LIVING FOR CHANGE

WHY/WHEN DO WE CHANGE?

By Marcia Lee

Michigan Citizen, Nov. 4-10,2007

In the beginning of this year there were reports that bees were disappearing. One day the bees would be in the hive, and the next day the entire population of adult honeybees would disappear, leaving behind capped broad (larvae that is in its final stage of development) and stores of honey.

This behavior is very odd because healthy adult honeybees would never leave their larvae before it has been developed. Also, if a hive was weak, other bees from other hives would normally rob the weak hive of its honey. However, in these cases the other bees either do not rob the hives that are left empty or wait a lot longer before entering.

After seeing this occurrence in large populations of honeybees, the scientific community called this phenomenon, the “Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).” The scientists have not been able to identify a specific cause of the disappearances, but possible causes are migratory beekeeping (large scale bee farms that are moved from area to area to pollinate crops), genetically modified crops, stress, pesticides, and disease. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_Collapse_Disorder).

Since CCD has been identified, many more people have become concerned about honeybees. Now, whenever I tell people that I work with bees or folks see me in a bee suit, they ask if the bees are doing all right. Prior to this, most people shared stories of bee stings and expressed their strong dislike of bees. But now that bees may be in danger, folks are concerned because bees pollinate about 80% of all fruit, vegetable and seed crops in the U.S. Honeybees, like most of the foods that we eat, are not native to the U.S. So when one part of our imported system starts to collapse, the rest is affected.

Now that people realize that honeybees are important, there is interest when I tell them that “Honey speeds the healing process and combats infections…or that a bee produces about 1/12th a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime.” (http://www.betterbee.com/resources/funfacts.html)

I could share with you many more amazing facts about honeybees and how much our society has to learn from them. But the questions raised by disappearing bees are also applicable to situations and actions in our everyday lives.

What is it that makes something or someone worth caring about? Does something or someone have to become scarce in order for them to matter?

What is the incentive to change the way that I view or feel or about a situation? What choices do I have to make?

The reaction of people to the disappearing bees also makes me think about Detroit. In the aftermath of the 40th anniversary of the Rebellions of 1967, what is our incentive to change? Do the underlying symptoms have to lead to a crisis before we act or are there ways to understand the symptoms and stop the situation from escalating? What are ways to recognize that a situation is escalating and where does the courage come from to change? Because a city is built of its people, it seems that questions for Detroit become questions for us.

What are ways for me to recognize when a situation is escalating towards a negative result? How do I have the courage and faith to change my thoughts and therefore my actions towards a more positive journey? Is it true that “Our generation has an incredible amount of realism, Yet at the same time it loves to complain and not really change. Because, if it does change, then it won't have anything to complain about.” (Tori Amos)

Or are we able to learn from honeybees that have been in existence since 100,000,000 B.C. and from our elders ways to sense the symptoms of a crisis and be empowered enough to be the incentive to change?

Marcia Lee, who is in her mid-20s, was a beekeeper at the Capuchin Earthworks Garden in Detroit. The mission of Earthworks is to promote sustainable agricultural practices, nutrition and care for the Earth. It is part of the Detroit Agricultural Network (DAN).

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