The Planet will exist long after we’re gone!
I remember as a child somewhere around 6 years old, standing with a piece of trash in my hand. As I was about to throw it on the ground the thought came to me that it was not right and if everyone on earth did the same thing, we would have a very messy world. I realized that EVERY action has an effect no matter how small we may think it is. Yet all these small actions each seeming inconsequential, when accumulated will have an extreme impact on how we live and the sustain the life giving beauty of our planet.
Now, I see the very opposite happening around the world. Some of us believe there is no long-term impact to the most egregious actions that pollute our planet. Some think it is easier to just dump waste into drinking water, or dump used tires and trash in the ocean. This type of thinking causes entire species and ultimately all human life to be wiped out.
How did we arrive at the place where there is an acceptable level of extinction? Life is about balance and as polluters increase or are outed there will be a corresponding expression of angry energy towards them. Yet, can we take a moment and realize that some of our actions also create the environment for pollution to exist? All of us plays a part. Living consciously means that we are aware of how our individual actions creates the environment. Using plastic bags for groceries, buying bottled water are just two simple actions that have grave consequences. Yet as we decry the actions of others let us look at the only true place we have power and influence, ‘our own actions”.
Our outcry usually takes the form of some type of action to save the planet. But let’s be clear, if we think we are separate from the planet and the planet needs saving we are misguided. The fight should not be to save the planet, because the planet existed long before we were here and will exist long after we are gone. We are the ones that need saving.
The fight is not to save the planet but to save humanity.
We must strive and use all our energy to save humanity. Humanity needs saving, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Even as we advance technologically and financially there seems to be an exponential increase in mental, spiritual, emotional, and physical dis-ease.
It is only through forgetting that we came from the earth, that it becomes acceptable to treat it the way we do, as something for us to exploit. For instance, why do we think that its okay to pollute our drinking water? What will happen when there is none left, do we think we will be able to survive by drinking oil? Because make no mistake if we continue to feel there is an acceptable level of harm to our environment it then stands to reason that we believe there is an acceptable level of harm we can do to each other and ourselves. We prove this daily by the harm we so easily inflict on others.
We are the planet. We are the environment. We are the cause and the solution. If we believe there is an acceptable level of harm to our environment, we are ignoring the intricate balance that has allowed us to exist and thrive as humans. Regardless of religious or personal beliefs, we are stewards of the planet. It is OUR responsibility to treat it with reverence and respect. The communities that do so (Aboriginal) realize our connectedness to the earth, our sacredness and live accordingly. We call these communities or tribes uncivilized. Search your hearts and honestly answer this question. Is it more civilized to dominate everything around us for personal gain, or to live in a way that allows what we use to be self sustaining so that there is enough for everyone?
Do not buy into the idea that it is okay for some to die and suffer so that a few can have much more than they need. This is the basis of war, famine and the injustices we see every day. How long can a society function and thrive when a very small percentage (in the single digits of our population) has more than all the rest combined? Is another jet, yacht, island worth the price of thousands and millions starving?
There is a You tube video (link)that shows a young man with dollar bills taped to his body and he has a sign saying take what you want. A young woman with a designer purse starts taking and taking and when he calls her on it referencing her purse, she responds that she has a nail appointment tomorrow. He then encounters a homeless man who takes two bills. His response was that it was all he needs to get food and for him to give to others. The people that took the most were ones who it was obvious needed it the least.
We have bought into a narrative that the goal in life is to make money. We have made money our God. Money in the United States says in God we trust. In other words they’ve manufactured a link between God and money. This is necessary if we are to accept the illusion that buying things fills the spiritual vacuum created by the pursuit of money. If we accept this lie, there will continue to be an acceptable level of harm we will do to others and the environment for personal monetary gain.
This is not how life was meant to be. We have allowed this thinking to exist long enough to see its misguidedness, and the harm it inflicts. We have experienced life enough to know deep in out hearts that this is not how we are meant to live.
A friend just came back from Uganda. She is a minister, helping those in need. She said she was standing on a hill watching the refugees coming into the country from South Sudan. Later, she was talking to a politician about the situation, and he said that the refugees are given a piece of land, the materials to help build a home, and a couple of goats, cows or what they need to start a new life. She also said that the community welcomes them and helps them build their home. These are people who have much less than we do yet, recognizes and practices the sacredness that exists in all life.
