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What inspires us to love the Earth? What moves us to see and feel Earth as our source, or as some say, our Mother Earth? I don’t know the answer to that—it’s such a personal question—but I can see things that keep us from that kind of close, loving relationship which we need to have if the planet is to be healthy, and, consequently, if we are to be healthy.
What keeps us from loving Earth?
Aversion to looking deeply, facing reality and feeling pain: When asked what people could do to heal the Earth, Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh replied, “Hear the cry of the Earth.” That is painfully difficult because we are not encouraged or well-trained to look within. We don’t want to look at pain, our own or others' pain, or the pain of the Earth. We avoid grieving, or don’t know how to grieve without staying stuck in depression or despair. Yet if we looked at and felt the pain of the world, allowing our hearts to “break open,” as Joanna Macy says, we would release an enormous amount of energy that could be transformed into action on Earth’s behalf.
Our aversion is fueled by distractions: For many people computers, tablets and cell phones have an appropriate, useful and beneficial place in our lives. For many, however, our devices, and our focus on them, keeps us unaware and ignorant of all that isn’t healthy and just in our societies and environment. Thus we don’t get to the work that needs to be done to heal our world. If we are not practiced or helped in the work of looking squarely and deeply at our reality, it is understandable to seek refuge in our devices. No one wants to look at or feel pain. It is inconvenient and it hurts like hell. But unless we do we have little chance of creating a world that works for all, let alone a habitable planet.
A misguided pursuit of happiness: our spiritual crisis:
Advertisers tells us that stuff will bring us happiness, dignity, self-respect, acceptance, status, power, good looks, sexual gratification, relationships and connections. All advertising for stuff implies gratification and fulfillment of some kind. We all have human needs which advertisers take full advantage of, but they mislead us into thinking material stuff will fill spiritual needs. For a very extensive list of those needs—some you might not have even thought about—check out this "Needs Inventory" from the Center of Nonviolent Communications. The needs fall into categories such as Connection, Physical Well-Being, Honesty, Peace, Play. I also appreciate what Frances Moore Lappe´ calls our three essential needs: agency, meaning and connection. She says, “In societies fulfilling these needs, fear subsides and trust expands, enabling continuing growth for individuals and communities.” Trying to fill these needs with material stuff gratifies the senses but only for a short time. We need to find spiritual fulfillment to create “sustainable happiness” and a healthy Earth. (See this article by Sarah van Gelder, “A Brief History of Happiness, How America Lost Track of the Good Life—and Where to Find It Now.
Not only will the acquisition of the kind of material stuff advertisers tempt us with not be deeply satisfying, but it’s also ruining the planet. We’ve already passed Earth Overshoot Day on August 2, which designates what the Earth can produce for us in one year.
For those of us who are in comfortable material situations, I believe our task is to assess what it is that we want or need and make wise choices. Can we “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without”? as Eleanor Roosevelt said. Another choice could be buying something and simultaneously giving away something. Everything we buy costs the Earth something in terms of resources, energy, people power. We often don’t know the source of those products, and who has made them and whether those companies are environmentally and socially conscious. Every choice needs to be informed by love of Earth and all life.
Seeing the Earth as a lifeless commodity that we have “dominion” over, and ourselves as separate from Earth and everything else.
Perhaps the most unfortunate language in the Bible is Genesis 1:26 where we are “to have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” We have come to interpret this has dominating and commodifying every living thing, including the planet. We have given ourselves permission to do whatever suits our fancy, and our bottom line, no matter what the consequences are to living systems and other living beings. Bad Bible! Ellen Davis, Professor at Duke Divinity School offers us another translation of dominion: “to exercise skilled mastery among, or with respect to.” We could also substitute the word stewardship or partnership for dominion and it would change everything.
How can we rekindle our connection to and relationship with Earth?
Here is a beautiful poem written by Clifford Burke (yes, the very same Clifford I am blessed to partner with in this lifetime!) that for me embodies our connection to and relationship with the Earth. It goes to the heart and soul of how we need to be in relation to all life.
Song for Salmon-babies
We never see them going out,
To sea,
Nor swim the tiny rivulets, wetlands—
Irrigation ditches! Field drains!
Doing what our own kids do,
Explore, eat constantly, & grow.
If we could pat their scaley butts
as they hit the mighty Skagit
for the first time,
how gently would we take them
to our hands & mouths & bodies
on their one trip home.
The Great Turning, the Sixth Extinction, a crossroads, a tipping point: These are ways that spiritual leaders, scientists, economists, systems thinkers and visionary leaders have described this evolutionary time in our history marked by radical changes of heart, perception, values and priorities. We are now aware of our wasteful, destructive and unjust policies and ways of living. We need to admit we’ve done many things wrong and be able to adjust and change. Millions of people all over the world are engaging in a variety of forms of activism to create a peaceful, thriving, sustainable world that works for all of us, and the planet. Millions more need to join the party. (See my columns in July 2016 and May 2017 to inspire your unique contribution to this new world.) So for the love of all life let us love Earth. Let us regain our sense of awe, wonder, delight, respect and gratitude, for the love of Earth.
