Day 665: Everything Is Connected

This TEDx Talk is quite different from the ones I normally write about, but here we are.

Andrew Gonzalez gives some facts and figures about the damage we have caused to nature and the damage that is still to come in the future. His basic idea is to deliberately design the expansion and development of human society to not only consider nature, but actively include it within our designs so that humans and nature can live in a harmony, neither one encroaching on the livelihood and lives of the other.

I absolutely agree with this concept. Andrew emphasizes the importance of maintaining biodiversity as a necessity to the continued survival of the human race - while this is a valid reason - I truly wish that this was not our reason for taking action (if we do actually take action on a global scale). I wish that our reason for acting was simply that we considered the position of the plants and animals in nature and valued their lives equally to our own. I wish that every single one of us practiced putting ourselves in other people and beings' positions. I wish...

This is the kind of living I support. This is the world I want to create. This is the harmony that I promote.

Just like everything else in this world it is not enough to wish or dream. It is not enough to say "I support this" or "I support that". Action is required - actively creating the world we would like to live in. Of course creating the life we want is quite different to simply dreaming about it. For many it will be a completely unfamiliar undertaking that may require more practice than for others.

While there is growing awareness of the consequences of continuing on our current path, it has not reached the point where everyone stands together and speaks with one voice. Andrew speaks of the fragmentation of forests - the same is true within our society. There are so many different factions that, instead of finding common ground (the continued survival of life on earth), we fight and argue with each other over what is the "right" way to do something. Each faction believes that their cause deserves the most attention. Each faction believes that their solution is the only one that will work. These factions are not looking at the bigger picture - they do not see the interconnectedness of ALL of our issues - they focus only on one small part of the problem, so separating all of our efforts and reducing their effectiveness.

Everything is connected. Everything is part of everything else. The sooner we let go of our egos and recognise this, the sooner we can effect real change.