Another BEE'S EYE VIEW of  Emergence & Evolution

                                       A BEE'S EYE VIEW

We can Choose Not to Succumb to Emergence & Evolution

There is no difference between a person living alone in a place and same person living with thousands of other people in same place without interacting.

I live on a corner. In front of me is a Physiotherapy Practice. To my right is a Café & a string of shops. I have 2 neighbours. One on the left & one behind. Last year just before Christmas my neighbours on the right moved after living there for 15 years. They had lots of family events, many of which I attended.

Behind me was a double block. Also at this time, the owner built a second house in the back yard 5 meters from the joint boundary, with a deck up 2 meters high overlooking my garden & chook pen. This greatly impinges on my privacy when trying to enjoy gardening in my down time. The new house’s roof of tin angled at 45 degrees, directly faces my back deck. So, it is impossible for me to sit & to look out from my deck when the sun hits that roof.

My newest neighbour is an unpleasant, uncooperative narcissist who totally ignored my rights, refused to discuss issues, lied about receiving my correspondence & ultimately just went ahead without consultation & did what he wanted to do regarding joint issues including the joint boundary fence.

The neighbours diagonally across from me at the back & on the left side, moved before Christmas without saying goodbye even though we often chatted when I walked my 2 Dachshunds daily.

That Christmas - Last Christmas I felt out of place. I didn’t know my new neighbours. I didn’t like some of them. The people I knew went away on holidays. It was very quiet.

For the first time in my life, I don’t talk to my neighbours. Yes, you guessed it, the ones at the back. The man won’t look at me at all if I am passing by his house walking my dogs. His wife only talks to me when she wants something from me which I have given to her each time. Unsurprisingly, I have received nothing in return.

It’s not about what I might receive, it’s about the lack of reciprocity born of good neighbourly values. This seems to have become extinct in my neighbourhood. Markedly extinct as older neighbours have slowly moved away.


The essence of a community is interaction 

My Australian Native Stingless Bees are experts at collaboration. In fact, far more so than my neighbours. As a result, not much happens in my neighbourhood. If there is a problem, it is almost always me who reports it to the Council or the Police.

“It is the interactions of individuals that led to the emergence of the Pareto Rule or the 80/20 Rule. Life is unfair for the more interactions humans have the more likely are the few will get richer and the poor shall get poorer. “
I guess this is why I am a strong supporter of Trade Unions.

In my lifetime Unions have retained or fought for Wage Awards, Paid Annual Leave, Superannuation, Sick Leave, Paid Maternity/Paternity Leave, Penalty Rates, Long Service Leave, Workplace Health & Safety Regulations, Equal Pay for Women, Anti-Discrimination Laws, Fair Work Conditions, Worker's Compensation, Redundancy Payouts, Unfair Dismissal Laws, Job Allowances & mandatory Meal/Rest Breaks – to name a few, you can probably think of more.

The Pareto Rule is now starting to become apparent in Australian society.
When I was a child, Australian people were more homogenous with very few poor & very few rich people. As time has moved on, there is more disparity with the Gap increasingly widening making it harder & harder for ordinary Australian’s to live comfortably.

However it’s still a long way from people rioting taking our society into disruption.

What of self-organizing ? Yes, that has started in Australia on a larger, more open scale than previously.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of the governing Liberal National Party is estimated to have a net worth of about $200 million. He has mega investments in overseas tax havens where he doesn’t pay tax to the Australian government – his own government. At the last election, Prime Minister Turnbull donated as much as $2 million to his party's re-election fight. There is no trace of the contribution in the latest Australian Electoral Commission returns. Due to the timing of the donation, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's personal donation to the Liberal National Party election campaign will be kept secret for another year.

While reports have suggested the same of Bill Shorten Leader of the Labour Party in Opposition, I searched but couldn’t find his worth or any personal donations made by him to the Labour Party. Trade unions support the Labour Party financially. Some companies and wealthy individuals donate either as an insurance policy or to genuinely encourage a balanced democracy. However, the extremely wealthy are almost all supportive of the Liberal National Party.

The Health Services Union gave Labour's biggest single donation of $389 232. This is a far cry from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s personal donation. It has been floated that he bought the Prime Ministership and the Liberal National Party’s place in government.

Disruption is noticeable mostly in human societies.

Increasingly it is being said that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of the governing Liberal National Party is out touch with ordinary Australian’s and lenient on the tax dealings of the wealthiest individuals and companies. Changing the law to protect the interests of the wealthiest people – their “supporters”.

It is safer to belong to either the lucky powerful few or the few who have the brains to distinguish themselves as niche. 
Are we entering the age wherein it is safer to stay away from the crowd of averages? 

This has always occurred in all societies across time. Currently, it is perhaps more noticeable as with media, particularly social media, this information is easily accessible & widely known to ordinary Australians, humanitarian & socially oriented political parties.

Survival is not being in the crowds, but away from them?

This depends on the 80 – 20% balance of the Pareto Rule & the strength of the socially oriented political parties. In Australia the balance hasn’t tipped all the way for the wealthy. There is rising support for a wide range of socially progressive issues including decriminalisation of marijuana & euthanasia, access to abortion & support for women in business.

Australians are known for resilience, perseverance, mateship, sticking together & using humour when faced with adversity. Along with the tendency of supporting the Underdog, it was not surprising that recently 62% of Australians voted YES for Same Sex Marriage. A result irrespective of the Liberal National Party’s conservative NO vote stance & bucking the Trump & Brexit trends.

Many Australian’s are of convict descent, many of those whom were Cockney’s or East Enders, the toughest & the poorest members of British society who were transported for life for stealing a loaf of bread.

I can only hope that these cultural traits will help us stave off & continue to withstand the advance of the Great Divide of rich & poor in our nation.

Louise Smith        PSYCHOLOGIST                                                                     F2F    Tele   Online Counselling  

(Assoc MAPS) (QCT), B. A. (Hons) (Psych) (Japanese & Music), Dip. T. Prim. & Spec. Ed. (Hearing Impaired)

Make Positive Life Changes; Improve Assertiveness and Self Esteem
Deal with Depression, Anxiety, Anger and Stress
Cope with Workplace Issues - Team work, Setting Goals, Problem solving

Enoggera Health Practice Brisbane Queensland Australia
Email: smith.louise@optusnet.com.au