Compassion for Mother Earth
“ A dominant theme of eco-philosopher Joanna Macy’s work is that it is only by facing our deep despair over the looming dangers and real devastation threatening the planet that we can kindle our greatest compassion. The effort it takes to block out deep-seated concern about poverty, the extinction of thousands of animal and plant species, the spread of incurable AIDS, radioactivity in the soil, uranium mining in the fragile desert, the likelihood of repeated acts of terrorism, destruction of ancient forests, pollution of rivers and soils and skies, genocide as a tactic of war, and countless other cataclysms and potential cataclysms not only fails to keep these horrors at bay but stuffs away the feelings we dread to feel. When fear, outrage, and sorrow remain unexpressed, we may release them in inappropriate, involuntary ways, such as blaming others, becoming politically passive, or hardening ourselves to the needs of even the people closest to us. We may feel fragmented, guilty, or listless.
In contrast, acknowledging despair about the state of the world is actually healthy. It does not make the despair worse; it liberates and then transforms it. It enables us to remember that we are part of all life, it strengthens compassion, reduces dichotomies that divide people, and empowers us to bring about change. What occurs after we have reached through the pain to touch the tensile web of life beneath it is “beyond catharsis,†Macy says. “By recognizing our capacity to suffer with our world, we dawn to wider dimensions of being. In those dimensions there is pain still, but a lot more. There is wonder, even joy, as we come home to our mutual belonging – and there is a new kind of power.†Besides, say the Sufis, pain opens as many doors to the divine as pleasure does, since every hammer blow the heart receives cracks it open wider for the Beloved to occupy. It is only by facing the pain, lying down at its feet, and then climbing out of it by rechanneling the dammed-up energy released in the process that we can transform both ourselves and the source of the suffering. Then we become for others what the figure of the Beloved is for each of us – a presence who offers love, support, and even joy in any and all circumstances.â€
Trebbe Johnson
I think all too frequently we develop the attitude of “Oh Well, my little voice will never be heard. It’s too late to do anything” And this is just the mindset that the ones who are taking advantage of Mother Earth are counting on. Even if your voice is never heard, you will have created positive Karma, and if you have just inspired one other person to take action or to change his or her mindset then a lifetime of work was worth it. But far worse you could have just set back and let things happen as they may, while all of the big corporations have just taken advantage and raped and pillaged our Mother Earth to the benefit of their pocket books, and you just let it happen.
No one says you have to travel to Washington DC and participate in rallys, or protests. But you can make a big difference locally. Do you know of the environmental things that are taking place in a 10 mile radius around you? Do you know of the health care concerns in your area? There are votes from the community taking place on a weekly basis around you, that you may never know about because they don’t want you to know about it. The announcements of these votes are required to be published in a public publication, although the way they get around it, is they find the smallest read publication possible and put it there, where almost no one will see it.
Get active, make a change in your life, don’t sit on your hands and think what can I do. It’s for our children and future generations, and I can think of no better reason than that. Take Care all.
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