The Wisdom of Sun Seekers...

One particular day in an English town of Gotham, a group of men were rejoicing when they erected a fence around a bush on which on one of its branches a cuckoo was perched.

"Now you can sing for us!" 

But the bird took off and flew away without a single note sung.

"Oh dear. We did not make the fence high enough."

The official who witnessed the incident rebuked them with the words:

"You fools! Don't you realise that the bird would fly away no matter how high the fence is?"

"Dear me! We never thought about that!"

The official walked further along, and eventually came to a brook where twelve men had spent the day fishing. As some were wading into the water, they decided upon a head-count to ensure nobody had drowned. But as one counted all the others, he did not count himself, and therefore numbered eleven only. The passing official asked if there was a problem. 

"Yes there is! Twelve of us came here this morning, but there are only eleven of us now. One of us must have drowned!"

Then the official instructed, "Do another head-count."

Each of the men counted the others except himself, and each time the number came up to eleven.

"What will you give me to find your missing brother?"

"An agreed sum of money."

The official snapped his whip across the shoulders of each man present whilst counting each one until the full twelve was reached.

"There is your missing brother."

Oh thank you sir! Thank you for finding our missing brother!"

The next day the official came across a trader who was on his way to the market, pushing a wheelbarrow loaded with round blocks of cheese. One of the cheeses fell off the barrow and began to roll down the hill.

"Well I wonder! Why should I carry you all the way to the market if you can make your own way there?"

 The official then watched the man empty the barrow of the cheeses, and each one rolled down the hill, one at one direction, another at another direction until they were all out of sight, whilst others made their way towards the bushes where they came to rest. Feeling optimistic, he then declared to the official,

"These cheeses have certainly gone far. I guess they know where to find the market by themselves."

He then called out:

I'll see you all at the market!

But as he arrived at the market, he saw no sign of any of his merchandise. He spent the rest of the day there looking for his cheese blocks, strolling along the rows of stalls in the hope of meeting his stock, and even asking other stallholders whether they have seen any of his cheese come this way, but as far as the officials were aware, this fellow never saw his cheeses again.

So all the officials, who were scattered around the town, returned to King John, and told him everything they had seen and heard, for there were several other foolish acts which took place in Gotham which were witnessed by all of them. The king was indeed amused by it all.

Much fiction has been made about King John, son of King Henry II of England. King John reigned for seven years between April 1199 until his death in 1216. These stories were based on real history. One of his historic campaigns was to raise revenue to fund his efforts to reclaim the French province of Normandy after Philip II's invasion of the land in 1204. One way to raise such funds was through heavy taxation of his subjects. And that is where the above three stories of the men of Gotham fits in. King John, hated by many, was to pass through Gotham in order to reach Nottingham, a few miles to the north. By checking Google Maps, Gotham does exist in real life. It is a small town south of Nottingham, and a road from the south passes through on the way north to the city.

And so when the citizens of Gotham heard that their king was to pass through their town, they were immediately alarmed. Their fear that any financial security they had enjoyed was under threat of taxation, and therefore they cut down trees to lay across the road, forming an adequate barrier blocking the monarch's progress. Angry, he returned to London while his ambassadors remained in Gotham to both assess their tax potential and to have the blockade dismantled. And while such assessments were made, these officials came across such foolishness among the town's residents. They reported the matter to the king, who in turn laughed and promised not to disturb a town of fools.

Their ploy had worked. Rather than being foolish, instead they were at their height of wisdom. Their incomes remained safe from the heavy tax burden King John had levied on the rest of the nation.

Wind forward over eight hundred years and at present there seem to be another apparent act of foolishness which was reported nationwide through the media. That is in a story of a hotel by the Atlantic Ocean. Indeed, as I write, the first weekend of August - and in the midst of the holiday season - little wonder that I have heard of this time of the year being "the silly season". A story appeared in a national newspaper this week of how all the guests in a hotel all got up early each morning to reserve their sunbeds by the poolside by throwing their towels on them before filing into the restaurant for breakfast. Hotel Servatur Waikiki in Gran Canaria opens its doors for access of the pool precisely at 8.00 every morning. In readiness of this opening, a crowd of mainly British sun-seekers are waiting. As soon as the doors are open, it is a literal stampede to the better located sunbeds for reservation before breakfast. A towel is thrown on a chosen sunbed, and its owner returns to the hotel until later. A whole stampede - not of cattle - but of grown-up humans! 

