Many thanks to Quincy Saul for sending me this copy of Truth and Dare - A comic book curriculum for the end and the beginning of the world.

The comic is essentially an ecosocialist curriculum, consistent with the narrative of Joel Kovel's book 'The enemy of nature - The end of capitalism or the end of the world'. A book which pointed me in the direction of many adventures. Quincy I'm sure more than anyone can relate to this. Joel also contributed to this ecosocialist horizons production.

At a cursory glance this comic book format offers a concise and lively way of describing many inconvenient but nonetheless necessary things - including a potted history of capitalism, enclosure of the commons, the class system, the role of the state, developmental patriarchy, the intrinsic value of nature and the extent of the ecological crisis. As you can imagine from the title, it goes straight for the jugular. That is its purpose.

A brief look at some of the sections: 

'The Nightmare is real' is a collection of sobering sound bites that tell us exactly where we are at ecologically/socially.

The section 'The Enemy of Nature' demonstrates the most concise explaination of the historical development of capitalism you'll find with due note of its relation to and ever increasing stranglehold on the natural world.

'Money is green' concerns that mother of contradictions 'green capitalism' and is pretty repulsive, featuring a 'fat cat' explaining to someone from the 'third world' how nature is considered an 'externality' in the quest for profit, and how by 'internalizing the externality - we give nature a price and open new markets in ecosystem services'.

'Socialism for suckers' is ironically sectarian featuring a caricature last century authoritarian state socialist.

'The ecosocialist horizon' is a beautifully illustrated-by-pencil section and serves as an intro to the Ecosocialist Horizon project and a particularly nice complement to Joel Kovels' book. There are some great quotes in this section too from the likes of Hugo Blanco, Frederick Douglas, Helen Keller, Andre Gide and Crazy Horse. An image of a spread from this section is included below.

The artwork in the section 'Now's the time' is particularly 'stand out' featuring lyrics and poems, Bob Marley included. 

Comics aren't everyones's cup of tea, but then this isn't like any other comic. If this appeals, you may also like the manga Marx comic adaptation of Capital made by dangerous minds. I like imagery and I'm always interested in finding creative new ways to explain complex ideas. Each of the sections in truth and dare are by different illustrators. There is no fancy photo-shopping and what-not, this is 'real' as are the messages within. It achieves what it set out to do and as with Kovel's work generally, it does not point you toward the path of least resistance.

Great work by the ecosocialist horizons collective.

Links:

The Enemy of Nature - The end of capitalism or the end of the world.

Ecosocialist Horizons

Truth and Dare - A comic book curriculum for the end and the beginning of the world.

Can be bought from Autonomedia

I'm happy that after many years of blogging that this one concerns the town I've lived in for most of my adult life. Brilliant turnout in Gloucester today, with well over 500 people marching through the town, many dressed in badger costumes and holding anti-cull banners aloft, oh, and making lots of noise too.

One well known local, who did not attend was Princess Anne, who earlier this month was all over the media supporting the cull and suggesting that gassing the badgers was the humane thing to do. 

This is of course entirely ridiculous. In the first instance needlessly killing badgers is, well, not humane at all. Furthermore reports from previous efforts to kill badgers in this way describe how the animal lets out distress calls, clearly in pain as it wheezes and vomits as its body systems begin to fail. Logistically there are issues with the ability to administer the full lethal dose, failure to do so is even less humane as the animal has a very slow drawn-out death. Then there is the threat to other animals and wildlife in the contaminated areas.

None of the 2000 badgers killed so far have been found to carry TB and recent studies in Wales suggest that improving the cattle TB testing regime is an efficient means to identify infected cattle and prevent the onward spread of bovine TB. Also a vaccine has been available since 2010, and organisations such as the wildlife trust are implementing a program which could lead to herd immunity in up to 5 years.

Nonetheless environment secretary Owen Patterson is not prepared to find means of supporting and improving these scientifically validated measures and wants the culls to proceed. 

