Innovation is the progression of what we are and the world we live in. For eons the process of innovation has been embraced and fought tooth and nail. While the Wright Brothers looked to the sky, some suggested if man was meant to fly he would have wings. One thing’s for sure, now more than ever mankind is embracing innovation.

It’s all around us….the internet, telecommunications, medicine, transportation…you name it, innovation is being practiced daily. For some, our best days lie ahead, while others think that our golden era is behind us. Innovation always brings about change…and change is something, in one way or another, we all struggle with from time to time. It is quite possible that within the next twenty years the innovation that will come forth will surpass much of what we have done in the past one hundred years. We are all going to have to take a long hard look at what world we want to see materialize.

There is quite an argument for who is best for the practice of innovation. This being an election year, who is best to take the mantle of innovation…Republicans, Democrats, Conservatives, or Liberals? This year in America we get to make the choice. While Conservatives see an ethical steady-as-she-goes policy towards business and innovation, Liberal ideals always are there to think outside the box and come up with alternative answers for current dilemmas. Some of the innovative issues on the table? Let’s touch on a few….cloning, robotics, stem-cell research, space travel, and one that’s always in play….religion. Who best should handle the baton of our future? Can mankind control his thirst for knowledge and power, or should he put the pedal to the metal and just go for it? How about alternative forms of energy? Where are they? And why aren’t they here already? Innovation is going to have to answer these questions. By this point, we should have more choices as to how we heat our homes.

More and more countries are embracing innovation. China and India are playing catch up, but they are catching up fast. As the world becomes smaller, innovation becomes larger. I still know people who refuse to have a television set in their homes…they believe it destroyed the family unit. Like all facets of innovation, inventions can be used in both a positive, or negative, way. The way children learn these days is drastically different than even their parent’s generation. Computers have become a vital part of many occupations. What was once written by hand, in a split second is now processed and delivered by a PC, or MAC.

Innovation….love it, or scorn it…it’s here. How far can it go? Who pushes the envelope? Or do we eventually fall off a cliff? We’re all going to have to grapple with these questions. Is it possible to drive ourselves into the future, not too fast, not too slow? I guess we’ll all find out….by all means reach for the Heavens, but don’t forget to keep your feet on the ground.

Choose wisely,

Jennifer Avalon

© 2008 Jennifer Avalon

Everything in life has a balance…up and down, right and left, high and low, dark and light, etc. In order for a tree to grow it must have a certain amount of light and moisture….in order for a tornado to form it must have a certain amount of hot and cold air come together….in order for ocean life to survive it must have a certain amount of oxygen. Everything in balance….everything susceptible to tipping points.

Just like our bodies, if too much of one thing or another upsets our systems, we become ill. The same can be said of Nature….she is as tough, and as delicate, as we are. She fights for her survival, as do we, when she feels threatened….heavy snowfall during a drought, fires when there is tangled undergrowth, glorious sunlight after a flood. Mother Nature, like us, wants to be kind, in general, and only bares her teeth when she isn’t respected….hence, Nature Demands Respect.

As children, we know this instinctively. We know if we build the sandcastle too close to the ocean’s edge, it will be gone by morning….if we dig too deep in the dirt, the ants will surface and bite us….if we climb too often on the branch of the old oak tree, we will land on our behinds. As adults, we think we can overcome Nature…that she will bend and weave under our heavy dominance. The opposite is true…it is us who must bend, weave, and sometimes break….

Mother Nature demands respect….and she will get it whether we offer it to her or not. Because in the end, it is she who, along with God, rules the Universe….and the Lord will always make sure that Mother Nature will be kept in balance….for the sake of us all.

Respect Mom,

Jennifer Avalon

© 2008 Jennifer Avalon