They give a wise word of wisdom. First, if these sunbeds are left free until mid-morning, they would find them all taken by their rival German tourists. Secondly, because the UK have such drab Summers, there was a national medical report about a threat of low levels of Vitamin D, a vital health sustainer mainly sourced from sunshine. Although I have not come across any cases of rickets, nevertheless, to have a lack of Vitamin D is certainly not nice to health, and could even lead to cancer and cardiac problems, as well as weak bone structure and muscle pain. And so, blessed with such information, sun-seekers desperate for that much-need sunshine ensure that they get it, stampede notwithstanding! After all, two weeks of sunshine out of fifty-two weeks of the year of constantly miserable British weather is a must-have. And therefore I tend to wonder how many times such scenarios are repeated in sunshine spots, especially around the Mediterranean as well as at the Canary Islands.

The Hotel Servatur Waikiki has five hundred beds, according to the media, and there are only 150 sunbeds. Indeed for the need of a pre-breakfast stampede. What a contrast, for example, to the hotel where Alex and I spent our tenth wedding anniversary in the Greek island of Rhodes. I recall the first morning after our arrival when we decided to visit the poolside. We were the only two people there. The few sunbeds which were around the poolside were all vacant. Having the entire swimming pool to ourselves at eight in the morning was a dream-come-true - before mid-morning, which by then the area was crowded with British tourists. 

But then, that's not the point. Pardon me if I seem to lack wisdom here, but if sunbathing to boost Vitamin D is so crucial, then I cannot work out why such a need for a sunbed is so necessary if there is a beach so close by. And I wouldn't be at all surprised if there are more sunbeds awaiting hire - Wait! That's it! Sunbeds awaiting hire. That means paying extra for a day's use of the sunbed. That was how it was like in Greece. The entire beach lined with sunbeds which has to be paid for. We Brits don't like that. An all-inclusive holiday should mean exactly that - every facility already paid for. No surcharges. No extras. Yet we went to a Greek island three times: twice to Rhodes and once to Kos, and if I recall, we only used the beach sunbed twice - once in Rhodes at a resort of Lindos, some miles away from our hotel, and once at Kos. Generally, sunbeds are far from a necessity whilst away from home. A short walk along the beach and there is always a suitable spot somewhere to lay down the towel. And some of these spots are among rocks which adds a touch of drama to the scenery, as well as greater chance of avoiding sand lodging between our toes, which is often why I find sandy beaches irritating.

Then again, the idea of spending the whole day on a sunbed, whether at our hotel or at the beach, has never been my thing. Maybe once in a while, but certainly not every day. There are far more fulfilling ways to spend a vacation than just sunbathing. That is to check out the environment we found ourselves in. A bit of exploring, sightseeing - even if it means standing in a crowded bus or train. To walk through an archaeological site, to admire the tropical or Mediterranean flora making up a beautiful garden, to hike a trail passing through spectacular environment - whether its a waterfall cascading through a rain forest, admiring a mountain range, snorkelling over a coral reef, or hiking through a desert populated with cactus - or craning my neck inside a beautiful cathedral. And there is always room for fun - swimming in the sea or pool, a ride on a roller-coaster, enjoying some nightlife without the need for alcoholic intoxication. Such life-enriching activities to be enjoyed without the need to stampede for a hotel sunbed.  

Cairns, Australia 1997 - on a ferry to the Great Barrier Reef

And perhaps that was why before I married, package hotel holidays were anathema to me. Back in those days I would have shunned such hotels for the backpacker's hostel, a double bedroom for a dormitory bunk-bed, ranger-led tours for a map or guidebook, and a luxury coach for a hiking trail. From single-destination trips to go-as-you-please independent multiple-stop itineraries. Even after we married, trips abroad was far more to do with sightseeing than chasing a sunbed. To sum up: a fulfilling trip while still soaking in the sun. And an album of interesting, memory-enhancing photos.