Love for the world is what will save us.
—Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
[See our monoprint letterpress broadside of "Song for Salmon-babies" at Desert Rose Press.)
What keeps us from loving Earth?
Aversion to looking deeply, facing reality and feeling pain: When asked what people could do to heal the Earth, Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh replied, “Hear the cry of the Earth.” That is painfully difficult because we are not encouraged or well-trained to look within. We don’t want to look at pain, our own or others' pain, or the pain of the Earth. We avoid grieving, or don’t know how to grieve without staying stuck in depression or despair. Yet if we looked at and felt the pain of the world, allowing our hearts to “break open,” as Joanna Macy says, we would release an enormous amount of energy that could be transformed into action on Earth’s behalf.
Our aversion is fueled by distractions: For many people computers, tablets and cell phones have an appropriate, useful and beneficial place in our lives. For many, however, our devices, and our focus on them, keeps us unaware and ignorant of all that isn’t healthy and just in our societies and environment. Thus we don’t get to the work that needs to be done to heal our world. If we are not practiced or helped in the work of looking squarely and deeply at our reality, it is understandable to seek refuge in our devices. No one wants to look at or feel pain. It is inconvenient and it hurts like hell. But unless we do we have little chance of creating a world that works for all, let alone a habitable planet.
A misguided pursuit of happiness: our spiritual crisis:
Advertisers tells us that stuff will bring us happiness, dignity, self-respect, acceptance, status, power, good looks, sexual gratification, relationships and connections. All advertising for stuff implies gratification and fulfillment of some kind. We all have human needs which advertisers take full advantage of, but they mislead us into thinking material stuff will fill spiritual needs. For a very extensive list of those needs—some you might not have even thought about—check out this "Needs Inventory" from the Center of Nonviolent Communications. The needs fall into categories such as Connection, Physical Well-Being, Honesty, Peace, Play. I also appreciate what Frances Moore Lappe´ calls our three essential needs: agency, meaning and connection. She says, “In societies fulfilling these needs, fear subsides and trust expands, enabling continuing growth for individuals and communities.” Trying to fill these needs with material stuff gratifies the senses but only for a short time. We need to find spiritual fulfillment to create “sustainable happiness” and a healthy Earth. (See this article by Sarah van Gelder, “A Brief History of Happiness, How America Lost Track of the Good Life—and Where to Find It Now.
Not only will the acquisition of the kind of material stuff advertisers tempt us with not be deeply satisfying, but it’s also ruining the planet. We’ve already passed Earth Overshoot Day on August 2, which designates what the Earth can produce for us in one year.
For those of us who are in comfortable material situations, I believe our task is to assess what it is that we want or need and make wise choices. Can we “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without”? as Eleanor Roosevelt said. Another choice could be buying something and simultaneously giving away something. Everything we buy costs the Earth something in terms of resources, energy, people power. We often don’t know the source of those products, and who has made them and whether those companies are environmentally and socially conscious. Every choice needs to be informed by love of Earth and all life.
Seeing the Earth as a lifeless commodity that we have “dominion” over, and ourselves as separate from Earth and everything else.
Perhaps the most unfortunate language in the Bible is Genesis 1:26 where we are “to have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” We have come to interpret this has dominating and commodifying every living thing, including the planet. We have given ourselves permission to do whatever suits our fancy, and our bottom line, no matter what the consequences are to living systems and other living beings. Bad Bible! Ellen Davis, Professor at Duke Divinity School offers us another translation of dominion: “to exercise skilled mastery among, or with respect to.” We could also substitute the word stewardship or partnership for dominion and it would change everything.
How can we rekindle our connection to and relationship with Earth?
Here is a beautiful poem written by Clifford Burke (yes, the very same Clifford I am blessed to partner with in this lifetime!) that for me embodies our connection to and relationship with the Earth. It goes to the heart and soul of how we need to be in relation to all life.
Song for Salmon-babies
We never see them going out,
To sea,
Nor swim the tiny rivulets, wetlands—
Irrigation ditches! Field drains!
Doing what our own kids do,
Explore, eat constantly, & grow.
If we could pat their scaley butts
as they hit the mighty Skagit
for the first time,
how gently would we take them
to our hands & mouths & bodies
on their one trip home.
The Great Turning, the Sixth Extinction, a crossroads, a tipping point: These are ways that spiritual leaders, scientists, economists, systems thinkers and visionary leaders have described this evolutionary time in our history marked by radical changes of heart, perception, values and priorities. We are now aware of our wasteful, destructive and unjust policies and ways of living. We need to admit we’ve done many things wrong and be able to adjust and change. Millions of people all over the world are engaging in a variety of forms of activism to create a peaceful, thriving, sustainable world that works for all of us, and the planet. Millions more need to join the party. (See my columns in July 2016 and May 2017 to inspire your unique contribution to this new world.) So for the love of all life let us love Earth. Let us regain our sense of awe, wonder, delight, respect and gratitude, for the love of Earth.
Love for the world is what will save us.
—Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
[See our monoprint letterpress broadside of "Song for Salmon-babies" at Desert Rose Press.)
THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
We would all like to see the light at the end of this pandemic tunnel sooner rather than later. But what does this "light," the world at the end of the tunnel, look like? What kind of world do we want?
Here are some questions and thoughts, both practical and spiritual, that we might consider in order to create healthier, happier lives in the future.
Distancing: The pandemic has meant, among many other things, social distancing. But we have also had to distance ourselves from what we normally do: our routines, our thinking, our assumptions and beliefs about the way things work, our whole way of being. In this weird time of confusion and chaos and uncertainty where normal life has ground to a halt, we have an opportunity to ask many questions as we consider what the future of human life might look like, and what we want to create.
We need to take stock. We need to newly assess what really matters in the long run. We need to open our eyes to what we have been devoted to as a culture and as individuals, and in the space of this strange pause, we need to consider what we will devote our energies to when it ends. . . We’ve been obsessed merely with satisfying our desire for more: more stuff, more distractions, more status, more busyness, more titillation, more whatever. Read more in ”COVID is Us,”by Philip Shepherd.
Some root questions in both the material and spiritual sense:
What really matters to us?
What do we deeply want?
What do we really need?
What is enough?
Do we have enough?
The current systems tell us we aren’t enough just as we are, and so we are driven to somehow prove ourselves worthy by external measurements. We need to ask ourselves: Who are we without our money, our possessions, our status or position? Many people have little of the above. It is no wonder many of us feel worthless and continually drive ourselves to prove ourselves worthy. From a spiritual perspective we are all of equal worth simply by the fact that we are here, and need to come back to that recognition.
We might ask ourselves, what’s truly important to me? Life being so uncertain, how can I be more present and appreciate each passing moment? What can I do from now on to more closely align my life with my true purpose, my heart’s desires? What do I value most?
”The Coronavirus Opportunity,” by Bruce Berlin, The Struggle for the Soul of America, 4/17/20.
Some questions about the future posed by Charles Eisensten.
If it keeps us safer, do we want to live in a world where human beings never congregate?
Do we want every event to be a virtual event?
Shall the concert, the sports competition, and the festival be a thing of the past?
How much are we willing to live in fear?
Shall we choose to live in a society without hugs, handshakes, and high-fives, forever more?
Shall children no longer play with other children?
Shall all human contact be mediated by computers and masks?
Is death reduction to be the standard by which to measure progress? Does human advancement mean separation?
Do we double down on protecting the separate self, or do we accept the invitation into a world where all of us are in this together? Are we to be survivalists or helpers?
Do we really need so much air travel, Disneyworld vacations, or trade shows?
What parts of the economy will we want to restore, and what parts might we choose to let go of?
Do we envision a future of electronic hall passes, a system where freedom of movement is governed by state administrators and their software at all times, permanently? Where every movement is tracked, either permitted or prohibited? And, for our protection, where information that threatens our health (as decided, again, by various authorities) is censored for our own good?
Eisenstein presents more provocative questions in his excellent essay, “The Coronation.” You can listen to “The Coronation” and read it here. Well worth your time. [It was written in March so some statistics are now outdated, but the essence of his piece is poignantly relevant.]
The bottom line question: What is life for?
A spiritual perspective: For a thoughtful and deeper look at this space we are in that is "betwixt and between," where the future is unknown, I encourage you to read the Daily Meditations of Fr. Richard Rohr of the Center for Action and Contemplation about "liminal space," beginning April 26. Topics include Between Two Worlds, The Presence of Spirit, Dark Liminality, The Liminal Paradox. "Limimal Space."
Next month's column will give us a clearer picture of what this light might actually look like in practical terms.
NO GOING BACK TO THE WAY THINGS WERE
It’s a no-brainer that we shouldn’t go back to the way things were. The pandemic has made it clear that it’s the whole system—economic, political and social—that is unhealthy and fails to provide for the common good and the health of the planet. Do we need any more evidence that the way we humans live is unsustainable?
A system that is based on extraction, exploitation and waste by advancing consumerism and growth on a finite planet is stupid. A system that only benefits a few cannot and should not last. Not long ago a correspondent said she wanted “evidence” that corporations were not sustainable. Don’t we all see that production of plastic packaging is filling and killing rivers and the ocean? Did I really need to describe how our current industrial agribusiness depletes and poisons our topsoil and pollutes waterways? Did I need to point out that industrial factory farming meat production likewise pollutes the water and adds methane to the atmosphere, which is worse than CO2, and raises animals in inhumane conditions? Doesn’t everyone know that companies destroy forests to raise more beef and to grow food for those cattle when that corn should be /could be feeding hungry people?
