April 18, 2016

Beat Your Wings, Change The World



With all that is happening to harm our world today it is easy to fall prey to despair. Too often despair leads to a feeling of powerlessness and a sensation of being overwhelmed. We stop. We give up. This is not what the world needs.

What we need at this critical juncture is hope and optimism. We want to feel that what we are doing is making a meaningful difference.

Sure there is a lot of harmful stuff going on, but so is there a lot of beauty in the world. There is a lot to be hopeful and optimistic about, and when we indulge these, we honour the good works that are right now changing the world.

Here are a few reasons I am feeling hope and optimism this morning:

- if a butterfly's beating wings can cause weather changes, then I trust that my practice of simplicity also has far reaching effects that can not be understood with conventional, limiting thinking.

The Butterfly Effect says that small changes can lead to great results. What we do as individuals matters. Live a harmonious, even anonymous life, and change the world.

- we have had everything we need to create a better world for many generations. With each generation that passes we are adopting more and more of these things, and are open to adopting more.

- ecological awareness is growing causing more and more of us to recognize that transforming the way we do things is required if we are to save ourselves. With each passing day we are more open to entertaining grand ideas and wholesale shifts. Readiness to do what is required is reaching a tipping point.

- an increasing sector of the population knows how to get stuff, but find its acquisition empty and leaves them wanting. Consumerism isn't getting the same bang for its buck. We are looking for something freer, simpler, more authentic, creative and satisfying.

- as a global family, we are leaving the concept of scarcity behind and adopting a new ethos of abundance. If there is enough to give a small group of individuals more wealth than over half the human population, then there is obviously enough to ensure everyone has a decent standard of living.

Nature is abundant. We are nature. We live with abundance surrounding us, and are now starting to see this.

I am seeing more out there about providing everyone with a Guaranteed Annual Income than I have ever seen before. All of Mother Nature should benefit from her gifts.

I know that we are doing this thing. We are changing the world. It is constantly happening, quietly, imperceptibly and inevitably. Rather than despair at what is not yet happening, I am refocusing on the hope and optimism that is provided by all the good things that ARE happening.

Don't look for the good news to be reported in corporate newspapers. I would love to see the headline "Hope and Optimism Sweeps The Planet", but what you are more likely to find there is despair and fear. Despair and fear that they tell you can be alleviated by buying more stuff. That is not good news - that is old news.

Where you will find the good news in your daily life. Little moments of magic as you and those around you make decisions based on the heart rather than the wallet. That has far reaching consequences that will lead us to a more compassionate planet.

Beat your wings, change the world.







8 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing optimism today. My little Sunday School class studied sharing yesterday. We named our pretend country Niceland rather than Greedland.

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    1. I love Niceland. That is where I want to live.

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  2. Anonymous4/18/2016

    Thanks for this post! I need a boost of optimism right now. We really can change the world but by bit.

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    1. So much beauty, such little time.

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  3. I'd like to move to Niceland too, Annie! How refreshing!
    I wonder if we renamed Washington, DC Niceland if it would change the tone for all of us? I bet it would!
    I've heard it said that if you make small changes (circles) where you are, there will be another person making small changes(circles). Eventually your circle will connect with theirs and others. Pretty soon you get a whole bunch of circles which form a big circle of people making circles. Or something like that! It's a unifying thought, you think?

    Good changes up there in Canada with your new Prime Minister! Changes are frequently seen in U.S. news, much more now than before. There's hope!

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    1. Anonymous4/19/2016

      Terri- Thanks for sharing the idea about the circles, how encouraging!

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  4. I appreciate this. At the end of the day, you can only control what you did to hurt or better the world. That can relieve a lot of anxiety.

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  5. Anonymous4/22/2016

    Thanks Gregg, there has been a lot of news this past week in Australia about mass coral bleaching in the Great Barrier Reef, & must admit it has got me feeling quite down. Especially as our government continues to plan an expanded coal terminal near the reef. Sometimes I look around & feel like everyone is fiddling while Rome burns.
    I think Australia is prob one of the worst countries for environmental policy at the moment which probably skews my view too.
    So thanks for your optimism! I will remember this post when I next suffer from my bouts of 'ecoanxiety'.
    Clara

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