In the past I shared the following quote in the Living Earth section of our forum (which has been moved to our EcoDharma Section). Its teaching returned to me as I read this Chapter.
“One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds” Aldo Leopold
The authors discuss the Three Acts of Opening that are my focus for starting this discussion.
The first one is Opening our Eyes to what is around us and what we love of this earth and realizing that we cannot survive without its gifts. This helps us understand why it is important to bring change. Many do not see the challenges ahead because they do not understand or because it is too painful to face. Maybe some take it all for granted and do not feel the impermanence of it. Others are in denial and claim it’s a natural progression which makes little sense because either way the consequences for life are grave. However, we and many others do appreciate all that surrounds us. If we look at what we love, we can then look at the “wounds” with hope that something better is possible. To marvel at the sunrises and the sounds of life as the day begins, to embrace those we love and understand that we are all interdependent with all life. The future depends on us, our success is theirs, our mistakes are theirs too.
The second one is Opening to Synergism. This reminds me of what Aristotle pointed out… that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It takes many of us working together for support, motivation, understanding to achieve success. It also, as Leopold indicates, can help mitigate the feeling of being “alone”. The challenge is great, no one individual or one country can bring the change. It must be a team effort.
The third one is Opening to Life Acting Through Us which reminds us to focus more on the “we and us’ and less on the “I and me.” Developing greater loyalty to all life to move our contributions forward. When you act for life on earth you are being a Bodhisattva. Being hopeful, I believe t more are awakening to the challenges and needs that surround us. Hopefully we are beginning the great turning. We may have already moved passed some benchmarks and future life (we are beginning to feel the impacts) will be more challenging for those to come after us, but life is resilient and there is room to adapt. And even though things will not be as they were it could still be an even more difficult future if we do not make changes.
In the past we have discussed that there are so few of us active in the EcoDharma section of the forum. However, I pointed out that the number of views of our posts indicate the topic is important to many. In fact, I have always been heartened by the enormous number of views (over 2O0,000) that the Living Earth post has received. Silence does not mean we are alone. Nor can just being aware of the problems enough, but each must determine what contribution they can bring to this important path.
Thanks to each of you for sharing your thoughts in this EcoDharma forum. Your compassion and appreciation for all life gives me hope. I cannot think of a more important path to walk than this one. The company of others gives me inspiration.
I find the quote shared in this Chapter from Greta Thunberg “It’s never too late to do as much as we can” a good ending to our book review.
Doshin
st
“One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds” Aldo Leopold
The authors discuss the Three Acts of Opening that are my focus for starting this discussion.
The first one is Opening our Eyes to what is around us and what we love of this earth and realizing that we cannot survive without its gifts. This helps us understand why it is important to bring change. Many do not see the challenges ahead because they do not understand or because it is too painful to face. Maybe some take it all for granted and do not feel the impermanence of it. Others are in denial and claim it’s a natural progression which makes little sense because either way the consequences for life are grave. However, we and many others do appreciate all that surrounds us. If we look at what we love, we can then look at the “wounds” with hope that something better is possible. To marvel at the sunrises and the sounds of life as the day begins, to embrace those we love and understand that we are all interdependent with all life. The future depends on us, our success is theirs, our mistakes are theirs too.
The second one is Opening to Synergism. This reminds me of what Aristotle pointed out… that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It takes many of us working together for support, motivation, understanding to achieve success. It also, as Leopold indicates, can help mitigate the feeling of being “alone”. The challenge is great, no one individual or one country can bring the change. It must be a team effort.
The third one is Opening to Life Acting Through Us which reminds us to focus more on the “we and us’ and less on the “I and me.” Developing greater loyalty to all life to move our contributions forward. When you act for life on earth you are being a Bodhisattva. Being hopeful, I believe t more are awakening to the challenges and needs that surround us. Hopefully we are beginning the great turning. We may have already moved passed some benchmarks and future life (we are beginning to feel the impacts) will be more challenging for those to come after us, but life is resilient and there is room to adapt. And even though things will not be as they were it could still be an even more difficult future if we do not make changes.
In the past we have discussed that there are so few of us active in the EcoDharma section of the forum. However, I pointed out that the number of views of our posts indicate the topic is important to many. In fact, I have always been heartened by the enormous number of views (over 2O0,000) that the Living Earth post has received. Silence does not mean we are alone. Nor can just being aware of the problems enough, but each must determine what contribution they can bring to this important path.
Thanks to each of you for sharing your thoughts in this EcoDharma forum. Your compassion and appreciation for all life gives me hope. I cannot think of a more important path to walk than this one. The company of others gives me inspiration.
I find the quote shared in this Chapter from Greta Thunberg “It’s never too late to do as much as we can” a good ending to our book review.
Doshin
st
Comment