And all this has made me ask: I wonder what Jesus Christ would have said or done had he found himself surrounded by a crowd of people about to stampede to the poolside, all in a rush to grab a sunbed? Interesting point. Coming to think of it, I wonder how he would have made out with the people of Gotham during the start of the Thirteenth Century? Would he had commended them for their shrewdness? Or exhorted them to pay their burdening taxes to an egocentric king? Or would he have made a comparison between the wisdom shown by these Thirteenth Century men of Gotham with the present horde of sun-seekers out to grab a sunbed?

I guess I already know what to do in this present-day situation. Stay in bed until it's time to file down for breakfast. Then shower and have breakfast before planning where to go for the day. As for the sunbeds, leave us out. Let them have them. They are welcome to them. While they stampede, we head off to the bus stop or railway station.

Natural Disaster? There Is Hope!

"Vanity, all is vanity!" cries the Preacher. So the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes opens. Penned by King Solomon the son of David, Solomon was the ancestor of Joseph the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Solomon had a far less known brother Nathan, who was the ancestor of Mary herself, making King David the father of Jesus Christ in both the royal and biological lineage.

 

Having just completed the short book in daily morning Bible reading and meditation, I have found this book very pessimistic and if I would say, discouraging - throwing cold water on anyone who is bubbling with ambition and to the goal achievers. For those not so acquainted with Old Testament Scripture, what is Ecclesiastes all about?

 

That life without God is meaningless. A man works hard under the sun to enjoy the fruits of his labour, yet his days are few, and the same fate awaits him as it does to all. All the ambitious are toiling hard to achieve their goals but all they do is chase the wind. He cannot take his earnings or his rewards to the grave, but leave them for others to enjoy. So what is the use of wearing oneself out in heavy toil under the sun? Is he more wise than the lazy person who spends his time twiddling his fingers? Because both will die, the wise and the foolish alike, therefore the industrious wise man is no better off than the lazy fool, as the grave will swallow them both, and their names forgotten afterwards. So someone is born into a family with wealth and possessions, yet God has deprived him from enjoying what he has, instead he hurries around in anxiety in protecting everything he owns, for he knows that his wealth can disappear in a sudden. Someone else may work hard and gain wealth, but what would happen to it after he dies? Would the heir take care of the property and invest wisely, or squander it all away?

 

And so, Solomon writes,

 

What does man gain from all his labour at which he toils under the sun?

Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains for ever.

The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.

The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning to its course.

All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full.

To the place the streams come from, there they return again.

(Ecclesiastes 1:3-7)

 

In a world where universal belief was that every natural occurrence is a result of many moody deities in the heavens interfering with the elements, this Scripture is of true wisdom which is wholly backed by science. King Solomon could not have been truer when he described the reality of the earth's rotation and the atmospheric activity of the cyclone, or what we at present call a low pressure system, and the mechanics of the hydraulic cycle. That the sun rises and sets is scientific fact, even though it only appears that way due to the Earth's rotation. It was quite a contrast to the universal view, originated from ancient Egypt and adopted by the Babylonians, that the sun is a deity who dies at dusk, and it is either re-born at dawn, or a new sun-god is born every morning.

 

 

 

And so the UK media has put our recent storms and flooding as newspaper headlines and top priority story in our news bulletins. Talking in Solomon's poetry language, when the homes of the working classes up in the North of England were destroyed by flooding within the last couple of years, yes there was news coverage, but nothing as intense as in the present, as the Media goes hysterical when the prosperous South gets flooded. This is another evil, Solomon would have said, when our Prime Minister declares that "Money is no problem" when it comes to funding in resolving the crisis. Was it a coincidence that he came out with that statement on the same day as when news of a flood over the sports grounds of Eton was broadcast? And as far as I'm aware, I don't recall him declaring this infinite money resource when the floods hit the North a couple years earlier.

 

The floods over the Somerset Levels had been with us since Christmas, but it appears that not too much fuss was made over them, as much of the deluged land was farmland. It took weeks, even months, before our Government ministers turned up to show their support. But when the River Thames had burst its banks, particularly over Berkshire and Surrey, threatening towns such as Henley, Marlow, Datchet, Windsor, and Shepperton, all wealthy upper-middle class settlements, there was panic in Downing Street, and a voice was heard at Parliament. And so our Ministers squabble about one thing over another, yet are powerless to make any real tangible inroads, since how could man, puny as he always have been, tame the violent forces of nature?