No human being should be hungry! On my weekly grocery shopping trip I pass a Lutheran Church in Santa Fe. At 8 in the morning cars are beginning to park along the side streets and by the time I head home an hour and a half later, those streets are full, lined with dozens of cars as they wait for the church to begin distribution of food boxes. This scene is playing out all over this country. It is an outrage that in the wealthiest country in the world people go hungry, not just because of COVID-19, but all the time. One thing that reveals our failed food system is that food has had to be thrown out right now because there is no way to distribute it to people who need it. Read the “Sickness of Our Food Supply.”
Added to the gross social injustice of food insecurity in the U.S. we should look at the extent of other social ills like extreme poverty, addiction, drug abuse, suicide, depression, racial and wealth inequality.
We must also look at life-destroying environmental injustice: climate change, deforestation, toxic pollution of land and waters, loss of topsoil, plastic pollution, excessive greenhouse gas emissions, destruction of species.
Let’s not overlook political injustice while we’re surveying what doesn’t work. There are way too many issues to deal with here but essentially it has to do with corporate and special interest money running our government. And most recently, in dealing with the pandemic, we see how leadership in this country is playing politics with public safety and human lives. It is unconscionable. This article explains.
So if we don’t want to go back to the way things were, where do we go? Here are a few ideas:
Measure economic progress not by GDP and growth, but by well-being, good and useful jobs, environmental sustainability, happiness, good health, inclusion of everyone. A "New Bottom Line" based on caring, generosity, cooperation and responsibility to the good of all and the Earth.
Build a circular economy and follow the Doughnut Model. Many companies are reinventing themselves in this light.
Improve energy efficiency and further develop renewable energy sources.
Practice conscious consumption: Reduce. Reuse. Repair. Recycle.
Reduce food waste and eat less meat.
Reduce our carbon footprint.
GET MONEY OUT OF POLITICS
Adopt a Global Marshall Plan
CLEAN THE FISH TANK: This refers to the analogy of not just saving the sick fish in our fish tank as we are doing with COVID-19 patients, but let’s clean up our environment and how we practice our lives so that the fish don’t get sick in the first place. It’s like watching dead bodies coming down a river and not bothering to go back upstream to find out why they are dying.
I want to conclude this piece with a quote from Bruce Berlin in his blog “The Struggle for the Soul of America:
This time of reflection led me to ask: How are we doing as a society? Why have we gotten so divided? Why can’t we live together? Why are people so driven to get as much as they can for themselves with no or little concern for how the less fortunate among us who are hurting, hungry, some homeless, are getting by or not?
It’s time for us to take a long, hard look at ourselves and our country. How can we inspire our country to live up to its honored values and highest potential for all Americans? We are in the midst of a spiritual crisis, as well as a health crisis and an economic crisis. Our country is at a moral crossroads: Will we take the highway to a better life for all, or the low road where it’s each one out for one’s self? This is the question we will answer in the fall election. But we can’t wait. Now is the time we must pave the way for a brighter, more equitable society. Read "The Struggle for the Soul of America, Going Within," May 22.
MORE GOOD RESOURCES HERE
A New Bottom Line, by the Network of Spiritual Progressives
Global Marshall Plan, by the Network of Spiritual Progressives
"The Story of Stuff
The Story of Solutions
The Story of Change
A system that is based on extraction, exploitation and waste by advancing consumerism and growth on a finite planet is stupid. A system that only benefits a few cannot and should not last. Not long ago a correspondent said she wanted “evidence” that corporations were not sustainable. Don’t we all see that production of plastic packaging is filling and killing rivers and the ocean? Did I really need to describe how our current industrial agribusiness depletes and poisons our topsoil and pollutes waterways? Did I need to point out that industrial factory farming meat production likewise pollutes the water and adds methane to the atmosphere, which is worse than CO2, and raises animals in inhumane conditions? Doesn’t everyone know that companies destroy forests to raise more beef and to grow food for those cattle when that corn should be /could be feeding hungry people?
No human being should be hungry! On my weekly grocery shopping trip I pass a Lutheran Church in Santa Fe. At 8 in the morning cars are beginning to park along the side streets and by the time I head home an hour and a half later, those streets are full, lined with dozens of cars as they wait for the church to begin distribution of food boxes. This scene is playing out all over this country. It is an outrage that in the wealthiest country in the world people go hungry, not just because of COVID-19, but all the time. One thing that reveals our failed food system is that food has had to be thrown out right now because there is no way to distribute it to people who need it. Read the “Sickness of Our Food Supply.”
Added to the gross social injustice of food insecurity in the U.S. we should look at the extent of other social ills like extreme poverty, addiction, drug abuse, suicide, depression, racial and wealth inequality.
We must also look at life-destroying environmental injustice: climate change, deforestation, toxic pollution of land and waters, loss of topsoil, plastic pollution, excessive greenhouse gas emissions, destruction of species.
