The first step is to choose to live as part of nature instead of thinking ourselves above it and above any responsibility for our thoughts and actions; from there we will think and act accordingly, knowingly, and willingly. The World is all around us and within us; we’re as much a part of it as it is a part of us, inter-connected part and whole. Since the industrial revolution, we have shifted down a path that has increased ever-present destruction and chaos, even though we have had many “improvements” and “advances” in life, at what cost are these obtained? We are killing the Mother on which we all live our incarnated life; and we’ve let this go on for far too long. If humankind continues on this path of destruction, we’ll become more of a parasite to the Eath than we already are. Humankind used to live in harmony with nature and understand our part of the greater whole, but this has long been forgotten. While it’s not lost to us, as there are those people who do have concern for the welfare of All, who do act accordingly in nature and as part of it, many no longer do, or never have. The minority of people who share this insight on the welfare of the Earth and All; they must become the majority if we are to survive ourselves. We hold the keys to our own imprisonment or our own freedom. The keys to our own salvation or our own destruction.
The world as we know is one in great peril; but it needn’t be that way. We each have the power within ourselves to make a real difference to create and manifest change. We are on the precipice of our existence. The last 100 years have wrought much damage and ravaged the Earth. She, Gaia the Earth, Mother, she will survive without us; but we will not survive without the Earth, the place which we call home. Let this day, and every day, be a place from which we may grow, like a child in the womb. Let us give life to the Earth and each other; no death, not destruction. As Gandhi said, “you must be the change that you wish to see in the world. “ Be that change.
Earth Day 2010 is to remind us; but every day we can see all that is around us if we just open our hearts, our minds, and our eyes. Let your eyes, allow your soul to see, your heart to feel, your ears to hear; and may all of these things inspire you to change.
http://www.earthday.net/
Some things we can do...
Consumption
* Avoid buying newly manufactured things, instead buy second hand or make our own.
* Avoid large chain stores and supermarkets.
* Buy things from small and local businesses.
* Favour worker cooperatives over corporations.
* Wherever possible buy direct from producers.
* Support local currencies.
* Trade or give gifts in preference to using money.
Communities
* Smile at people and meet their eyes.
* Give open-minded/hearted time to those people around us.
* Organize rotating work parties and skill-sharing events.
* Organize parties and celebrations (eg. a dinner party where everyone brings a
homemade dish or a children's party where each parent organizes a game)
* Vision together the future of our communities and make it happen by a combination of
negotiations with local councils and direct action. (If you think that unused roadside
could make a good veg garden then get some friends together and just go ahead and
do it)
Food And Land
* Propagate and plant edible perennial plants wherever possible on any available land.
* Learn how to grow food and save seeds.
* Set up personal and community food growing.
* Stick to seasonal, local and organic foods.
* Eat meat in moderation.
* Have a go at making bread, preserving food, making cheese, brewing etc.
* Enjoy cooking and eating good food. Treat our food with reverence.
* Learn what wild plants grow in our areas and learn how to use them for food and
medicine.
* Protect and encourage biodiversity and wild areas (eg. a small wild patch at the bottom
of your garden could be a haven for birds and small animals).
* Make a pond.
Energy
* Use wood (biomass) for heating. Install wood burners. Take firewood from the waste
stream and plant local or personal firewood supplies. In a climate like Britain's, short
rotation coppice crops such as willow can be fully productive in 3 years and a 30 x 50m
area can heat an efficient family house.
* Heat water with wood and solar energy. (A solar water heater can easily be made from
scrap materials in a day or two.)
* Use renewable electricity. Switch mains connections to suppliers who only deal in
renewable energy.
* Set up and use local or personal energy production systems. Small scale hydroelectric
systems in particular offer simply maintained systems with high and reliable returns for
the amount of invested energy.
* Practice basic woodwork, metalwork etc to make and repair basic items and tools.
* Compost food and human waste to build soil fertility and reduce energy demands of
waste disposal.
Lifestyle
* Withdraw investment from houses. Move to a cheaper home or make our own (most
cheaply done without permission).
* Work less.
* This will free up time and energy to develop sustainable ways of living as well as
removing support from destructive systems.
* Do not take employment from organizations which are unsustainable or who's actions
are not benefiting the world.
* Maximise our autonomy from state and corporate control structures.
* Move from urban to rural areas and start working some land.
Consideration
* Consider what elements of our world and society are of greatest value to us (air, water,
food supplies, medicines...?)
* Consider what elements /service / products we could happily do without (war, this
year's fashion, more DVDs, a bigger car...?)
* Be aware that the more we have of the latter, the more we threaten the former.
* Whenever we spend money or play an active role in society, take time to consider the
consequences of our actions. (Buying a tank of fuel supports the violent occupation of
the middle east, buying cheap clothes supports sweatshops and child labor, buying
from transnational corporations funds the extraction of capital from poorer countries
and the erosion of human rights)
* Consider our modern world from the point of view of our ancesters.
* Count our blessings.
* Appreciate the beauty and fragility of life, human and otherwise.
* Make time to appreciate and congratulate ourselves - we are all amazing and powerful
beings.
* Smile, laugh, love and dream. Be present and don't worry.
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