Out of sight, out of mind - no?
How disgusting and undeserving are we of life when even our waste murders other beings? Do we care? Some more than others, but mostly the answer to that question is a resounding "no". We do not seem to have the capacity for compassion, or for placing ourselves "in the shoes of another", so to speak. Is there absolutely no part of us that wishes to bring an end to the suffering and usher in a life of peace and prosperity for all - at the cost of no other?
What of the giant swath of trash just floating around in the ocean, the currents having brought it all together, congealing like a pool of blood and gore. What do we say to this outright abuse of the gift of life and of the Earth? "Oh, really! Now that's just awful! Would you like a cup of tea, dear? To take our thoughts someplace happier."
Are our actions and subsequent inaction worthy of forgiveness? Do we deserve to be forgiven? Were we to truly seek some form of absolution, would we ever be able to do enough to earn it? I don't really think so. We have done too much, caused too much pain and have simply allowed it to go too far to ever be able to make up for it. All we can strive for, is to live in every day contrary to how we have lived up until now.
We must stop our profiteering ways of living only to accumulate money regardless of the costs. We must put the needs and the value of the Earth and the beings that we are responsible for ahead of our desires for comfort, useless gadgets and superficial designs. We must treat each being and even every stone in such a way that we would like to be treated, were we in their position. We must teach our children to live with respect of others, especially of those for whom we have taken upon ourselves to be responsible for. We must be willing to become an integrated part of the larger community, thinking in terms of "our needs" instead of "my needs".
Do we have the willpower to lift ourselves out of these patterns of abuse we seem to be so comfortable with? Not at the moment. It seems we must witness and experience more pain, more abuse and more suffering before we will act to make real changes that will last. I almost wish I could say that this is simply human nature, but I would be deluding myself. There is no such thing as an uncontrollable and unchangeable "human nature" - there is only that which we refuse to change about ourselves.
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