[Ecodharma] Active Hope Chapter 11

[Tairin]

We all need support in our lives. Maybe some people more than others, maybe some times more than others, but none of us can go it alone. This chapter is about building support around us. Particularly when it comes to Ecodharma this will be important. We know the obstacle of Business as Usual. We know the risk of The Great Unraveling is huge. There will be times when we lose faith and want to give up. After all why should we try if it appears that so few around us care enough to make changes. Groups like this one here at Treeleaf are important. I hope you have other support groups to sustain you.

If we don’t see our role as important, we are less likely to take the steps required to function at our best

The analogy to the focus an athlete brings to their sport is a good one. Athletes remain focused on their goal and take the steps necessary to achieve that goal. Our goal is to contribute to The Great Turning. In the section on the “study, strategy, and support” workshop a question is asked “What is The Great Turning and how can we take part in it?” Like an athlete preparing for their chance to compete in the Olympics, what steps, what preparation are we making towards the Great Turning?

Of course athletes can’t do it on their own. They need a support group: coaches, training partners, sponsors, trainers, and physical therapist. What support do we need? One of the issues the chapter touches on is how there are hundreds of millions of people who share our concerns but that it is not always easy to see, leaving us feeling alone.

What are your impressions of this chapter?


I vow to myself and to each of you:
To commit myself daily to the healing of our world and the welfare of all beings.
To live on Earth more lightly and less violently in the food, products, and energy I consume.
To draw strength and guidance from the living Earth, the ancestors, the future generations, and my siblings of all species.
To support others in their work for the world and to ask for help when I need it.
And to pursue a daily practice that clarifies my mind, strengthens my heart, and supports me in observing these vows.


Tairin
Sat today and lah

[Doshin]

I vow to myself and to each of you:
To commit myself daily to the healing of our world and the welfare of all beings.
To live on Earth more lightly and less violently in the food, products, and energy I consume.
To draw strength and guidance from the living Earth, the ancestors, the future generations, and my siblings of all species.
To support others in their work for the world and to ask for help when I need it.
And to pursue a daily practice that clarifies my mind, strengthens my heart, and supports me in observing these vows.


Tairin
Sat today and lah[/QUOTE]





Doshin
St

[Doshin]

Thanks Tairin. The support of others is something we need as a social species. The support of those that share values and concerns can motivate and console. The path would be lonely and often more frustrating without them.

I thought through the exercise of identifying those around that provide support or that I give support to. My entire life I have been surrounded by those who share concerns about wildlife conservation and the health of the planet. Once that was hundreds throughout the country but at point in my life that group is much smaller and spread throughout the country since I or they were very mobile during our careers. I thought of my Face Book group which is very small by choice and only consists of those I know personally. Their posts and mine are dominated by conservation values and our connection to biodiversity. All these people support and motivate. Looking back I now realize how different my path would have been without them and I hope they feel the same about me.

Doshin
St

[Naiko]

Thank you, Tairin. This chapter brings to mind something that Thich Nhat Hanh said about the next Buddha being a sangha. This seems crucial to grow the Great Turning. Asking for support and working with groups are out of my comfort zone, and I am trying to change that. I’m accustomed to being the only person in my social circles with an interest in the environment, or Buddhism. Treeleaf and this book club have been incredibly important to me. I find each chapter of this book leaves me with a number of threads I wish to follow, for example the Cool Block/Cool Cities program mentioned here, and Rob Hopkins and the Transition movement in the last chapter. I also really connected with the five vows.

I hope it’s ok if I post the next chapter in week; I’m still full speed at work.
Gassho,
Naiko
st

[Tairin]

Asking for support and working with groups are out of my comfort zone, and I am trying to change that. I’m accustomed to being the only person in my social circles with an interest in the environment, or Buddhism.

You definitely are not alone in that. We have a few friends who are somewhat environmentally aware but I don’t get the sense that they would want to talk about it a lot and it seems they are just as likely to go flying off to some where. I like to think they are at the beginning of their journey and can’t quite reconcile their lifestyle to the climate changes.

My wife recently went to a protest at our local MPs office and was pleased to find someone she knew. Maybe the start of something there.


Tairin
Sat today and lah

[Doshin]

Naiko,

No worries and no hurry. Post when you are ready.

Doshin
St

[Doshin]

E8D1131C-B217-43D6-BF99-A617D642CB62.jpeg


In addition to the community of humans the larger community of all life and it’s overwhelming beauty have lifted my spirits and keep the fires of hope burning. I took this from my porch.

Doshin

[Tairin]

Beautiful view.

[Naiko]

That is an inspiring and beautiful view! Thank you for sharing it.
Gassho,
Naiko
st

[Doshin]

“Yes, it’s hot. But this could be one of the coolest summers of the rest of your life.”
Dr. Maria Neira, Environmental Scientist


Saw this quote today. It is not a positive thought but one that reminded me of a probable future for our granddchildren. I was moved because my granddaughter and great granddaughter are here visiting. I appreciate the word “could” was used, it suggests a different outcome is possible. Hope must still exist to encourage the world to take our future more seriously.

Doshin
St

[Tairin]

“Yes, it’s hot. But this could be one of the coolest summers of the rest of your life.”
Dr. Maria Neira, Environmental Scientist

I read a similar quote yesterday about how we’re likely to pass the 1.5 degree mark temporarily in the next 5 years and while that would be hot by the end of the century people will dream of only being 1.5 degrees above preindustrial temperatures

Here in my part of Canada it hasn’t be unusually warm or dry. What we have had a lot of is days with very low quality air due to the many fires here.

Whether this year is an anomaly or not I think we are getting a preview of a possible future. I sure hope it is shocking some people to consider their actions.

I am heartened by the fact that climate seems to be a newsworthy item daily. Maybe we are finally rounding the corner….. moving from a fringe to something more central to daily lives.


Tairin
Sat today and lah

[Kokuu]

I enjoyed this chapter and it is a reminder to me that to work with climate and environmental issues and activism, it has to be done as part of a community. At least it does for me. On my own, I quickly get overwhelmed and fall into stasis. I wish I had the energy to attend local environmental groups but that isn't possible, although there may be some online.

I am grateful for all of you here, and at One Earth Sangha.

The UK government seems to be backing out from the commitment it made in 2019 to double its contribution to world climate problems to £12bn, and there is some coverage of this, but not too much, and I imagine that in the right-wing media (which is most of the UK newspapers) it is either ignored or seen as a good thing.

The idea that in the future we might look back on this summer as the cool before things got really hot is frightening.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday-