Too Much to Fix

Fracking, carbon emissions, water pollution, non-degradable plastic, NUCLEAR WASTE.....  the list goes on and on and on.  Too much for us to remember. Too much for us to do to be eco-responsible human beings. Too much!

It's overwhelming!  What should we do?

A New Way of Thinking

Maybe we just need a whole new mindset, a new zeitgeist. One that is less aggressive, more compassionate.  Stephen Hawking believes that human aggression will be then end of humanity  So, rather than try to keep track of each individual action we need to perform to maintain a safe, healthy world ("world" being the whole of the human race), how about we adopt a more compassionate, less competitive zeitgeist; not only in the esoteric aspect of thinking as the planet as a living creature, but toward each other.  What if each of us was less competitive more compassionate toward person we know, we meet in our daily excursions.   What if we were mindful of  acting in benevolent way with each person we met, or knew.   The task of acting in benevolent to the world would be much simpler.

Mindfulness

"Mindfulness" is a word that is used often these days that is quickly becoming a buzz word (trendy). It is actually a shortened version of the ancient Buddhist concept of "Right Mindedness" or "Right Mindfulness" and the 7th part of the Buddha Gautama's Eightfold Path that is 2500 years old.  Buddhist hold that being mindful is being in the present being aware of everything around one.  Sounds so ambiguous and esoteric.

However it is simple.  It may take practice, but it is simple.  For every action you take, be mindful of what the impact might be on someone else, someone you know or someone you never met. Before you consume anything, ask yourself will this create a problem for someone else.   Doing this will require practice in thinking in a more compassionate, less aggressive manner toward everyone.  Perhaps you may even be convinced that you are part of a whole organism like James Lovelocke's Gaia Theory that stipulates that we are all a part of a single self-regulating organism.

It will take a while, but soon you may find yourself acting in such a way that is more beneficial to all of the world, in small increments.  Be mindful of even the simplest acts,  If you live in Chicago, for instance, and leave that light on tonight, will you be adding to the nuclear waste building up in Morris Illinois, from the Dresden Nuclear Power plant that generates nearly half the electric power for Chicago?

What did you just do?  What impact will it have on others?