 

And so street interviews follows one after another, victims of the flood giving their opinions and points of view of the conveyor belt of storms, persistent rain and gales, homes destroyed by flood waters, stinking sewage, along with power supply failure, fallen trees, abandoned cars and other damaged properties and businesses. Yet one of things I have noticed which is so distinctly British, is that of the sheer stoicism among the interviewees, the containing of emotion when, after years of working so hard and spending so much, to see such a beloved home destroyed along with treasured possessions, family heirlooms, and so on. Oh, isn't the stiff upper lip so admirable during a crisis as intense as this one, a characteristic so unique to Britain, so the newspaper journalists insist, that the UK, especially the English, appear culturally superior to the rest of the world. So our newspaper reporters love to boast on how the British were fit to expand and run an empire, according to them, the greatest and the most extensive in human history. This is another evil under the sun. For when human stoicism was seen outside the UK, such as at a mining crisis in South America a few years ago for example, our newspaper reporters not only remained quiet, they even disappeared from their desks during the occasion when all the victims were successfully rescued under a very meticulous operation.

 

 

So this is what I have observed: that when the ordinary plebs and the working classes suffer a crisis, then the media reports in a calm, business-like manner, one of several articles and not even making the headlines. But if the wealthier, upper or upper middle classes suffer the same sort of disaster, then both the Media and Government ministers throw themselves into an emotional turmoil, running around in circles in trying to find a solution to the crisis. On a Daily Mail Online website, there was a picture post showing all the posh homes lining the banks of the River Thames under threat of flooding. Maybe I might be wrong here, but so far I have not come across anything of this kind on the Media from up the more industrial, working class North.

 

So a boy receive a top-class education, attending an institution such as Eton, Harrow, Rugby, or Winchester public school, and graduates in readiness for Oxbridge, where he collects a highly valued degree. Then into the world of work where his degree earns him a high income which, in turn, lays a deposit on an exclusive, expensive riverside property with stunning views. But as the river rises and flood his home, he sees the whole of his lifetime achievement go to pot, despite all the media attention he gets. This is a terrible evil. As he gets old, his health gives in, and he spends his last days in a nursing home before giving up the ghost. How very, very sad and pathetic. He leaves nothing but his name, his date of birth and of his death etched on his tombstone, and nobody remembers him, save his family. The world simply moves on. Anyone passing his tombstone and reading his epitaph will not have a clue on how he looked, let alone how he acted in life. 

 

Am I being cynical? Maybe so, maybe not. But these ideas are not my own. King Solomon had already observed very similar things and recorded them. That includes class bias, which some readers might have come to believe I have an obsession with. Yet Solomon also wrote:

 

I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom which greatly impressed me:

There was once a small city with just a few people in it. And a powerful king came upon it, surrounded it and built huge siegeworks against it.

Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city out of wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man.

So I said, "Wisdom is better than strength."

But the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.

Ecclesiastes 9:13-16.

 

Oh, how we British, who claim that our Constitution is based on the Bible, yet follow the very same folly as those inhabitants in that city which was saved by the wisdom of the poor man. Maybe if I had titled this page Christian Thoughts: By Dr. F. Blasi M.D.- I would have a much wider audience of readers! Even if all my words were exactly the same, I was tempted, at one point, to title myself Dr. - just to see what might have happened. But God would never be glorified by deception.

 

Ecclesiastes is about daily life under the sun, without God, with the grave and judgement awaiting all. Without God, life is indeed meaningless, a hopeless folly. But, and yes praise God, there is a but, through faith in Jesus Christ there is hope - eternal life given freely to all who believe. That is good news. And this is the reason why I have placed the folly of life through the present flood crisis on the same par as Solomon's writings. We British may with stoicism face up to the disaster, and draw up plans on how to deal with it. But that is where the problem lies. The victims keep a stiff upper lip, count the cost of his loss, and attempt to move on without falling on his knees and calling on God for mercy. Given the right instructions on faith in Jesus Christ Resurrected, this soul would receive something much more worthy of value than mere restoration of his home and possessions. A heavenly home, glorious, eternal, without money and without price - hence no mortgage or rent - reserved for him in Heaven. A home and property that will never ever be spoilt by any form of disaster.

 

It is something to be cheerful about, and the reason for a much greater hope.