It was Earth day a couple of days ago, the 22nd April.
Most folk are proud of their heritage, their lineage, where they come from. They will defend family and cultural heritage even when it becomes irrational to do so. Most of the history of Europe was a series of bloody arguments battles between various family dynasties.
Yet, no matter our individual spiritual or scientific or political beliefs, we all have a common heritage. We all belong to something we cannot escape from, yet. Something that had to exist before we could. Something that developed us in all our varied forms. Something that fed and sheltered us. Something that tried to teach our stubborn asses how to work together. Something full of wondrous beauty and if we are lucky, a quiet grace. If we are not so lucky, it rages tempestuously at times for seemingly no reason.
No wonder we often refer to it as “Her” and “mother”.
You are standing on it. Her.
Earth.
Without this planet, you would not exist. Nor would your family, your car, the fuel in your car, your house, all the crappy shit in your house that you bought to impress someone who doesn’t care about you very much, your noisy neighbors, your food, the air you breath, the water you drink, the internet, everything you believe in, everything you don’t believe in, the stupid crap other people believe in, no birth and no death, no politics, no religion.
No starry nights, no golden sunrise or set on a deserted beach, no misty mornings watching clouds roll through valleys, no lover to share it with, no kittens, no cute little puppies, no birdsong, no butterflies, no flowers, no desert to contrast with the rainforest, nothing to dazzle your eyes, no art, no music, no dance, no literature, no vices to enjoy, “No soup for you!”
Oh, and no chocolate.
There is something here to suit everyone’s tastes.
Early societies were Matriarchal. There were no hierarchies, classes or domination. They were about balance and equality. Being need based, there was no monetary system.
“Matriarchal women are managers and administrators, who organise the economy not according to the profit principle, where an individual or a small group of people benefits; rather, the motivation behind their action is motherliness. The profit principle is an ego-centred principle, where individuals or a small minority take advantage of the majority of people. The principle of motherliness is the opposite, where altruism reigns and the well being of all is at the centre. It is at the same time a spiritual principle, which humans take from nature. Mother Nature cares for all beings, however different they may be. The same applies for the principle of motherliness: a good mother cares for all her children in spite of their diversity.” - Matriarchal Society: Definition and Theory, By Heide Goettner-Abendroth
http://www.gift-economy.com/athanor/athanor_005.html
Have a read of the introduction of that article, think about a person you know who fits the description of a good motherly type, and imagine if today’s societies were staffed by people like this.
April 22, was Earth Day. It saddens me that we need a special day to remind us where we came from. It depresses the soul to see that so few remember or care.
How did we celebrate our mother today?
Another 175 square kilometers was deforested, destroying the biodiversity that makes our mothers beauty. Only 175 you say? That was just today. In just over a year that equals an area the size of Tasmania. For my American friends who are unaware that there are other land-masses on this planet, Tasmania is that big island under Australia (yes, Australia is on this planet too). That’s nearly 68000 square kilometers per year. Along with whatever strange and curious plants and animals that lived there, being driven to extinction, never to be seen again. Estimates vary, but about 50% (yes, that is a half) of the entire planets rainforests have been destroyed since 1900. Only 15% of the planets land was covered by rainforest to begin with, now we are down to 7%. That’s not good enough for us though, we are speeding up production and merrily planning to have the other half leveled by about 2030, 2040 at the latest.
Don’t mind us mum, just stealing the clothes off your back.
There’s all the mining. Mining in itself, if done intelligently, ecologically and ethically would not be so bad. There have been many amazing suggestions and advances in technology that would allow this, but no, some fat bastards pockets are not full enough. Raping the earth in the hallowed name of profit. And it is not even you or I that gain anything. Nope, we are worse off. Al Gore ran around scaring the simple folk with Inconvenient UnTruth’s about climate change in 2006, every nation in the world whose strings are pulled by the US government jumped on the bandwagon to make Climate Change laws for everything in sight. The Fat-Cats pillaging the ground pay nothing, the extra costs have been passed on to you and I. We are paying taxes for breathing. Lovely. Al Gore apparently, according to one article I read, lined his own pockets with an extra $1.5 billion. For telling fibs. Awesome.
