Many years ago in India I was at a famous temple. As is the custom, I was in the process of buying a garland for donation to the temple when I saw a naked man sitting on the temple steps, whacking himself repeatedly on the head with a worn down cricket bat.
I asked the flower seller what was happening.
“Oh,” he replied, not even pausing in his garland making. “that is Kumar. He believes that it keeps the wild elephants away.”
“How long does he do it for?” I asked.
“Oh, every day.. for the last twenty two years.”
Kumar reminds me of many, many people. We hold onto an idea of safety that really isn’t true – like the wild elephants – and continually strategise to protect ourselves. Conversely, – and this is where the human mind is astonishing – we hold onto the opposite form of belief just as easily. We see a real threat that we could alleviate and we ignore it so totally that it means nothing to us!
Today I read yet another report about water quality in the US – this time at a military base. Obviously, being ‘in the business’ of healthy water, I probably see more than most. But I see so, so many reports on the parlous state of drinking water, in America in particular, that I am astonished at the power of people’s minds to ignore it!
They drink straight from the kitchen tap. They can afford a filter – but somehow their mind clings to the obviously fraught idea that the water they drink can’t hurt them or their family.
So which report are they ignoring?
Is it the report on 200+ US cities with excess lead in their water?
Is it the discovery of PFOA’s far more widespread than originally thought?
Is it the revelation that common plastics have carcinogenic Bisphenol-A in them?
Perhaps it is the discussion of the vast areas of America overloaded with nitrates for excess fertilizer use.
Is it the report on the decaying infrastructure that is America’s water reticulation system?
There are many more.. but that gives us an idea. Perhaps these folk have become immune to fear and need a ‘superbug’ style press release to stimulate clear thinking. The recent ‘Raw Water’ fad shows how little some people want to know about water!
Well, here’s a report that may shake up a few ‘immune’ minds.