When the first Europeans arrived in North America they were welcomed by the Native Peoples. Yet, not understanding the idea of generosity to strangers they slaughtered tens of millions so the could own the land and resources. And, it continues to this day that countries that are more advanced militarily will invade, subvert, and overthrow governments in other countries to maintain their wealth regardless of the consequences. This way of thinking has allowed us to be successfully financially, while losing our compassion and humanity and ultimately our collective soul.
The United States of America became the richest country in the world because of slavery. Most of the government buildings including the White House were built by slaves. The wealth that was created was possible because of free slave labour. There was a time when there were white and black slaves and they got along with each other. Their owners saw that their combined power would be too much to allow them to continue to enslave them all, so they came up with the idea of separating the groups. They did so by giving the white slaves their freedom after a couple of years along with some land and money. The brilliance of this action created separation and increased racism. With their newfound opportunities the white slaves stated looking down on the black slaves who never had the opportunity to gain financially or otherwise from their forced labour. This started the creation of a middle class of successful whites while keeping blacks subservient to a system that gave back little to nothing for their efforts and labour.
There are a lot of great things the United States has done for our planet. There are also a lot of harm that they’ve done. No civilisation can continue to thrive when it marginalizes part of its population. We the people are the power and the thing that scares those in power is for the population to realize that the power does not exist with our elected officials, and the way we can be controlled is to believe that skin pigmentation, where you were born, and in what family you wee born into somehow makes us less of a human being. Our acceptance of our differences as a way of judging each other has created the distraction necessary for our minds to be enslaved, so that a select few can control the wealth of the world.
To create a better life for all we must embrace native teachings and philosophies where we help our neighbours in whatever way we can. In Native teaching a person is thought to be crazy to hoard material possessions (more than what they need to live), while others suffer from a lack of what they need. History has shown that for every civilisation there will come a time when we will be tested (usually because of major disasters ex: climate/earthquakes/tornadoes/hurricanes etc.), and when that time comes if we do not help each other we will all suffer, and ultimate become extinct.
Does it make sense that some of us can watch another person suffer, knowing we can help them and refuse to do so? Does it make sense that there are people who gain financially through the suffering of others and when called on it display a callousness that defies what it should mean to be human? Does it make sense for us to knowingly kill ourselves and our future because others say that economic wealth is the only thing that matters?
Anthony Fernando
Ultimately, we are each responsible for our part of the world, and our sense of humanity is shown in how we treat others that are less fortunate and in how we treat our environment. We have a choice between life or death, not of the planet but of ourselves. Do we have the will to do what we know is right and reject the idea that there is an acceptable level of extinction? We are part of this planet, and everything that exists here came from the earth. Our bodies are an unbelievable mix of dirt, minerals and earth stuff, infused with energy and finely tuned by an intelligence much greater and sophisticated then anything we can conceive or create. We must accept the truth of who we are and reject the idea that there is any acceptable level of harm and pain we may cause. If we do not, there will soon come a time when we will go past the point of no return and we will then say to ourselves, “If I only knew”.
In today’s economy we are cast in the roles of buyers and sellers, and the wealth we create as we function with increased efficiency and frequency, powers a system that we derive fewer and fewer benefits from. In playing both roles we’re losing more of our compassion and humanity with the false belief that we must continually consume more. In the movie The Matrix human consciousness exists day to day in a virtual world while our bodies are in pods providing power to the system. With the importance we’ve placed on technology that scenario becomes more of a reality with each passing day.
We must trust our hearts and live with the knowledge that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. We must stop lying to ourselves, because life will not care whether we knew or didn’t know. Our life experiences are the result of our actions, period. So, each of us must ask ourselves, “How am I living?” Am I part of the problem or part of the solution? Our choices are expressions of our power, and we MUST use it wisely, with compassion for the less fortunate and reverence for the beauty of the world we live in.
Disclaimer: I write what comes to me in quiet moments. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with thoughts and ideas that I have to wake up and write down. At times the words flow without any effort and its at those times I know that a source outside of myself but deeply connected is sharing information with me. I’ve resisted editing the way the information is shared and realize that there is a strong tone to the words expressed, but feel compelled to share it as it comes to me.
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