The Biggest Threat to Our Planet
by Donna Thomson
What would you consider the biggest threat to our planet - mining, energy consumption, water scarcity, technology, pollution? Perhaps, but what do all of these things have in common? Us. That's right - you, me, our neighbours and cousins. As a human race we are Mother Earth's biggest enemy, yet this is not how it's supposed to be.
Humans naiively assume that they have all the answers to life - how things work, how we should live and of course the notion that success lies in accumulation and status. We build and build and build...and take and take and take. We take from Mother Earth day and night and assume she will be there to support us indefinitely. Well there is no 'indefinitely' about it. There is a very definite end point to which we can take from our planet and we are getting closer and closer to that point.
Rarely do we stop to consider what Mother Nature wants and needs. In fact most would balk at the idea that we could communicate with a planet at all. Yet our planet is a complex energy system much more in tune with her own ability to live successfully than we are. Mother Earth is home to billions of life forms that live in harmony - minerals, plants, animals. Where there is disharmony, it is at the hands of us, such as introduced species of plants destroying native habitats and introduced animals becoming pests, destroying vegetation and killing other animals that are not a natural part of their own ecosystem. We can clearly see the results of interfering with nature's own balance.
If you took large bites from an apple you would not expect it to look the same. Once you take a bite it starts to brown and rot quicker that it would have if it were still whole. Yet we expect our planet to continue to look the same and to sustain us forever when we are mining her core minerals from her body for our own use. Mother Earth's core has taken billions of years to be created. Do we have billions more years to wait for her to regenerate and heal? There will be a point of no turning back but we put this out of our mind and hope that future generations will take care of our mess. What if we are the final generation?
We are a selfish race, looking at what we can get from the planet rather than what we can give. Compare today's mass consumerism with the cultures of ancient times - the indigenous cultures that we've near-destroyed instead of listening to. If we had listened to them, they could have taught us to listen to Mother Earth, to respect her, to only take what we need to survive, and to be thankful for each and every offering - not what we need to survive in luxury, but what we need to keep us safe and healthy. We learned in primary school that people need air, food, water and shelter to survive. Everything else is a 'want'...an 'add on'.
In creating a 'modern' world around ourselves we have removed ourselves even more from our true home - Mother Earth. Is it any wonder that millions of people feel so disconnected and dissatisfied with their lives? They think they need more of something when really they need less.
More and more people are feeling the call to 'get back to nature'. They leave their city lives behind and move to an area closer to nature. There are communities that live in harmony with nature and with each other - co-operative lifestyles where food, resources and labour is shared. These are truly happy people. Instead, we look at these people as hippies, weirdos or people trying to avoid making a living in the 'real world' - who is really living in the 'real world'?
Starting to Re-connect with Mother Earth
If you feel discontent and need to connect again with what you've lost - your connection to the nature of Mother Earth - then do something about it. Change doesn't often stick if it's done in one fell swoop. We need to start small and gradually integrate nature back into our lives. Here are some ideas on how to begin your reconnection...
- Stop before getting out of bed in the morning and take five minutes to listen to the sounds of nature. Appreciate each bird call, the sound of the wind or rain, and the growing warmth of the sun as it rises again to give you the gift of a new day.
- Before getting into your car to go to work, stop and connect with your surroundings - the trees, grass, plants, flowers, animals and birds, the mountains in the distance and the magnificent sky above. Breathe in its beauty because it is literally what keeps you alive on this planet.
- Bring plants and other pieces of nature into your home to restore balance. It may be a fish tank, shells, crystals and of course plants. Rather than buying a bunch of flowers that will soon die, buy a potplant that you can continue to nurture and benefit from. Even welcoming fire into your home in the form of candles will help connect you to nature.
- Open your windows and pull back the curtains. Let natural light pervade your home and let your perspective be drawn outside into nature.
I mentioned earlier that we do need shelter to survive and some of you might wonder, "What is so bad about our homes then?" Well, it is the fact that we don't just provide ourselves with shelter to protect ourselves from the elements, we have, through our so-called 'advancements', created self-sustained environments in a box. Our food comes to us readily packaged, our water is brought straight into our homes via piping systems, we can 'interact' with other people via technologies such as the telephone, fax and computer. There is little 'need' for us to leave our man-made homes.
So how will re-connecting ourselves with nature solve the problems of the planet?
If we can each take responsibility for ourselves and form the relationship with the Earth that we're supposed to have, we will start to appreciate our true home more. No longer will the Earth be just something we walk on each day. While we live our physical lives, the planet is the closest thing we have to spirituality - it is our heaven on Earth. Respect this life-giving planet, practice moderation rather than excess and take a few moments to stop and listen each day. When you love something, you don't want to harm it. We must start today because no planet means no life for you and I.