Let’s not overlook political injustice while we’re surveying what doesn’t work. There are way too many issues to deal with here but essentially it has to do with corporate and special interest money running our government. And most recently, in dealing with the pandemic, we see how leadership in this country is playing politics with public safety and human lives. It is unconscionable. This article explains.
So if we don’t want to go back to the way things were, where do we go? Here are a few ideas:
Measure economic progress not by GDP and growth, but by well-being, good and useful jobs, environmental sustainability, happiness, good health, inclusion of everyone. A "New Bottom Line" based on caring, generosity, cooperation and responsibility to the good of all and the Earth.
Build a circular economy and follow the Doughnut Model. Many companies are reinventing themselves in this light.
Improve energy efficiency and further develop renewable energy sources.
Practice conscious consumption: Reduce. Reuse. Repair. Recycle.
Reduce food waste and eat less meat.
Reduce our carbon footprint.
GET MONEY OUT OF POLITICS
Adopt a Global Marshall Plan
CLEAN THE FISH TANK: This refers to the analogy of not just saving the sick fish in our fish tank as we are doing with COVID-19 patients, but let’s clean up our environment and how we practice our lives so that the fish don’t get sick in the first place. It’s like watching dead bodies coming down a river and not bothering to go back upstream to find out why they are dying.
I want to conclude this piece with a quote from Bruce Berlin in his blog “The Struggle for the Soul of America:
This time of reflection led me to ask: How are we doing as a society? Why have we gotten so divided? Why can’t we live together? Why are people so driven to get as much as they can for themselves with no or little concern for how the less fortunate among us who are hurting, hungry, some homeless, are getting by or not?
It’s time for us to take a long, hard look at ourselves and our country. How can we inspire our country to live up to its honored values and highest potential for all Americans? We are in the midst of a spiritual crisis, as well as a health crisis and an economic crisis. Our country is at a moral crossroads: Will we take the highway to a better life for all, or the low road where it’s each one out for one’s self? This is the question we will answer in the fall election. But we can’t wait. Now is the time we must pave the way for a brighter, more equitable society. Read "The Struggle for the Soul of America, Going Within," May 22.
MORE GOOD RESOURCES HERE
A New Bottom Line, by the Network of Spiritual Progressives
Global Marshall Plan, by the Network of Spiritual Progressives
"The Story of Stuff
The Story of Solutions
The Story of Change
THE SOUL OF AMERICA, It's in Our Hands Now
We have a critical election on November 3td. We're not just voting for who will become president for the next four years, and which members of Congress will be elected, but more importantly, we're voting for the soul of America. What does that mean? For me it has to do with the values we embrace and practice as people and as a nation. Voting for the soul of America means restoring our sense of dignity and civility. It means working to find common ground so that we can continue to inhabit a healthy planet. The Pledge of Allegiance talks about "liberty and justice for all." We must work for that and make it real.
We must vote. We must vote for those people who will embody the values and practices that make us the best we can be.
Here is the letter I am writing via VoteForward.org to registered voters who are considered "unlikely to vote." What I add to the given text is in italic.
"I’m writing to you today to urge you to vote and to share my story with you. I vote in every election because voting is my chance to stand up for our democracy, and to have a say about what direction I want our country to go in. Not voting says I’m OK with how things are.
"There’s a critically important election coming up on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.
"Will you please join me as a voter?
"I’m not asking you to support specific candidates, only to vote, so our representatives are accountable to us all.
"Thank you!
Sincerely, Virginia"
Closing advice which I've taken to heart to stay a little less stressed and anxious during this time of upheaval and disorder is drawn in part from a newsletter published weekdays by Robert Hubbell. (You can subscribe to Hubbell's "Today's Edition Newsletter" here.)
Be aware of "an impulse to collapse everything that might happen in the next months into a ball of worry that preoccupies and overwhelms our thoughts today. We can’t do that, or we will be paralyzed with fear and doubt." He notes how news anchors pile "speculation upon possibility upon remote contingencies until it sounds like the sky is falling."
"Please, people, we need to get a grip on reality and stop fantasizing about nonsensical outcomes that are designed to fill airtime or illuminate pixels on a computer screen. (Voter suppression is a different and urgent threat that we must combat now.)
"Let’s take the next days one day at a time, one task at a time. That’s all we can do; put aside counterproductive worry and get to work!"
Mental discipline is required. As Hubbell says, "Focus on maintaining our drive and positivity."
[Illustration is of The Cave of the Hands, Cueva de las Manos, in Argentina.]
We must vote. We must vote for those people who will embody the values and practices that make us the best we can be.
Here is the letter I am writing via VoteForward.org to registered voters who are considered "unlikely to vote." What I add to the given text is in italic.
"I’m writing to you today to urge you to vote and to share my story with you. I vote in every election because voting is my chance to stand up for our democracy, and to have a say about what direction I want our country to go in. Not voting says I’m OK with how things are.
"There’s a critically important election coming up on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.
"Will you please join me as a voter?
"I’m not asking you to support specific candidates, only to vote, so our representatives are accountable to us all.
