THE GRETA EFFECT

















"I want you to act as if the house is on fire, 

because it is." 

- Greta Thunberg


"No one is too small to make a difference," this is the message Greta Thunberg is striving to impart through her life. This Swedish school girl is barely 16. Yet, she can pierce our collective  conscience as no other leader - be it political or be it spiritual - can do. 

You and I are busy with our own things, mostly trying to secure our future by amassing wealth. Greta says, 'Our house is on fire... Act!" She says, that our governments and leaders give their fairy-tale speeches, while robbing off the children's future...

The Greta effect is showing its ripple effect. Millions and millions of people, across the the world - little ones and grown-ups, ordinary citizens and tall leaders - yes, she has shaken them up all. Just as  she says, "We (little children)are watching you," the world and its tall leaders are watching her and her army of little hearts... 

Greta is a passionate human... She has the steely resolve and blinding clarity. Though she suffers from some health issues, she seems to be only propelled with more and more power. In her own words, her ailment has only provided her with 'super power'!

Most of us have learnt about Greta Thunberg through her passionate and hard-hitting address at the recent UN Climate Summit in New York. But, we are unaware of this little girl's solo journey, when, a year ago, she sat alone outside the Swedish parliament showing her protest... Her courageous journey started from there! 

In this Post, I wish to introduce Greta to my readers through some videos of her speeches and interviews. There are dozens of them on YouTube. I strongly urge my readers to watch some of them and read about her on Wikipedia... 











Read Greta's story on the following Wikipedia link:


We may not be able to carry the crusade Greta has chosen to carry. But, as she keeps telling the world, "Understand the gravity of the situation and act as if your house is on fire... Because, it is!" 

I think, that is the least we all, as beneficiaries of this gift called 'Planet Earth', can do... 

Take a bow, Greta... Long last your 'effect'!


GERALD D'CUNHA

Pic.: Refinery29

Videos: 1. PBS News Hour 2.  Channel 4 News   3. CBS News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or painful that
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How does it matter
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...