It all began with mankind looking back, in an urge to understand where species came from, especially from what or where our own primate ‘family kind’ originated from. All this is new, less than 300 years ago, though the older first steps towards that knowledge of origins began with the mind’s quest for clarity before recorded history, thus the timeless cultivation or inspiration that led to religion and the Gods, their divine priests, and prophets. That didn’t go too well, because our specie always had a diversity of temperaments, and possibly the same amount of mental illness disorders that we have today, hence, the efforts to explain the natural mysteries that enveloped their world, of storms, floods, and earthquakes needed a definition, an understanding to simplify phenomenal challenges, and interpretations for their dreams. Dreams and visions that always had diverse origins and interpretations, what was certain, was that the world our distant forefathers lived in, imposed a conscious awareness, a need to construct a rational sense of order, discipline, and control to organize the haunting curiosity to explore. The first two faculties that were enabled, to provide inner strength {mental and spiritual} and a reprieve from fear, this group consolation came with ‘Art and Song’ thus Imagery and Iconography enabled the symbolic language to come alive, and songs preserved the experiences of the group, sacred singing would follow. The order of ritual was awakened to explore and observe the language of the stars and nature. The confidence of dogma provided interpretations, wrong or right, through the ages and here we are today, with the realization that we are enveloped in the symbolic sacred garden, this earth, and are expected to manage this garden. But the greed of progress has gone too far, the aged ordinances are cast aside, with the obvious survival of self, the compulsion of greed that lingers with the more militarily advanced nations, can happen here, very much to our detriment. If we take into consideration the simple examples of ‘The New Georgetown Buildings’ makes one wonder, if new laws have been written to allow a four/five-story concrete building to be erected in front of two small wooden cottages at the back, impeding on the very exit from those cottages in case of emergency. But the task is bigger than that, the view must be extended to the complete living environment of man, creatures, and the civilizations within the soil, that will determine whether we eat or not. About the poisoning and abuse of soil organisms and particles, we have got to rearrange our priorities with nature, because nature is not a pimp’s toy, she will react.

I can recall at the funeral of a friend at Saint Phillips Church, Werk-en-Rust, some years ago, with horror we noticed that all the Silk cotton trees there were cut down, how could this have happened, who could have allowed something like this to occur, we questioned among ourselves, are we still the ‘Garden City of the Caribbean? ’ with no one to answer. I can recall the 2005 flood incident, when there were questions about why Albouystown’s flood was not moving, only to discover, after we followed the obvious trail, that a businessman had incorporated the Sussex Canal exit in his adjacent property. When or where did this businessman get the authority to do something like this? Citizens, however, didn’t wait they started to dismantle the structure that was imposed on the Sussex Street exit. It’s not what the businessman was allowed to do? It’s the mindset that made him/her think that it was right, and the authority that likewise sacrificed that obvious initiative, and for what price? This is a micro-example of the danger our organic world is facing, through the effects of manmade global warming and Frankenstein Agriculture. I lived overseas for periods, and I can remember a discussion about having a special meter that can indicate the level of pollution, the problem was, did it matter, what option did I have, but to exit the door and get what I had to get done? It did haunt me however, that progress came at a terrible price, but then, it was a foreign thing. Until now, here, driven by insatiable greed; some local farmers are spraying fruit and vegetables with ripening toxins. This, however, has spurred others to do the right thing and go organic. Thirty years ago, were I told that this could happen here; I would have said, Guyana? NEVER!

Some years ago, while speaking to miner and businessman; Sean Hopkinson, I mentioned a memory of the rare childhood visit I had made to Bartica, his hometown, and my Grandmother’s-my father’s mom; and the unforgettable experience of swimming in waters and looking at the bottom of that specific location and seeing the floor of that stream or inlet, whatever it was, there were many. He looked at me shook his head and replied. “That was then, nothing like that exists there anymore.