A LOVE LETTER TO MOTHER EARTH
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| photo credit CanStock Photo |
March 29, 2016
Dearest Mother Earth,
Re: It’s not you,
it’s us
I’ve
been thinking a lot about you lately because I am worried about us. Ok, I admit I am terrified about what the future
holds for you and by extension, the whole of our human civilization.
I agree that
the signs of trouble have been there for some time. But I thought that if I ignored them, I could pretend it didn't exist. After all we still have more
sunny days than bad ones.
I
remember the first sign something was wrong. At the time, it seemed
inconsequential, but in fact it set off a chain of events, from which it appears
there is no turning back.
I
noticed that where I lived, water levels began to drop and land that was once
covered by water, now was left exposed. That was not your fault, but instead
the fault of a BC hydro dam that we humans built upstream .
The
result was the livelihood of First Nations was dramatically impacted. Hunting
and gathering, where we only took what we needed and in turn took great care to
give back to you, was a thing of the past. We like to think of ourselves as
protectors of you, our Mother Earth. But for the most part, based on our actions, this is
just lip service. We have been grossly negligent.
Our
relationship changed. It was no longer a reciprocal relationship because our
needs, we felt, were greater than yours. Ironically, we called this progress. Honestly,
could we have done any differently?
Do I dare mention the “C” word, climate change? The impact of climate change is real. Many remain in denial, still naively believing that climate change is a fabrication. Believe me denial does not mean it does not exist. And you know as well as I that it is inevitable that we are heading to a tipping point and you don’t have to look too far for the signs.
Indeed, with the
extraction and burning of fossil fuels, our relationship continues to be
impacted. It is changing faster than we can comprehend or prepare for, and more
importantly it is changing faster than you can fix what we humans have done.
The
process we humans have put in motion is nonlinear, in other words climate
change effects climate change in a feedback loop out of our control. And it is
cumulative and at some point in time, there will be a breaking point. It will
be dramatic and sadly we will be powerless to stop it.
It’s
complicated, right? We need you, yet our actions betray that notion. I am sorry
it took me this long to notice that our relationship was on the rocks.
I
realize our collective actions caused irreparable damage and to talk about reconciliation is
almost a moot point at this juncture. But is it too late? Do we still have a
chance? What can we do to fix it?
Love,
I can’t
live without you
PS (PENNED BY HUBBY) might you be working on your own solution to the problem, which is to kill us off
and wait for some other and more intelligent beings to appear. I hope it doesn’t come to this, but after
what we have done to you I couldn’t really blame you!
Yes, we're all aware of the climate anomality of the last two decades. In Israel, winters used to be short, mild and dry; they've become cold and rainy, and that affects my health.
ReplyDeleteAs for your questions at the end of your post- letter, I'm very skeptical about the answers. I think we don't have a chance , and we can do nothing to fix it. How come?
Well, I clicked on ("Penned by my hubby") in your PS and entered your husband's post "2015 Signing out; 2016 Awaits". He writes: "This has been our purpose : to understand and then to master". I agree with the first part- to understand Nature. I disagree with the second part: to master Nature.
I believe in God ( to me- Nature, Supernatural Power- not just a religious term). We are to understand Him, not to master Him. We are not to 'play God', and that's exactly what we've been doing since His Creation of the world; we've been violating the divine order. And now it seems to be too late; there's no way back. The world is out of control.
I think the universe is ultimately going to be destroyed (it could take several decades or it could happen tommorrow). This will be done either by Man (nuclear power in irresponsible hands) or natural disasters (flooding, lava eruptions, earthquakes) with irreparable consequences. I hope I'm wrong.
Hi Duta, I still have hope for humans to wake up to save the planet but like you, I think it is too late. Nevertheless, it is still important to do something about it, and to slow down the process.
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