"Thank you!
Sincerely, Virginia"
Closing advice which I've taken to heart to stay a little less stressed and anxious during this time of upheaval and disorder is drawn in part from a newsletter published weekdays by Robert Hubbell. (You can subscribe to Hubbell's "Today's Edition Newsletter" here.)
Be aware of "an impulse to collapse everything that might happen in the next months into a ball of worry that preoccupies and overwhelms our thoughts today. We can’t do that, or we will be paralyzed with fear and doubt." He notes how news anchors pile "speculation upon possibility upon remote contingencies until it sounds like the sky is falling."
"Please, people, we need to get a grip on reality and stop fantasizing about nonsensical outcomes that are designed to fill airtime or illuminate pixels on a computer screen. (Voter suppression is a different and urgent threat that we must combat now.)
"Let’s take the next days one day at a time, one task at a time. That’s all we can do; put aside counterproductive worry and get to work!"
Mental discipline is required. As Hubbell says, "Focus on maintaining our drive and positivity."
[Illustration is of The Cave of the Hands, Cueva de las Manos, in Argentina.]
Democracy, Climate Change and Active Hope
The critical state of American democracy and the climate crisis have many people feeling despair, frustration, outrage and a sense of urgency.
The threat to our democracy and the crisis of climate change are most pressing for me though there are many social problems that are also critical.
Where do we find hope? How do we keep going? Jane Goodall has always been an inspiration to me and here are parts of an interview with her that help keep me going. The interviewer comments on the prevalence of negative stories that bring out fear and anger. He asks Jane if those are useful emotions to tap into. She replies, "No. It’s one of my big complaints when I talk to the media: Yes, we absolutely need to know all the doom and gloom because we are approaching a crossroads, and if we don’t take action it could be too late. But traveling the world I’d see so many projects of restoration, animal and plant species being rescued from the brink of extinction, people tackling what seemed impossible and not giving up. Those are the stories that should have equal time, because they’re what gives people hope. If you don’t have hope, why bother? Why should I bother to think about my ecological footprint if I don’t think that what I do is going to make a difference? Why not eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die?"
When asked about "retiring," she replies, "I have to go on doing [my work] because I care passionately about nature. I care passionately about children. If I didn’t make a difference, I wouldn’t do it. I don’t say that to brag. It’s just that every day people say: 'I read your book and I changed. I heard your lecture and I changed.' So if I care, then I can’t stop."
Clearly she knows we each make a difference. Whatever problem we address we can make a difference. As someone has said, "Despair is not an option."
Another inspiring teacher and activist, Joanna Macy, author of Active Hope, puts it this way: "Active Hope is a practice; it is something we do rather than have. First, we take a clear view of reality; second, we identify what we hope for in terms of the direction we'd like things to move; and third, we take steps to move ourselves or our situation in that direction. An action that might seem inconsequential by itself adds to and interfaces with other actions in ways that contribute to a much bigger picture of change."
As planetary citizens we are each called to some action and work that contributes to the common good. Our task is to follow our heart to the action that fits for us, and then engage.
To help myself out of a time of depression and despair I often imagine myself on my deathbed. I want to be able to feel that I have done everything I can to help create a better world. And then even if I am feeling gloomy I get up and go about my day with as much good cheer and balance as I can muster. Doing something usually makes me feel better.
Remember Margaret Meade's famous quote: "NEVER DOUBT that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Here's an excellent blog by author Bruce Berlin which addresses the "monumental challenges" we face, and how we can engage without losing "our health or our minds." "The Struggle for the Soul of America
Here's my newsletter on Active Hope for more on this topic
The threat to our democracy and the crisis of climate change are most pressing for me though there are many social problems that are also critical.
Where do we find hope? How do we keep going? Jane Goodall has always been an inspiration to me and here are parts of an interview with her that help keep me going. The interviewer comments on the prevalence of negative stories that bring out fear and anger. He asks Jane if those are useful emotions to tap into. She replies, "No. It’s one of my big complaints when I talk to the media: Yes, we absolutely need to know all the doom and gloom because we are approaching a crossroads, and if we don’t take action it could be too late. But traveling the world I’d see so many projects of restoration, animal and plant species being rescued from the brink of extinction, people tackling what seemed impossible and not giving up. Those are the stories that should have equal time, because they’re what gives people hope. If you don’t have hope, why bother? Why should I bother to think about my ecological footprint if I don’t think that what I do is going to make a difference? Why not eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die?"
When asked about "retiring," she replies, "I have to go on doing [my work] because I care passionately about nature. I care passionately about children. If I didn’t make a difference, I wouldn’t do it. I don’t say that to brag. It’s just that every day people say: 'I read your book and I changed. I heard your lecture and I changed.' So if I care, then I can’t stop."
Clearly she knows we each make a difference. Whatever problem we address we can make a difference. As someone has said, "Despair is not an option."
