any discordance led down this path leads to arguments, bickering and in some cases physical violence.

If we are not face to face with the offender of our knowledge, then, in this day of the information super highway, we cltch at straws by sending emails full of links that could potentially back up our claims. Problem is, most of the time when we send an email along those lines, we ourselves might not have even read the articles we're quoting. We just copy/pasted them in a hurry to reach the "being right" finish line.

So, now, the situation begins to border on the ridiculous; especially if the perpertrator quotes the articles back at us in their favour. And, so this wonderful heated email argument flares up and so much good positive energy, and time, is wasted on finding and sending links backwards and forewards.

Of course, the best part about arguing online with someone is the delete button in the email inbox. Yet, as if drawn by some magnetic force our self centred ego and our desire to reach that "right" finish line won't allow us to just hit delete without first having a sneak preview of the email's contents.

Whatever happened to: "We agree to disagree"? Whatever became of: "Maybe I am wrong and I should look into it properly before I reply?" What does it matter who is right or wrong? Is there ever a true right or wrong? Most importantly, whatever happened to a little humility?

All of you out there who have ever eaten humble pie and learnt from it, I take a bow in your presence. I honour you, I really do. It takes a much bigger person to back down of any situation and admit their mistakes, faults or even lack of knowledge than it does for someone to fire back; when confronted. It also takes a much bigger person to remain silent when they know they are right.

It's easy to blab. We open our mouths and our thoughts come out. All we have to do is open our mouths and words come out. Most of the time, we have a tendency to say the first thing that comes into our mind. What's not so easy is to "control" the blab we vocally emit and use selective blabbing.

If someone undermines us or tries to belittle us, instinctively, in the heat of the moment, our first reaction is to lash right back; especially when we know we are right. But, what if we were to just remain silent? What if we didn't add fuel to the already stirring fire? What if we just turned our backs and walked away very politely without further engaging in the dispute?

Similarly, if we've allowed ourselves to enter into an argument with someone, what if we just learn to consciously recognise what we're doing and stop ourselves mid tracks. In Buddhism it is said that we need to be mindful or our thoughts, actions and words. I agree. The world doesn't collapse just because we're the ones to back down. Disaster doesn't strike if we walk away leaving another person thinking they are right; even when perhaps we know they're not. Yet, disaster will surely strike when two people enter a heated confrontation.

Being a bit more humble, and backing down, doesn't mean we're allowing people to walk all over us. It just means we avoid unnecessarily hurting someone else for the sake of our ego. We all learn our lessons in life. Some sooner, some later. It's not up to us to decide when someone will learn.

The Master appears when the student is ready.

All that remains to be seen is whether the student recognises the lessons in front of him or her.

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Idillic Villa for Sale on a Paradise island - ID: 2991 | Khusan.com | Free International Real Estate Classifieds Listings

Idillic Villa for Sale on a Paradise island - ID: 2991 | Khusan.com | Free International Real Estate Classifieds Listings