If only

I want to live in a world where no one locks their doors because no one will enter their houses to rob or harm them.

I want to live in a world where girls and boys don't have to be scared of adults they are supposed to trust and will become happy and confident.

I want to live in a world where everyone thinks that they do not need a gun to protect themselves from other people with guns who think that they have to protect themselves from other people with guns who think...

I want to live in a world where everyone greets everyone else with a smile, curiosity, and no assumptions or prejudices of what kind of person the other person might be.

I want to live an a world where people stop to smell the roses.

I want to live in a world where people share what they have with others who have less without asking anything in return and without having to be asked.

I want to live in a world where everyone appreciates the nature, its beauty and natural products without exploiting and destroying them beyond repair.

I want to live in a world where every child is loved and welcomed and brought up to be a confident, compassionate person without prejudice or fear.

Going to start working on that right now!

 

Smog City

Very high doesn't seem that high when you look at it from a high level. A 100 story building is less impressive when you are on the 87th floor of the building next to it.

Looking down doesn't change that much either, between floor 57 and 87 you can't really tell how high up you are. The view is amazing, mostly high rise buildings, islands of smaller, with still 5-10 floors in between. Depending on the smog situation you can see for miles or less than a mile. Surprisingly, there is quite a lot of green to be seen. Alleys and parks. Those trees seem very lively, given the sisyphus effort they're going through every night, transforming carbon dioxide to oxygen.

It's a whole different story when you're standing outside, in front of the building  it's a massively different perspective. I almost twisted my neck last night because I wasn't able to stop looking up to the hotel and office building which has almost 500 meters and the 632m tall construction site next to it.

Height is one way how the buildings compete for your attention. Lights is another. Light shows would be a more accurate term. The minimum you see is a company or hotel name in bright letters. Then there are buildings that have lights up and down all corners. Some green, some red, some blue, some with changing patterns. Others have whole light shows going on on one or more walls of the building. Flashing in all kinds of patterns and colors, trying to get you to look at them. There's too many, though. The eye doesn't know where to look first. And as soon as it has decided for one building to look at it gets distracted by another.

But walking on the streets of Shanghai can be dangerous not only because you might strain your neck or into people or inanimate objects. Often even breathing can be dangerous. The pollution coming from the Northern part of China is immense. After a few deep breaths you start to notice that something's not right. Eventually your throat feels like you're getting a cold. Time to use the burning man mask again :-).