It is always easier for us to see the error in the ways of others. But we all make mistakes. On some levels, on an infinite number of levels, we are all ignorant.
I used to think being smart was about reading books and thinking and using your brain. But it is about so much more than that. You can read tons of books and think and read and still you will be ignorant because none of us can know everything - ever. We like to quantify how much we know with certificates but even with all we know we still have brilliant scientists working on projects that are destructive to our planet. So even the brainiacks are still capable of missing the boat.
Intelligence is a collection of thoughts and experiences and ideas and principles that have been passed down from one generation to another.
No matter how much we know we can always learn more. We are free to learn. And that is pretty cool.
It is ironic that we can see injustice everywhere but right inide ourselves. We can continue to complain about corporate polluters and GMO's but it doesn't matter if we continue to feed the beast. Or we could start to become empowered and plant our own gardens with ungenetically engineered seeds and we could share our food with each other and we could teach our own children how connected they are to the earth and the food they eat by the example we set. We could start out small and eventually take back large portions of our yards and we might even help to feed some of the wild life that is starving to death. Or we could sit in front of a TV or computer and let some one else do our thinking for us. We can do all kinds of things.
We make decisions everyday that adversely effect the planet and our society; our greater, human and very-much-a-part-of... extended family. We can tell our government that we want clean mass-transit. And even step out of our complacency and write a letter to a representative. Or we can ride bicycles to work or stop wasting gas on senseless trips when a walk will do. And we can stop buying crap that's made out of plastic that will only wind up in a landfill and pollute this good earth and all that lives on it with us.
Now I may be ignorant about how putting all of these carbons and gasses into the air effects us. And I can choose not to read about it or do anything to change my actions. Or I can think before I do something and ask myself, "Is this screwing up the air or water that we all rely on to breathe and exist?
People still throw garbage on the ground. Plastics don't decompose. They just become these tiny little plastic particles. And we breathe them in when these particles are stirred up like dust on the highways and roads that are every freakin' place. These particles seep into our soil and into our drinking water; and our fish and animals and birds and we can fill ourselves up with cancer causing plastics until we aren't here anymore. The animals are already becoming more and more extinct every year. Or we can make a point of recycling. Throwing our garbage away when we get home instead of tossing out of a car window.
We may not understand how we are contributing to immense pollution of our planet by continuing to throw away plastic bottles into the oceans and waterways. There is now an island of plastic floating out in the ocean from people throwing bottles into the water that it would probably overflow the Grand Canyon. And when these bottles break up eventually from the sun and pounding of particles up against one another they don't disappear. Nothing disappears. Not one thing. Everything leaves traces of itself wherever it is. What isn't consumed sinks further down to the ocean floor. What is consumed is passed from one living organism to the next and finds its way through the life cycle through its waste and decomposition. Carbon in the air from pollution, from driving cars and industry is lifted in the form of a gas up into the atmosphere. And when it rains down into the water or ground it is a heavy element. And it seeks out other carbons and they sink and they also hold heat. And this disrupts the way life moves in the ocean and lakes and rivers. And we can be totally ignorant of all of the instances of this happening. And of how distructive our behaviors are. And we can pretend we have all of the answers. But we don't. Nobody does. But we can see that all of these reckless actions are having a devastating effect on our environment. That we can see.
But you don't have to take my word for it.
Yeah, we may not know why these things happen. But they are happening anyway. And we can say these behaviors are bad but unless we change our own behaviors nothing will ever change. It begins with one thing. And then we can change another and another.
People can still spread hatred and bitterness and lies and point fingers at each other and feed yet another generation these things. And wars and conflicts and violence can continue to permeate this beautiful land with our territorial mark. Or we can do a really brave thing and try to understand each other and accept that we are all related. We are all connected and all responsible for what we do and how we live. Whether we change our course is solely up to each of us.
We can trounce around on this earth as though we know everything. We can believe every word that comes out of our mouth is pure genius. We can convince others that we hold the keys to whatever they want so they can feel better. We can twitter and tweet and write and beat our chests until we are exhausted and we can assume our first thoughts are perfection at their very least. And we can continue to be arrogant and wrong in every language and on every continent too. But it won't matter. Because we are not the center of the universe. We are not the beginning or the end. Life will continue to go on in some form or another with or without us. Whether we are along to enjoy its beauty and receive great pleasure by being good stewards of this blue planet and our families again, is completely up to us and the choices we make everyday.
We can live as thought everything we want we should have and never give a second thought as to what we say or how we treat others. People do all of the time. But if you want to see life change in this world, I've found it begins right inside.
Why?
Because until we understand the whole cause and effect dealeo and we decide to pick up our own burdens and take responsibility for our own thoughts and actions, nothing will change.
We can complain about not knowing what politicians are doing or we can make it to town meetings and then spread the word about what is being voted on and who voted which way right on YouTube. No-one is going to do anything for us.
We do not have to destroy to build. We can learn new ways of looking at things and new ways of doing things that will make this world a better place.
We've got tons of scientists who should be working on how to clean up the toxic soup we are leaving behind. And more are doing this everyday. But still there are many working on how we can destroy each other with war.
All I can say is, "Don't worry, we are destroying ourselves just fine without war."
We can look for all kinds of reasons why we do what we do but if these don't lead us to a greater awareness of how our lives affect each other and this wonderful world we share
we share
we share
then what good is it?
If we speak humbly to each other, words of encouragement and focuse more on what we agree on, maybe we would find it easier to forfeiture the concept that there is only one absolute truth, ours.
But where has this way of thinking gotten us? As a human race haven't we become more lost than when we began to think?
if we decide to show compassion toward one another
maybe we could breathe in
and relax and appreciate
the ways we are alike
and then maybe we could realize
the depth of freedom that we are capable of experiencing
when we choose instead to
love and help one another
and to carry our own weight
instead of expect someone else to do it for us
Crazy concept?
"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us and the world will live as one." -- John Lennon's Imagine
"The greatest treasures we can ever have cannot be held or taken or contained. They can only be grasped in the cradle of our own understanding." -- Jenn Weinshenker
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