Blindness and Bicycles

Today I lived a metaphor for a knowledgeable existence. Sunscreen got in my eye while I cycled along the road. I stopped, sacrificing precious time, to pour water from my drinking bottle into and through my eye in an attempt to flush it. Not making much of a difference, I resolved to get back on the road, riding as best I could with one eye closed.

This is where my blindness most effected me. Without the depth perception granted by two eyes, I was bouncing dangerously along the edge of the road, crashing without warning over bumps and through potholes. The rough ride made me quite unstable, thus much more vulnerable to passing vehicles.

Unable to see, and accurately assess my surroundings, I was disadvantaged. I couldn’t see ahead well enough to plan my best course around obstacles. Unable to identify hazards, I feared the momentary distraction of a glance back for warning of what might be passing soon.

Similarly, in our approach to life, knowledge and understanding, and hopefully wisdom, help us choose the best path. We must make decisions regarding our education, finances, relationships, as well as a variety of other things. In these, our lives of decision making, we find ourselves better equipped when we have more information providing a wider picture and broader perspective.

For example, though the presence of pesticides and fertilisers on our fruits and vegetables has been deemed safe, there is a larger argument for organic foods. We have seen that the chemicals eventually percolate into the watershed, flowing ultimately into the ocean. We know this because the nutrients not taken up by crops then serve to encourage the growth of blue-green algae round the mouths of rivers flowing out from the major agri-zones. These massive algal blooms take up inordinate amounts of oxygen in the water, suffocating the local organisms that cannot move to more oxygen rich waters. There has even been suggestions that sharks in these areas turn more on humans who can remain. Sharks notwithstanding, many people are impacted by these crises in distant marine biomes. Such a complex ecosystem feels enormous repercussions when one population, or several, are decimated. The industries that harvest smaller organisms find direct impacts. A corollary is the disappearance of predatory creatures who’ve had to leave in search of food elsewhere. In the end, costs of harvest rise, as do the prices for consumers.

Now, where would you prefer to spend the extra money? Organic foods, or tainted seafood? Don’t ride blind on your bicycle.

Tearing Down Trees

On my ride yesterday, I came around a curve, slowly, as I was climbing a hill, and realised there was more sun than usual on that heavily forested road. Very quickly I saw that it was because another winery was clear-cutting the area to the east which normally shielded the road from the sun.

This made me think of a few lines in the song "Peace on Earth" by U2.

Where I grew up there weren't many trees
Where there was we'd tear them down
And use them on our enemies

Of course, in this situation they're not being used to literally beat enemies, but the idea is similar: destroying the environment for personal gain; for advancement over rivals.

I'm not a fanatical defender of the trees, I just wonder: at what price success?