AWARENESS!!

"LiSTEN UP..."

Although this piece of electronic music isn't the most "anxiety-provoking" of all, its title probably deserves some explanations... Indeed, composed on a hot summer night, this piece was composed under particular conditions in the sense that I was at the same time monitoring a house for which I was responsible... In short, still, without going into details, the context probably inspired me, hence its title referring to the theme of vigilance and the following few snippets of reflection...

Assuming that vigilance is akin to a (variable) level of attention, it would then be expected to facilitate presence in the here and now while striving to anticipate the future. In general, however, the combination of awareness, vigilance and maturity in making choices would in no way guarantee the positive or negative outcome of a given situation. However, alerting the senses should at least awaken consciousness and make it possible, mature or not, to encourage a reaction as long as it is appropriate, a process at the heart of adaptation or survival phenomena... Finally, in principle! Because alarms resound on all sides nowadays, but many are those who simply do not want to hear them or simply do not hear them... Or they hear them but attach little importance to them, or are even convinced that it is a false signal! In the old days, drums would beat, trumpets or bells would sound, cannon shots would be fired to warn people in the distance. In contemporary times, the ways of "sounding the alarm" have taken many, many forms and relate to many, many areas to the point of probably reaching a counterproductive over-abundance. Because by dint of calling on the attention functions for everything and for nothing, our brains, sore from so many signals, also come to show, if not signs of failure or distress, at least signs of fatigue, weakness, or even of "softness..."

As a reminder, continuously or intermittently, the signal (or ringing) emitted by an alarm device is, to put it simply, intended to awaken vigilance. As a warning, this form of short message to those who perceive it and for whom it means something is a well-worn mechanism. Needless to say, it can be very useful in many situations. When an alarm goes off, it can warn of danger and even save lives. However, we have also learned to divert its function to serve other interests.... For example, when an alarm sounds at the edge of secure property, it is a warning to both the person who has just crossed the boundary and the person who remains there. Nowadays (and even during our nights...), an alarm always sounds somewhere... Whether it's the horn of the shiny mechanic parked in front of the neighbour's garage, the same one that he is polishing daily to make it shine even brighter! Or the alarm in the latter's villa or another in the distance that repeats the same shrill melody over and over again to warn of an intruder, an animal or a gust of wind that has triggered its sensors. When it is not that of the microwave oven at the end of the cooking program that signals that the "delicious" prepared, packaged & "nutritionally unsuitable" dish is ready to eat, swallowed in almost less time than it took to cook it! Of course, the mobile phone that never leaves your side and which, when placed a few dozen centimeters away, reminds you that it is time to get up, even if it is still dark outside, to go to work and wait for the signal to release you... The self-closing doors or the security gate that resounds as you pass by, even though you have correctly followed the magnetic card detection procedure. Or that of the fire alarm shouting such a high-pitched sound, even if it's only an exercise, that all you want to do is run for cover away from the cacophony! In short, this is what has surreptitiously become our daily routine: increased vigilance, alarms sounding on all sides, countless warning signals that we either take very seriously or that we neglect for various reasons... Noise becoming an additional pollutant...

Vigilance is also important in terms of health, both physical and mental. The body also sends warning signals, distress messages... Without the body becoming an obsession, we must constantly learn to decode the information transmitted in order to try to provide the best possible answers in terms of subsistence. In any case, you don't have to be an expert in "somatic" decoding to know when something is wrong. When things don't go right in our organism, in general, we notice it... However, not always, not systematically, not directly... We must therefore remain constantly vigilant, conscious and benevolent in our life choices. Because, whether it is about ourselves or those around us, the way we react to these signals inevitably leads to consequences...

Alarms are ringing all over the place! Continuously or intermittently, as diverse as they are numerous, warning signals are sounding all over the planet... It will certainly not be the IPCC scientists, biologists, climate and environmental specialists, ecologists or other defenders of Nature who will tell you otherwise! With all due respect to climate sceptics, the signs of a massive extinction of plant and animal species subjected to the pressure of a humanity totally disconnected from the realities of Life are now clearly visible, even quantifiable! The environmental disaster is probably on the scale of the "mental disaster" of a human being who has always seen himself as stronger than the nature of things... Because, without rallying the debate to the polemical question of the "collapse", we should still be able to recognize that, on reflection, we are still not very far from a real, and not the least, "environmental abyss!" The actors in the field will tell you about it: the phenomena they encounter on a daily basis are at least, if not distressing, sad or depressing, at least very worrying! If we add to this the consumerist frenzy, the policies at the service of industries, the regulators who are no more severe than they are ambitious, the greed and selfishness proudly displayed by the least clever among us even though they are all covered with diplomas or recognition of all kinds, the nonchalance of populations devoted to the cult of the norm, it is not the "ecologically sensitive", although they are more and more numerous, who will succeed in changing everything. And although we must not "give up", it is not the extremists of "political" ecology and their methods of "combat" that will ensure that tomorrow the environment and the symbiosis of Life will be respected. The most pessimistic will tell you that there is probably not much more to do... As for the (hyper?) optimists, they may tell you that, on the contrary, humanity is at the dawn of a new era of promise! What can I say to that? What should we think about it? Except that ecological awareness may or may not serve as a trigger! So, if hope is a human characteristic and personal investment more than commendable, valiant even, it is nevertheless necessary to show the greatest lucidity. Human communities, by the way, still have much to learn from the complex environments that serve as playgrounds, dining tables and viable habitats. This is the minimum price to pay for a biologically sustainable relationship!

Although aware of the "symbiotic" reality, the fragility of the contemporary societal ecosystem is mainly based on the denial of reality by governments, regulatory, financial and industrial bodies. Of course, and even if they are perverse measures, compensations, investments and other supposedly "more or less eco-responsible" alternatives are projects that make us dream of a better world. Nevertheless, objectively speaking, it is on a completely different level that things are played out. If only because as long as the leaders of Wall Street and the other stock exchanges have not fully integrated the systemic data of a planet in full mutation, the "global financial ecosystem" will not be in line with the realities of a finite planetary environment that is out of breath with regard to the rates imposed since long before the "Smithian" impulses of growth and accumulation! Without apologizing here for obscure theories or ideologies of another age, we can still come to think that the principle of "economic liberalism", although attractive on paper, is largely outdated because it does not really take into account the very characteristics of the terrestrial globe! A sphere of life lost in the galactic vastness that is not "exclusively" dedicated to the sole supply of humanity! What should we think of the "ultra-liberal" leitmotiv then? If the "great specialists of this world" do not systematically include the "living" dimension of "our beautiful planet" in their models of thought, overexploitation will put an end to the elementary resources for the sustenance of our "biotope" at all! This is a problem that some hope to answer by colonizing other worlds to extract what they need to continue their quest for power! When it is not the "techno-scientists" who predict an idealized future, a utopia of progress... So if the alarms are ringing on all sides, what are we waiting for to listen and react? What are we waiting for to wake up? What are we waiting for to become more mature? For it to pass? For things to settle down? It's not serious! Let's stop being "spoiled children!" "Let's finally become adults!" Let's be responsible, not because we have a moral or ethical duty, but simply because it's a matter of survival for all of us...

Here it is, it is on this "stormy" reflection that I leave you to your meditations as well as to your actions, "ecologically sensitive" or not... Facing yourself and your conscience, you will often have to make choices... Try to make them as mature as possible... Also, a piece of advice: after that, think about something else. I don't know if it will help you, but I invite you, if you haven't already done so, to go on to the audio version of the subject of this little laïus... (LOL) It should relax you a little or not... (LOL)

nms303