I believe that humans and the Earth have had a mutually interactive relationship with humans feeding the land on physical, emotional, and spiritual levels while we worked with the land and waters to create sustenance and beauty.
The cultures that followed this path were successful in being sustainable through “working with” rather than “having dominion over.” With the exception of a few farmers, ranchers, fishermen, scientists, and thinkers, I don’t think that we really understand today what working with the land and waters can mean.
I see Climate Change as a recognition that we humans are out-of-balance with Mother Earth.
In my heart, I do not believe that we can really deal with climate change without changing our economic and political systems. Businesses are doing what they can do within the realities of the capitalistic system. There isn’t the political will on a national level at least in the US to make the changes necessary, let alone Africa or Asia. Most people are just trying to survive and have no energy to think about what is happening. Listening to the news is overwhelming on a good day…so what to do?
I agree with Charles Eisenstein (https://charleseisenstein.org/topics/ecology-earth-healing/ ) that a lot of what we are calling climate change is from the poor use of the land which leads to an impaired ability of the local climate to remain stable. If you look at almost all land use issues, the constituent parts are out-of-balance with each other even though we have good solid regenerative and holistic solutions based on science if we chose to use them. We can work with some of the physical issues of climate change right here in our backyards.
Collectively rebuilding our cultures to return to our right relationship with self and then with place starts with each of us.
We are all in this together. If we believe in what we see to be happening around us even though everyone else seems to be in amnesia, are we willing to make real changes in our priorities now? Are we willing to say that the Emperor wears no clothes? Can we create balance in our lives? Can we move through the grief and rage? Can we allow a relationship with the Earth and other like-minded folk to give us the emotional strength to find our own path into action as well as beingness? What other choice do we have that creates rather than destroys?
As much as I may want to, I can not change what is happening. Instead, I want to deepen and feed my relationship with our planet.
I can open my heart and build my energetic tie to our home. I can adapt my behavior away from the lack of consciousness that our culture imposes. I can become open to what is happening and move out of grief and fear. I can embrace my love and relearn to listen to what the natural world needs to flourish. I want to die knowing that listened.
I believe that it starts with me, doing the best that I can with an open heart and connection to the Earth and all sentient beings. And that IS enough.
An recent example of out-of-balance: In most traditional cultures, it is considered sacrilegious to step on the peak or soul of a mountain. Here is a picture of the queue of climbers attempting to summit Mount Everest recently (photographed by Climber Nirmal Purja of Project Possible Expeditions).