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Yesterday, cranes were flying over the houses again. Their calls, which sound a bit like screams, drew my attention to them. They were flying north at some height in an imperfect V-formation, presumably heading for a waterhole or at least a damp lowland area. They have probably been flying this route in autumn for thousands of years.

No one but one person, as far as I could tell, noticed this flight of birds. No one listened to the calls or looked up at the birds. The people around me were staring at their so-called smartphones.

Could it really be that no one could take any pleasure in the cranes?

In my papers, I found a text I’d written myself some 35 years ago. And it goes like this:

In the course of their lives, people strive, amongst other things, for material security, prosperity and comfort. This aspiration is inherent to human nature. However, whilst this striving was once primarily driven by the sheer need to secure one’s existence, over a longer period of time there has been a shift in emphasis towards carefree consumption and wastefulness.

The achievements of the technical and industrial revolution brought about such progress that everything seemed materially feasible. Humanity increasingly lost touch with the natural foundations of life and, with it, much of its sense of proportion regarding the consequences of its actions. With the triumph of industrialisation, the overexploitation of nature took on catastrophic proportions; in the meantime, a not inconsiderable proportion of the animal and plant world has disappeared from our planet.

Our present age is characterised by a blind faith in technology and alienation. Despite the worsening problems with raw materials and pollutants, there is a lack of a sense of responsibility towards future generations. The so-called market economy, with its beneficial mechanisms, lacks a strong corrective force that works towards the preservation of nature’s diversity. A shift away from a linear consumption-based economy towards a general circular economy can be initiated by highlighting viable alternatives.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)