Hey mum, screw you. Take this, and this……
Ahh, that’s much better looking than this…
There are approximately 40 military ‘conflicts’ raging right now while you read this. I really couldn’t be stuffed talking about them. If you think wars are necessary, If you think US troops using depleted uranium on civilian targets in Iraq was necessary, if you think Israel has a right to use Palestinian kids for target practice, if you think terrorists are coming to get you and you should support the troops, if you believe the official line for any of this crap, congratulations – you’re an ignorant fool. The damage this is doing to the planet and it’s inhabitants is atrocious. It is not, never has been, never will be necessary in any way, shape or form so stop defending it.
To cut a long rant short, how about pollution. Every day I see people throw garbage at a bin, miss, then leave it on the ground next to it. Industries belching obscene amounts of gases and toxic chemicals into the air and waterways usually with little if any punishment. Yes the laws are there but so are lawyers whose sole goal seems to be to find loopholes for wealthy psychopaths. A car-wrecking yard near here was caught last week dumping waste oil into a nearby creek. They were shut down and fined. They should have been publically beaten. I could go on, but the screaming fit and following bout of depression turns me off. I’m pretty sure you get the idea.
At what point do you stand up and say, this is my home and I shall defend it as vigorously as I would defend my child? When is enough, enough? After the damage is irreversible? Would you treat your own mother this way?
The earth gave birth to you, fed you, and did all the things your own mother did. Even when you turned your back on her, began making your own decisions and mistakes, forgot where you came from, she was always there, still feeding you, still giving you a place to stay, always ready to forgive. She did all this for your brothers and sisters too, even when you fought amongst yourselves, even when your battles raged out of control and scarred your mothers face, she was still there for you.
How have you repaid this kindness?
Our ego-driven, competitive, patriarchal society has trained us to believe we have limited power, we can’t make a difference, that we are alone and helpless.
Don’t for a minute believe a word of it. How often do you hear of something terrible happening to someone’s child and you catch yourself thinking what you would do the perpetrator if that was your kid? If someone came into your home and violated your mother, beat her, defecated on her, tortured her, what would you do or like to do to the scum, if you were given the opportunity? No army on earth would stop me. How about you?
You and I have the power to fix things. I’ll bet you even have a few suggestions or ideas. There have been some great ideas brought forward, read about them, encourage others to think about them. Look for people trying to make a difference. Open your mind to possibilities. Look into some of the ideas like The Venus Project. It’s not perfect, even it’s founder says so, but it is a great place to start. Go have a look. You may even have an idea to help make it work.
And that is precisely what you can do that WILL make a difference. Start. Get involved. Educate your children, teach them to look after and protect their environment. Don’t be afraid to scold the people abusing your home, your mother. Don’t betray yourself with thoughts of inadequacy, or ‘I’m only one person what difference would I make’ etc.
Man landed on the moon because ONE person said, ‘Hey guys, let’s go to the moon!’ Then a group worked together to figure out how.
Man learned the earth was round because ONE man said, ‘Hey guys, I think this place is round, lets sail around it and find out.’ We killed him, and a bunch more until finally someone grew a pair and got a group working together to prove it.
Man learned how to fly and built airplanes because ONE guy said, ‘Hey guys, wouldn’t it be awesome if we could fly like birds? Check out these wings I made!’ Then when he crashed and died some other people got inspired, they (eventually) worked together to figure out how to fly.
Getting the idea yet? It only takes one idea, it could be yours.
The next step is to work together. Learn to see our differences for what they are, just opinions, and stop being so emotionally attached to them being accepted by others. Many people will tell themselves, and others, that they don’t care what other people think. If that’s the case, then don’t. We need to express ourselves of course, but we also need to grant others the same opportunity. The sooner you start acting that way, the sooner those around you will too. (It’s actually a bit of a secret, but people get all warm and fuzzy inside when you hear them out without berating them for it. If they think your respectfully granting them the freedom to be themselves, they soon start repaying in kind. Shush, don’t tell anyone!)
When we start changing our ways, our world will change. We only have to start.
Let me leave you with some inspiring words from people far wiser than I.
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it. – George Bernard Shaw
Whether you think you can or you can't, you're right! -Henry Ford
When you cease to dream, you cease to live. - Malcolm Forbes
Great acts are made up of small deeds. - Lao Tzu
The Fine Print
All images borrowed via Google image search. All rights and credits to whoever believes they own them. www.otrcat.com , www.wallchan.com , www.heraldsun.com.au , www.wedonttalk9to5.com
All Quotes borrowed via Googling.
The rest of it fell out of my head. If you want to use it, go for it. Just attribute it to me so you don’t get blamed and sent to the loony bin. 