Another inspiring teacher and activist, Joanna Macy, author of Active Hope, puts it this way: "Active Hope is a practice; it is something we do rather than have. First, we take a clear view of reality; second, we identify what we hope for in terms of the direction we'd like things to move; and third, we take steps to move ourselves or our situation in that direction. An action that might seem inconsequential by itself adds to and interfaces with other actions in ways that contribute to a much bigger picture of change."
As planetary citizens we are each called to some action and work that contributes to the common good. Our task is to follow our heart to the action that fits for us, and then engage.
To help myself out of a time of depression and despair I often imagine myself on my deathbed. I want to be able to feel that I have done everything I can to help create a better world. And then even if I am feeling gloomy I get up and go about my day with as much good cheer and balance as I can muster. Doing something usually makes me feel better.
Remember Margaret Meade's famous quote: "NEVER DOUBT that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Here's an excellent blog by author Bruce Berlin which addresses the "monumental challenges" we face, and how we can engage without losing "our health or our minds." "The Struggle for the Soul of America
Here's my newsletter on Active Hope for more on this topic
WHOA! "CODE RED FOR HUMANITY"
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has issued a new and dire warning that unless we immediately make big changes to how we do business in the world we will face ever more climate-related catastrophes.
The message is that it's time to act. It's time to put massive amounts of pressure on government to make policies to limit such disasters.
Call the Capital Switchboard, 202-224-3121, and demand climate action now. For starters demand an end to fossil fuel subsidies by supporting the End Polluter Welfare Act.
As the author of "Renewable Energy Won't Change the World": says, "The only way we can reduce energy consumption [and thus emissions] at the scale necessary is via policy and regulation."
MAKE GOOD TROUBLE
I was drawn to this notion expressed by John Lewis who said, "Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America." As a civil rights leader and Congressman Lewis was particularly speaking about the state of America, but his counsel is applicable to every unjust situation we are facing in the world today.
DETERMINE WHAT YOU CAN DO:
What are your passionate about?
What are your particular skills?
What are you able to do?
THEN put all those pieces together to make your unique contribution to solutions for the common good.
"Make whatever good trouble you can. Now.*
The message is that it's time to act. It's time to put massive amounts of pressure on government to make policies to limit such disasters.
Call the Capital Switchboard, 202-224-3121, and demand climate action now. For starters demand an end to fossil fuel subsidies by supporting the End Polluter Welfare Act.
As the author of "Renewable Energy Won't Change the World": says, "The only way we can reduce energy consumption [and thus emissions] at the scale necessary is via policy and regulation."
MAKE GOOD TROUBLE
I was drawn to this notion expressed by John Lewis who said, "Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America." As a civil rights leader and Congressman Lewis was particularly speaking about the state of America, but his counsel is applicable to every unjust situation we are facing in the world today.
DETERMINE WHAT YOU CAN DO:
What are your passionate about?
What are your particular skills?
What are you able to do?
THEN put all those pieces together to make your unique contribution to solutions for the common good.
"Make whatever good trouble you can. Now.*
Why take a stand? Read this excerpt from Bruce Berlin, author of “the Struggle for the Soul of America” as he addresses college graduates in his May 15th blog.
“But there is one additional thing I urge you to think deeply about, and that is, the future of your country. Decades before you were born, a young, newly elected president, John F. Kennedy, in his 1961 inaugural address challenged all Americans to ‘ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.’
“Now more than ever, your country needs you. Your country has given you the opportunity to obtain a good education among many other
advantages. And you alone will decide how to use them in your life.
At the same time, there is a very dark cloud hanging over our nation. It threatens all of us who believe in American democracy. That murky shadow is autocracy, and it imperils the freedoms and justice so many Americans have fought and died for.
“Today we are seeing how destructive authoritarianism can be in Putin’s war on Ukraine. Here at home, we are experiencing this autocratic scourge from book-banning campaigns to laws restricting voting rights and eliminating reproductive rights. Most devastating was the January 6th attack on our Capitol in an effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and the peaceful transfer of power. This coup was an affront to the most basic principles our nation founded on.
“Though it was not of your making, you are now on the frontlines of an epic battle to save our democracy. Whatever you are planning to do as you begin your careers may very well be disrupted or even wiped out by an authoritarian, white supremacist government that could be in our country’s future.
“That is why this November’s elections, and the 2024 election are so vital to the survival of our democracy. I urge you all to step up and get actively involved in them. Now is the time to take a stand. You, who are the future of our country, hold the nation’s fate in your hands."
It's time to take a stand.
“But there is one additional thing I urge you to think deeply about, and that is, the future of your country. Decades before you were born, a young, newly elected president, John F. Kennedy, in his 1961 inaugural address challenged all Americans to ‘ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.’
“Now more than ever, your country needs you. Your country has given you the opportunity to obtain a good education among many other
advantages. And you alone will decide how to use them in your life.
At the same time, there is a very dark cloud hanging over our nation. It threatens all of us who believe in American democracy. That murky shadow is autocracy, and it imperils the freedoms and justice so many Americans have fought and died for.
