this is the reason why i haven't blogged in a little while. i have been trying to understand how do i create personal sustainability in an unsustainable society? I am concerned about personal sustainability not because i care only for myself, but because i know that to create the greatest difference in the world i have to be happy myself.
for three semesters, i lived outside and lived in a consensus community. there i spend the best moments of my life. i thought wow i was not crazy or idealistic to believe that humans can coexist with each other and nature in an amazing space of growth, connection, respect, exploration.... i thought i have found the way of life that i want for my life. creating that space in an urban setting in florida, not an easy task and much harder than i ever anticipated.
i was also incredibly transformed in ways deeper than i had ever experienced before, especially developing a sense of compassion, commitment and responsibility towards all living beings on earth
for example:
-when visiting the Hopi reservation and learning about how mining had polluted their water supply and destroyed their ways to sustain themselves literally from the ground and taking valuable and precious parts of their ancient culture with it
-learning about border issues in arizona, the social and environmental impacts of maquiladoras, the high rate of cancer and health problems and visiting a town Nogales which is literally divided in half by a border fence, families now living on both sides of a human mad border
-visiting glen canyon dam and lake powell, seeing how the natural water flow, temperature and chemical composition has been altered
-i even had the opportunity to revisit some of the problems in my own native land colombia when i saw a presentation by the beehive collective at commonground fair in maine
these experiences to name just a few, gave me an opportunity to learn in a holistic way about the way our society treats humans and the natural world. it made a difference to not just learn the science behind these environmental issues to not just focus on the intellectual side, but to be able to see it, hear it, smell it and taste it in the air.
to see the animals and wonder how they would migrate through the border fence, to think about the Hopi people and what would their future be. these people, animals and plants became my friends, i saw them smile, speak, move, i saw their hearts. it wasn't me reading about these distant problems, connecting and staying at those places changed my life, transformed by heart. now i can never forget, i want to create networks and bridges of solidarity, of compassion
how much destruction will be enough? how long can we be immersed only in our own lives? can we really be truly happy when the symbol for love in our society is having diamond gold rings that are soaked in violence and death of communities in latin america and africa? what is the true price of ipods, celphones and computers? where do we think all the metals in technology come from? do we know how they are mined what is the social and environmental cost of them? capitalism has made it extremely easy to hide all of the effects of consumption and industrialization, but we can unveil and learn together. my intention is not to write this to generate blame, shame, despair or depression. i am sitting writing this on my computer and using electricity myself. my intention is to encourage us to look deeper, to own our agency to create change, to awaken to our power to change society, to reclaim our voices.
i want to make a difference and i need you. the earth, the children, all future generations need us to work together, to create peace, equality, justice and love for all.
i cannot do this work alone, but i know that we can do this work together. i want all of our dreams to come true, i want all of us to be happy.
everything is love and I LOVE YOU
No comments:
Post a Comment