In Gloucester today it has been clearly demonstrated that the badgers have a lot of human friends, friends who are prepared to do their utmost to keep them alive.

Fed up with city life, Sarah Henshaw quit her job as an entertainment journalist in London and went in search of something different. In June 2009 she bought a narrow boat and began fitting it out as a book shop called The Book Barge. All went well initially, but the effect of the economic downturn and intense competition from online retailers meant hard times were to follow. She managed to keep things rolling by resorting to Barter.

Sarah has now published a book about her adventures on Britain's canals. "The Bookshop That Floated Away"

So, you have haemochromotosis/the celtic curse/iron overload. This has no doubt been a bit of a downer for you. Since the day you were born your body has been filling up with iron, and your symptoms have been slowly accumulating and finally come to a head.  You have been off kilter for some time and the side effects are preventing you from continuing to live in the way you are accustomed to.

If I present to you as some kind of happy clappy, mr motivator type, I'll undermine what you are going through. It will be patronizing to say 'it's going to be OK' and you'll most likely tell me where to get off. I am not that person. Honest.

Unless you were diagnosed prior to any damage or treated very early, the truth is, life is going to change, probably already has, the amount of change will in part be influenced by the severity of the damage caused. This article comes from someone with the condition and is about acceptance and developing resilience. You may even learn to be even happier than you were before your symptoms began.

The problem.
You have a condition that is systemic and invisible. Nobody can really relate to what is happening with you. Your symptoms are so diffuse, to acknowledge them all makes you feel like a hypochondriac. There is a chance you feel let down by the medical profession. The condition is still poorly understood, it is not conventionally treatable by medicines, so pharmaceuticals can't make profit, hence there is no financial backing. You are in pain. You can't concentrate. You are excessively tired. You have fluctuating or low mood. Family planning is no longer your concern. Keeping up with the day job and/or house chores is like wading through treacle. You can't remember a damn thing. You wake up and feel like a hippo has been sitting on you in the night. Your relationships have suffered. You feel less secure about your future employment and financial situation. You are concerned that you can't get travel insurance. You would love to go for a drink but you know your liver will protest. Some hobbies you used to enjoy are now impaired or not even possible. You are way too young for this. People ask you how you are - at best you respond 'OK', you are sic of this - You want to say 'Great!'

No doubt you could add to this list; hopefully you can subtract from it. In any case the question is - what is to be done?

With illness and the effects of the above its possible to undergo a kind of mental reprogramming, you feel the effects of iron overload everyday and you can become more the condition than you are you!  The following five hints/things can remedy this and alter your mental programming to work in your favour. They are all interconnected and the 'Lord of the Things' is the fifth, so keep reading.

FIRST THING - CHOOSE YOUR RESPONSE

In any given situation. This is all you can do, it is the one thing, the only thing in your life you ever have control over. So lets make it a good one. Accept there will be changes and know that it is a universal law that with crisis comes opportunity. Your outlook and well-being is like a muscle, and could benefit from a work-out.

When you have been de-ironed the effort does not stop there. Maintenance begins and your iron is kept below a certain level. In the same way programming for your well-being and outlook cannot be taken for granted. All is mind. With a few tricks and a bit of effort it can be geared toward resilience and positivity. This is not just true for those of us with this condition but can be helpful for all of us that share the experience of being human. The following 4 tips will help you chose the best response.

Hopefully you have a knowledgeable and proactive medical team.  Knowledge of the condition is currently developing/underdeveloped so many of us recognize that we really have to be our own 'health advocates' - we need to be 'response-able' this is why the 'second thing' can be vitally important.


SECOND THING - THE IRON CHAIN - CONNECT WITH YOUR NEW FAMILY OF IRON MEN AND WOMEN

We are basically all genetically linked. We have a lot in common. We even have a Marvel superhero played brilliantly by Robert Downy Jr in our own image. We may even set off metal detectors in airports! We are a community in our own right.

