Changes

I don’t post the following to make people feel sad. I post it because there are those out there that need to wake up and really see one of the many tragic consequences of our petroleum-fueled lifestyles, and what it is doing to the world we live in and depend on for our very existence. [Cropped satellite image from NASA Earth Observatory, image of the day.]

This tragedy is the direct result our our addiction to oil, pure and simple. BP was simply the instrument we used to produce it. The Ixtoc spill in the waters off Mexico in 1979 should have been a wake up call. The Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska should have been a wake up call. All the oil spills around the world should have been wake up calls. Sadly though we have gotten too good at ignoring and forgetting. That has to change.

Change is going to come from each of us, as individuals, making conscious choices to reduce our dependence on oil and our impact on mother earth. Real change always happens from the level of the individual and then moves up though higher and higher levels of society as a whole. If you are looking for real change to come from the top down be prepared for a very long wait. True change though cannot happen until we each realize who we really are, and that we are not only all connected to one another, but to all life everywhere; the whole continuum from the smallest one-celled organisms to the Source of all life itself.

The Christian Science Monitor ran a story today titled “Gulf oil spill’s wildlife toll: sharks near shore, turtles incinerated” that I humbly suggest you read. The Christian Science Monitor I find to be a news organization with integrity and a good source of truly “fair and balanced” reporting (unlike the news organization that touts being “fair and balanced”). At the end of that story is a link to a slideshow called “Sticky mess: The Gulf oil spill’s impact on nature” that I again suggest you view. Then spend a little time thinking about what you can do personally to reduce your burden on this wonderful world. If enough people choose to make even small changes, the combined impact of those small changes can be dramatic.

One such change we can all make (and Obama, unfortunately, got a lot of flack for this during his campaign for President) is to check our tire pressure regularly and keep our tires properly inflated. According to the US Department of Energy, underinflated tires cost the US 1.25 billion gallons of gas per year; about 1 percent of our total gas consumption. One bonus to keeping our tires properly inflated is our tires will last longer. Another is that we reduce the amount of greenhouse gases we put into the atmosphere. There is no downside.

There can be no political revolution, no social revolution, no economic revolution. The only revolution is that of the spirit; it is individual. And if millions of individuals change, then the society will change as a consequence, not vice versa. You cannot change the society first and hope that individuals will change later on. – Osho

A move seems to be in my not to distant future. In my earlier life, when I would hear someone talking about Hawaii, or read something about the islands, I would think to myself that it might be nice to visit, but it never developed into a real desire, probably at least in part due to not having the money for a trip. A couple years ago, I started to think seriously about visiting, but again, felt no strong desire to pack a bag and board a plane.

This year however, things have changed. A series of those pesky coincidences have been coming up. First a friend forwards an email to me from a woman who was wanting to sell her place in Hawaii. I dismissed it at the time since the price was more than I could afford, and truthfully, the thought of living in Hawaii had not really gelled.

What followed over the course of a few months, was a Hawaiian barrage. I would turn on the TV and there would be a program on about Hawaii. A couple people from Hawaii used the contact page on this blog to write me about things they did not want to post in public. Several times while I was shopping, I ran into people wearing T-shirts they got in Hawaii. I would be driving down the street and see a car with a Hawaiian license plate. Personally, things that were “hanging around” that would keep me from moving started to resolve themselves with no conscious effort from me.

In and around these “coincidences” I did some journeys on the possibility and got an what can only be described as a “smile” from my guides and helping spirits. In one journey I had decided to visit Pele, the Goddess of the volcano, and when I got to my sacred garden, I found a roaring fire in my ceremonial fire pit and knew it was my portal for a visit to Pele. I entered the fire, and remember nothing after that for about an hour, but I was in a state of complete bliss when I returned.

I can feel a quickening, and plan a trip over right after the first of the year to look for a place and to see if the islands like me, and I like the islands. I still have one commitment here that I must see through, but that too seems like it might be heading for a conclusion.

Change is the only real constant in life. Even our bodies completely renew every seven years or so they say. The cells, atoms, electrons, protons and neutrons making up your body today are completely different from the ones of around seven years ago.

As a species, we’ve seen a huge changes over the past twenty years, and especially over the past eight. What will the future bring? That is for each of us as individuals, and in turn collectively as a society to determine, but it always starts at the level of the individual.

Category: Changes (Page 2 of 2)

Our addiction to oil: The cost in pictures

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