It is actually very important that we are all alive right now. For all we know, we might be the only living organisms in the Universe, until proven otherwise. This can mean a lot of things for us, in terms of how we should act with the time that we have, with the resources that we share, and the species we co-inhabit our planet with. I say this in hope that our actions as a collective whole will start leaning towards more sustainable tendencies, despite the fact that we have evolved beyond the likes of simple beings. Our actions incur reactions, and our beliefs determine the extent to which we are likely to perform actions again. However the reactions of our actions happen despite our beliefs, which may well be contrary to the facts. I feel this is the case today, as trends in consumer goods, polluting industries, diet and transportation all still very much exemplify the destructive capabilities of humanity on it's current environment.
I actually don't mean to come across as pessimistic at all, I consider myself an optimist. However, i do mean to soberly ask the question; what do we do if this continues? What do we do when species in the wild continue to die off, when negative environmental impacts converge somewhere down the line? Will we continue to devastate the environment without a second thought? I know it is so obvious to assume that we won't, but our actions, though driven by monetary gain, tell us a different story. I could go out there and Google a whole bunch of depressing statistics that i know exist, but I will instead try to convince you, dear reader, that there is hope if, and only if, we start to make a change in our own lives.
Why does it matter if we just change the way ourselves live our lives? This is an important question, because it invokes a rule of life that is quite often, in my opinion, undervalued; Exponentiality. If I, were to live for 10 years, living the same exact lifestyle every single day, of every single year for the entirety of that decade in the same exact way, it would be likely to assume that my life would remain roughly the same throughout. However start to introduce small, consistent, incremental changes into my life, and over a length of time shorter than you might expect they add up and before you know it my life is totally different. This is the power of change and compounding interest, it is why the 0.1% are richer than 99.9%, it is why bad decisions lead to worse circumstances, and good decisions lead to better ones. And not only can it transform the life of the person who makes the changes, but of everyone around that person who feels and gets inspired by them.
It is all about the perception of the given moment. If i am in position A, but i assume to be in position B, the very disparity between the reality and the belief will cause me to suffer in one way or another. This happens principally because of the way cause and effect work, i cannot be alive without living by a certain set of assumptions, whether or not i am aware of them. And my assumptions or biases in turn reflect on the world around me. So how do we resolve this dilemma? It is actually quite simple. You must only be aware of the position you are in, to the extent that you do not misrepresent the reality for what it is not. In so doing, you align yourself with what is, whatever that may be, and you start to better understand what and why and how you must do things. In today's changing atmosphere, we are elevated to position where the advanced level that modern technology has evolved to, allows us to leverage our knowledge to a much greater extent than would have been possible without it. This is in fact, a message of hope. Because it implies that if and when we do decide to use our latent technological potential to enhance and leverage in turn, the ecological services that are provided to us free of charge by nature, the sooner we can develop our global society to be better than it is. What does better mean? Well i would say that it is starting each day without the concern that whatever you endeavour to do does not negatively impact the world around you. As generic as that sounds, it would actually change the world for the better, because the little things aren't so little when they add up. What i would really like anyone reading this to get out of this article, is that seemingly inconsequential things, aren't inconsequential at all. Because everything literally matters. And you might as well understand why and how you can change things for the better, because it is in everyone's interest to do so. Apologies if this was all too philosophical, i had an itch to write about this today and i had to get it out there!
With love, thank you for reading and stay safe out there,
Dizzybee