morbid thoughts for today

[kettunainen]

I read somewhere recently (was it in The Spell of the Sensuous?) that a shaman's role is to act as mediator between the people and the land. When there is an imbalance in the relationship between the people and the land due to the actions of the people, that imbalance will manifest as sickness and disease among the people

Comments

[admirabilia]

girl. This is a fair rationalization. I too have decided that when i am in a position to do so in my life, settled, with the means i will adopt. I don't mean a baby, but a person. Everyone deserves a home, a family a sense of place. It is worthwhile to try not to be so quick to distrust 'people'though. Everything/one is connected and really is well intentioned. They just may not know it yet because maybe, no one took the time to support them. maybe they are skeptical becasue they don't have the sense of place in the world that you aspire to give another being. Its hard to be compassionate sometimes.

[kettunainen]

yeah, I wouldn't adopt a baby either. I'd go for someone older -- the ones who keep getting overlooked because of their age.

you have good thoughts. thank you.

[tamago23]

FTR, the world fertility rate is dropping significantly. Canada, if not for immigration, would have a declining population rate. Population growth is now _exclusively_ in developing counties, and even there, the fertility rates are dropping. In addition, diseases like AIDS have significantly increased the death rate in some developing countries.

So don't be too hard on yourself for wanting to reproduce.

[kettunainen]

That's definitely good to know about the world fertility rate. Thank you. I feel less bad now. I still think there are a couple billion too many people on this planet.

are the fertility rates in the developping countries dropping because people are consciously wanting fewer children? or is it due to rising rates of infertility? (are there rising rates of infertility?)

[tamago23]

Family planning measures are starting to make real inroads in developing countries. (PBS did a fascinating series on family planning in India and China recently.) Modern young couples aren't interested in having as many children as their parents did - often the parents are the ones dead-set against family planning, but as long as a woman's husband backs her up against her mother-in-law, it's all good. (And in more and more cases, the husbands are backing up their wives in terms of allowing them to take the Pill or what-have-you. The modern young men don't want a huge brood of children any more than the modern young women do.)

The downer aspect, in terms of Africa, is that AIDS is decimating their reproduction-age population. It's leaving a whole lot of children and a whole lot of old people, but the people in between are getting killed at a horrific rate. So when people of reproductive age are dying, well, they're not reproducing.

[kettunainen]

re funding and malaria: that sucks! stupid fat, bald, sleepless, rich people... *grrr* how very ego-based. you want to cure obesity? fucking eat right, dammit! and baldness? my goodness. I have no kindness for that -- there are people DYING and you're worried about your thinning hair?? give me a fucking break!

/rant

I very much agree with you about biology versus emotional bonding. As someone who gets very much attached to pets, whom I obviously did not birth, I have no problems with the notion of adoption and being able to love whichever child comes into my life.

More and more, I like Angelina Jolie.

For me, pregnancy and labour (right now -- haven't been there yet) is definitely something very spiritual. I'm totally looking forward to the entire experience. I agree with you heartily that labour is a nightmare for loads of women, but I also know that it doesn't have to be as bad as it is. Of course, that's an entirely different post/essay/thesis/dissertaion/book/philosophy.

[kettunainen]

that totally kicks ass. :)

do you have any particular preferences? baby, toddler, child? ethnic heritage? health condition?

I think I would go with an older adoptee -- anywhere from 2 to 8 years. Kids tend to be a LOT more interesting when they can walk and talk. ;)

hmmmm

[thepunkpanther]

it occurs to me that in all likelyhood, the earth shall simply shake us off like a bad case of fleas. maybe the dolphins will do bettter next time round.
[thankyou Mr. Carlin]

but gee wiz, you three are all people who i know would never ever harm a child in a gazzillion years and more to the point, would probably raise a really cool person.

who knows? never know til yay at least try.
hugz
ps: i still like cats more than i like people. [teehee]

Re: hmmmm

[kettunainen]

thank you :)