“Today we are seeing how destructive authoritarianism can be in Putin’s war on Ukraine. Here at home, we are experiencing this autocratic scourge from book-banning campaigns to laws restricting voting rights and eliminating reproductive rights. Most devastating was the January 6th attack on our Capitol in an effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and the peaceful transfer of power. This coup was an affront to the most basic principles our nation founded on.
“Though it was not of your making, you are now on the frontlines of an epic battle to save our democracy. Whatever you are planning to do as you begin your careers may very well be disrupted or even wiped out by an authoritarian, white supremacist government that could be in our country’s future.
“That is why this November’s elections, and the 2024 election are so vital to the survival of our democracy. I urge you all to step up and get actively involved in them. Now is the time to take a stand. You, who are the future of our country, hold the nation’s fate in your hands."
It's time to take a stand.
A POLITICAL CALL TO ARMS
Democracy is on the ballot! Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo) lost her primary election in August. I quote from her speech because she, and others, capture what's at stake to save our democracy.
Cheney says, "This is not a game. Every one of us must be committed to the eternal defense of this miraculous experiment called America and at the heart of our democratic process—our elections. They are the foundational principle of our Constitution."
"No American should support election deniers for any position of genuine responsibility, where their refusal to follow the rule of law will corrupt our future."
"No citizen of this republic is a bystander. All of us have an obligation to understand what actually happened. We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation."
"This is a fight for all of us together. I'm a conservative Republican. I believe deeply in the principles and the ideals on which my party was founded. I love its history. And I love what our party has stood for. But I love my country more.
So, I ask you tonight, let us resolve that we will stand together—Republicans, Democrats and Independents—against those who would destroy our republic. They are angry and they are determined, but they have not seen anything like the power of Americans united in defense of our Constitution and committed to the cause of freedom. There is no greater power on this earth."
From Bruce Berlin, author of The Struggle for the Soul of America, "While many Americans are fighting to maintain the democratic principles upon which the country was established, others wish to turn the United States into an autocracy, ruled by Donald Trump and his white supremacist, MAGA followers.
"And they appear to be willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen. Be it storming the Capitol, suppressing the vote, rigging the elections, stacking the Supreme Court, or whatever else they can fabricate.
"We are the only ones who stand in their way. It is up to all of us who still believe in democracy to make sure they fail. Despite what you may think of President Biden and the Democrats, they are our only hope of preserving some semblance of democracy in America."
From Dan Rather: "It is time to build a world, here in the U.S. and beyond, that recognizes what we can be. With that in mind, we can all concentrate on our hopes, not our fears: our hopes that Putin and his enablers will be taught a lesson that autocrats and would-be autocrats should all hear with clarity — the future is not yours."
WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT IS THAT WE NOT ONLY VOTE, BUT WE HELP OTHERS VOTE. TURNOUT ON NOVEMBER 8 IS CRITICAL TO PRESERVING A DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS, THE RULE OF LAW AND OUR DEMOCRACY.
Cheney says, "This is not a game. Every one of us must be committed to the eternal defense of this miraculous experiment called America and at the heart of our democratic process—our elections. They are the foundational principle of our Constitution."
"No American should support election deniers for any position of genuine responsibility, where their refusal to follow the rule of law will corrupt our future."
"No citizen of this republic is a bystander. All of us have an obligation to understand what actually happened. We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation."
"This is a fight for all of us together. I'm a conservative Republican. I believe deeply in the principles and the ideals on which my party was founded. I love its history. And I love what our party has stood for. But I love my country more.
So, I ask you tonight, let us resolve that we will stand together—Republicans, Democrats and Independents—against those who would destroy our republic. They are angry and they are determined, but they have not seen anything like the power of Americans united in defense of our Constitution and committed to the cause of freedom. There is no greater power on this earth."
From Bruce Berlin, author of The Struggle for the Soul of America, "While many Americans are fighting to maintain the democratic principles upon which the country was established, others wish to turn the United States into an autocracy, ruled by Donald Trump and his white supremacist, MAGA followers.
"And they appear to be willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen. Be it storming the Capitol, suppressing the vote, rigging the elections, stacking the Supreme Court, or whatever else they can fabricate.
"We are the only ones who stand in their way. It is up to all of us who still believe in democracy to make sure they fail. Despite what you may think of President Biden and the Democrats, they are our only hope of preserving some semblance of democracy in America."
From Dan Rather: "It is time to build a world, here in the U.S. and beyond, that recognizes what we can be. With that in mind, we can all concentrate on our hopes, not our fears: our hopes that Putin and his enablers will be taught a lesson that autocrats and would-be autocrats should all hear with clarity — the future is not yours."
WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT IS THAT WE NOT ONLY VOTE, BUT WE HELP OTHERS VOTE. TURNOUT ON NOVEMBER 8 IS CRITICAL TO PRESERVING A DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS, THE RULE OF LAW AND OUR DEMOCRACY.