[Ecodharma] The Great Turning podcast, Episode one, bonus episode and prompts

[Kokuu]

Dear all

I listened to the bonus episode which is designed to be used for work in pairs based on prompts to stimulate discussion.

https://resources.soundstrue.com/podcast/s1-bonus1-we-are-the-great-turning-podcast/

Perhaps, instead, we could use the prompts here for anyone who would like to respond to them?


The prompts for this exercise are:

Some things I love about being alive on earth today are…

What breaks my heart about living on earth in this time is…

If I withhold my feelings about what’s happening in the world right now, I do so because…

What keeps me going when the world breaks my heart is…


Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-

[Jenny A]

Some things I love about being alive on earth today are…the ten thousand things: the incredible diversity of life still buzzing, blooming & being all around me.

What breaks my heart about living on earth in this time is… the daily loss of biodiversity: the fabulous & utterly irreplaceable beings who are vanishing before our eyes—and at our hands.

If I withhold my feelings about what’s happening in the world right now, I do so because… I am still searching for the best means of expression. And for ways to counterbalance grief with hope—not false hope but the genuine item, which I believe is possible. (See below.)

What keeps me going when the world breaks my heart is…my confidence that life on this planet will recover when we’re gone, and will once again thrive in our absence. And my unreasonable intuition that the universe is far more than we can know. And poetry:

Tipping Point

diving
into the cold depths
of fear . . .
until I remember
each wave is made of water

Gaia burning—
and yet
one dewdrop
magnifies the glory
of a beetle’s burnished wing

my bequest
to the seventh generation—
memories
of the deep green eden
your ancestors once knew

one by one
I drop these words
into a well—
bottomless,
brimming with stars

~Ribbons 17:3, Fall 2021




jenny
stlah

[Doshin]

I agree with all Jenny said, except I don’t hold my feelings. I just wait for the right opportunity to offer insight and suppress any anger that may arise when I am confronted with ignorance and anger (I am mostly successful)

Another beautiful poem Jenny. Thank you for sharing and I am grateful you are here. Do you publish your work?

Doshin
Stlah

[Jenny A]

Thank you for your kind words, Doshin. Yes, I publish my work in journals and also have several books.

I too am grateful that I'm here!



jenny
stlah

[Alina]

Finally found time to listen to the bonus episode!

Some things I love about being alive on earth today are…
My kids, enjoying time outdoors and seeing all the beauty around me, seeing how things are better now than in the past in many ways (more openness to different ways of being, respect for human rights (the existence of human rights), online connection that makes it possible for people all over the world to meet and share and learn about and from one another (like Treeleaf).

What breaks my heart about living on earth in this time is…
Seeing how in spite of all the good things I mentioned above, societies seem to be unraveling, respect for life not an obvious priority...

If I withhold my feelings about what’s happening in the world right now, I do so because…
It feels like no one is listening. I really appreciate that we can share here.

What keeps me going when the world breaks my heart is…
My kids, Zazen, knowing that the Dharma is. And also the example of all those who lived through very hard periods, like wars, famine, persecution, etc, and have continued to live, teach, love, and inspire others to do good, to build, to enjoy life. Somehow the present crisis will be faced, life finds a way.

Gassho,
Alina
stlah

[Kokuu]

Thank you for posting that, Alina. I suddenly realisedI have missed posting about further episodes!

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-