New Year Kaleidoscopes 2021

 

New Year´s Eve 2020>2021
was the first year in the life of most people currently alive
when firecrackers and large groups of people gathering to celebrate the New Year 2021 were not allowed
due to the Corona Pandemic that is still raging around the world this winter (while vaccinations began on December 27 2020).

For me as an artist, the second lockdown since November 2020 (probably continuing until the end of January 2021 or even longer)
was a time that inspired me to dive deep into my archive of works and create something new out of the “old” – instead of creating something new of something new. I still do so today, as there are many drafts, scetches and a lot of raw works in my archive that now feel like a treasure to me, when I re-discover them.

Looking back at 2020 today, the world has experienced about 12 months of the pandemic – a time that turned everything upside down in most people´s lifes. More insecurities and hardship arose and became visible, but humanity also got a glimpse of the power we have if we truly work together.

Finally in 2020 – 40 to 50 years long overdue, so I believe – humanity was forced to unite in one same goal:
in this case: to get rid of this Corona virus and to protect ourselves.

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As an eco activist since the age of 13 (more than 30 years ago by now) I often felt laughed at when I tried to motivate others to reflect about the ecological impact of our lifesytle, our personal consumption (of plastics) and (artificial) diet.
As a teenager – on a very basic, intuitive level – I had understood that everything is connected somehow (even though I could not understand exactly how). I was surrounded by adults that thought I was simply making trouble and wanted to disturb their balance and security when I tried to talk about this.
For example, I have been called “antisocial” by my own grandmother when I told her that I did not want to eat meat anymore. But this is another story…

All I ever wanted since that time around the 1990ies has been to raise awareness and consciousness that every single act of every human (and especially those humans living in the countries that emit most CO2 into the atmosphere) – has an effect on the whole planet.
People simply did not care when I talked about the Amazonian rainforest in the 199os and how important it is to protect the forest aswell as all other fellow species. They reacted like “yes, yes, it is nice that you care about the trees (“little girl”)” – and ordered their next cheap steak from a mass production farm that fed the poor caged animals with Soya grown on monoculture fields that once were Amazonian rainforest).

“Surprisingly” 10 to 15 years later, those same adults who fought my youthful empathy for this planet and my desire to create a world in balance hard, have begun to suffer classic civilisation disease due to ill lifestyle manners and a refusal to change. By now, some are severely ill and still refuse to see the connection between what we eat and how we care for our own bodies and minds – both need wholesome nourishment.
As a child I suffered several chronic diseases and managed to heal myself beginning with that same wholseome change in diet and lifestyle plus I began to take full responsibility for my own health. I deeply believe that there is a strong connection between how we treat our own bodies – if we look at it as the house for our spirit and mind – and how we treat our homeplanet Earth. But again, this is another story…

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The knowledge about the devastating effect of mankind on our homeplanet Earth was already scientifically analysed in the 1970s (Club of Rome “Die Grenzen das Wachstums” / “The limits of growth”). Scientists have since been ignored. Striving for more profit in the old capitalist way of thinking still stays top agenda in far too many minds. Today, mankind´s distructive impact on planet Earth is called the Anthropocene – so we have created a word that explains the way our species destroys its only home. Crazy, but true.

Through my own observation of adult behaviour at that time while I was still growing up, I learned that most people only change, when it really hurts. Otherwise most people stay victims to their own unhealthy habits and do not have the willpower and foresight to prevent destructive developements. I recently learned from an interview with a neuroscientist that our brains are not really wired for longterm thinking – but this is what we need if we want to continue enjoying all the beauty that is still out there.

*

2020 hurt. A lot.
Many Corona related deaths would have been preventable if we humans would have kept a respectful distance to nature over the past 50-70 years, so I am convinced. In 2020 many non-biologists have learned about the term “zoonoses”. The rise of more zoonoses has already even been predicted by biologists a couple of years ago – so, I believe, a pandemic like this one, could have been prevented (see for example the biologist Paul Stamets on mycology in his talks from 2011/2021 which can be found on YouTube).
We have also learned what it feels like to keep social distance to protect each other and we have learned that this does not feel nice at all.

In deep love, respect and admiration for this fascinating planet Earth we humans may still exist on for some time, I also wonder, how many deaths of wonderful animals and non-human species would have been preventable if humans would have kept this respectful distance that would have been necessary to keep the balance?

I believe nature is talking to us and maybe she is simply reflecting our own behaviour? One could say, to planet Earth, the human specias is a virus that has spread incontrollably over the last decades. By the year 2020 many eco / climate systems are on the brink of collaps, because of the explosive spreading of our species (German readers see: https://www.zdf.de/wissen/scobel/scobel–systeme-auf-der-kippe-100.html).

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So I really hope that 2020 tought all humans currently living on planet Earth that:
– Everything is connected
– Viruses cross human borders
– Climate change crosses human borders
– We need to reduce the amount of physical space and matter that we use of this planet if we want to continue existing here and we urgently need to take measures to enforce this reduction
– We need to give back space that we have stolen from other species
– We need to respect all other species the same way we want to be respected as humans – beginning with the bees
– What we experienced in 2020 is a direct result of our own behaviour during the last century – so it is our responsibility change this.
&
– Maybe we do not need firecrackers anymore and will think about creating new, healthier rituals to celebrate the new year,
like, for example shooting plant seeds into the sky together with a colourful LED light projection show?!
(I know, this is not the proper way to plant seeds and make them grow, but I love the idea of it…)

We can make this change. It is in our hands and minds – now.
I believe, saving and protecting our home planet Earth is basically “only” in our own interest. We should be able manage these changes if we want to survive. We need to get out of this mode of self-destruction into self-love and from there to universal love and respect for this complete wonder of existence.

*

Making another wish
The last money I spent in 2020 was for the ticket for a live performance concert of another artist couple – and the first activitiy I did on January 01 2021 was enjoying this live session concert in the new digital form on my laptop.

2020 was also very brutal on all professional artists. Visual, musical, performing artists could not work in the same way that was already hard before, but still fulfilling. In 2020 for most artists the fulfilling part and for many sadly also the existential part disappeared. At the same time people in lockdown mentally survived on the consumption of art in the form of visuals, audio and text.

I wish that from 2021 on
all profesisonal artists shall receive all the appreciation that they deserve.
Every full time artist who has devoted her life and complete existence to the creation and expansion of consiousness
by enriching other people´s minds and hearts with new ways of seeing, thinking, and perceiving,
should get all the support she needs
from all those who love to enjoy visuals, music, and text. So basically namely from everyone.

Please continue to enjoy growing with the flow & keep staying save and inspired!

 

Nabiha
(on January 02 2021)