The internet means we can find each other and share experiences, find a new sense of belonging. Facebook is great for this. Just type in Haemochromatosis (or hemochromatosis) and there are several well established and very supportive groups. You can learn a lot in this way as knowledge from experienced people from all over the world is 'pooled'.

Join your local society. A link to the UK group is here. Maybe you could add others you are aware of into the comments section at the bottom of this article. In time you may step outside virtual meetings and meet others in person.

THIRD THING - GET PERSPECTIVE

We know that all things in life, including life itself are impermanent - health doesn't last forever. This is our time to experience this change. We often believe that circumstances drive happiness.  However, circumstances only account for about 20% of our happiness.  Our attitude or mindset accounts for the other 80%.

Analyze what might be causing feelings of dissatisfaction? : Perhaps fear of the unknown, grief and loss - letting go, jealousy, unrealistic expectations.  Establishing what these thoughts and beliefs are and getting them out in the open often helps us to deal with them.

Try writing them down, talking to someone you trust or sitting calmly with your eyes closed and thinking them through. Maybe get out into nature and focus on what you see, hear, and smell.   See that life is more than just your immediate surroundings.  Just doing this can help put life into perspective. You can begin to accept the changes in your life and begin to think of the good things and how lucky you are.  (See Thing Five - Practicing Gratitude)


FOURTH THING - HELP OTHERS

You can already feel empowered. You have made a huge contribution to your family. By virtue of being diagnosed, you may be responsible for preventing the early death of countless members of your family,  those who are yet to be born into future generations or indeed of your very own children or siblings. You may have solved the riddle of why those that have already passed, did so at such a young age. This stops with you and need never happen again.

By being supportive to those who are going through the same thing, not only are you improving their life but you are giving meaning to your own experience. This can be infectious, anyone that you help is more likely 'to pay it forward' - Helping someone in this way makes you realize how much you have grown, kick-starting your own acceptance and resilience.  This also helps build community and strengthens the 'iron chain' (Thing 2) and becoming acquainted with others experience in this way helps develop Perspective (Thing 3)


FIFTH THING - PRACTICE GRATITUDE - THE LORD OF THE THINGS!

Buddhists, Indigenous and spiritual peoples have consciously practiced gratitude since time immemorial. In modern consumer society it is a skill that has been largely forgotten. Gratitude is what gets poured in to the glass to make it half full and turns what we have into enough.

Gratitude is currently receiving a lot of attention from psychologists. Studies show that it can not only be deliberately cultivated but that it can increase levels of well-being, happiness, energy, optimism, and empathy. It is an effective and measurable way to combat depression.

If this was Lord of the Rings, this would be the ring that binds and strengthens all of the others. I guess we could say that for the purposes of this article it is THE Lord of the Things!.

There are different ways to actively practice gratitude. You may want to start a log book. Just note down a couple of things every day that you are grateful for. Big things from the past or small things from the day. Maybe you remember a school teacher that believed in you, write about this, or maybe you recall your greatest achievements and the people who helped you on your way, or perhaps you noticed a smile flashed by a loved one, or you have a tree that bears fruit, a kind word from a stranger, the fact your knees don't hurt that day, anything! Express your gratitude to those close to you, or to a complete stranger! update your Facebook status with the things you are grateful for.

This is reprogramming your mind, changing the architecture of your outlook. You will actively look for things that make you happy and not take things for granted. You are also building an archive of things that could give you a lift in the future.

Now - going back to an early observation from the introduction - People ask you how you are doing and you say just 'OK'. Following the five things here should help you say 'Great' and mean it. In summary you are now focused on the blessings of life, rather than the frustrations. You still expect difficulties but now have the tools to deal with them.

Good Luck and I hope you found this useful. Writing this article and clarifying my approach has definitely helped me. Please click LIKE below and be invited to add comments and suggestions.

THANKS!

Martin