Earth is talking. Are you listening?

Guys, it’s been a really intense week here in Los Angeles.  Two weekends ago we had record-breaking heat. It was 120 at my house over Labor Day weekend. Generally, the warmest it gets here is in the 90’s with a few days in the low 100’s.  120!  That is Phoenix temperatures, and even for Phoenix, that is HOT!  That precipitated an outbreak of fires, one less than 30 miles from my home.  As I write this on Sunday afternoon the Bobcat fire is at 30,000 acres burned and 6% containment.  I have had several friends evacuate their homes either for safety from the actual fire or for air quality. It’s a lot.  On March 4th our mayor declared a state of emergency as a result of Covid19.  March 12th was my daughter’s last day of in-person instruction at LAUSD. As of today, we have been mostly quarantined for 185 days.  We have had civil unrest and a needed reckoning of racism and slavery in our country.  Massive unemployment.  An election that is one most contentious of my lifetime.

And I still have HOPE.

I had a meeting with my teacher this week (Robert Brinberg).  He had an interesting insight/perspective about what is going on right now.  In terms of the planet – the actual Earth – we are in a relationship with the planet.  We need her to survive and she provides us with resources to live and thrive.  He went on to say, we have not been treating Earth very well in our relationship and she is reacting to the abuse as we pollute her streams and air.  We take all of her natural resources!  We consume, consume, consume.  Have you ever been in a relationship with someone that just takes and takes and takes? It’s exhausting.  For me what has happened in the past, is one thing that pushes me over the edge and I lose my temper, or I say something mean or I just end any contact with that person.  We are all in a relationship with the planet and how do you think that relationship is working for her?  Do you think that maybe she is just responding to protect herself? Climate change is having an impact if you choose to believe it or not. We used to have a fire season in California now we have it all year round.  We have 100-year hurricanes back to back.  We have flooding over and over in communities that rebuild in the same location.  We build houses closer to where the forest fires take place and now, we lose homes and life because we aren’t listening.

 Sending disease that has stopped everyone in their tracks – we have the beautiful opportunity to examine our lives and our chooses and create new patterns.

I came across this Proverb while searching the Internet.  Some say its an ancient Native American Proverb.  Others say it can’t be attributed to anyone.  Nonetheless, it’s a great Proverb.

“We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”

I believe that we are all interconnected, and we are here in this time and this place for a reason.  I am taking this time to evaluate my values and my hopes for my daughter and the many generations that come after here.  I have hope because I believe that people can change.  I have hope because I have seen people change. I have hope because I have seen myself change.

What change can you make today that will have an impact on our planet, our community, and ourselves?

Peace.