“When spiders unite, they can tie down a lion.”
-Ethiopian proverb
When I went to get out our Christmas tree from under the deck, I discovered to my dismay that a squirrel had found a way in and built a big messy nest near the door. Not only that, but every open box and boot was overflowing with pinecones bits and pieces, creating a colossal clean up for me to tackle at some point. We decided that the furry little fellow could keep his cozy home for now, (because who were we to condemn it to certain death without winter digs). But the rest of the mess had to be swept, so while silently cussing the critter when cleaning away, I had to admit to myself he had given me an opportunity to dejunk by recycling, re-gifting and retiring stuff to the landfill that had been in there for years. This not only gave me a sense of a fresh start to the new year, but it also allowed me some time while toiling away to contemplate and re-evaluate my values and how I live my life and where I could make some changes.
According to the ancient texts and predictions of the Mayans, Egyptians, some famous fortunetellers, the Zodiac and even some religious writings, this is the time – the age – in human history that will make room for the new values of love, unity, integrity and to live harmoniously with nature. However, a lot of poop will have to hit the fan first because everything will be exposed and taken down – governments, corporations and individuals – and the world will appear to be in chaos.
This fear and futility for our future can be extremely deflating, depressing, dis-empowering and even down right dangerous, because it may indeed lead to social and environmental chaos if we choose to throw our hands up in the air and give up on it.
Last year, our young teenager was one of hundreds of local and international students who spent a day at UVic to listen to speakers of varying backgrounds. The last one to talk – a syndicated columnist – stated as a fact, that this run-away global roasting, if not entirely arrested and reversed, would render all the lands near the equator uninhabitable within the next 10 to 20 years with the rest of the world following right behind it. Basically life was a done deal because it was unlikely that it was doable. This deeply rattled them and the mood on the bus going back was sad and subdued, which made me stew, because who was he to dim the hopes and dreams of all those bright lights in the room? I agree that we’re in a planetary pickle in plenty of ways, but I’m not buying into his negative news of doom, because if there’s one thing my lessons from the Gaia College taught me, was that nature’s got some pretty powerful tools to tinker with, which would take care of a lot of our problems before this time bomb stops ticking and our poor old planet spins out of control.
Heide Hermary, co-founder and president of the college, says this in her book: Working With Nature – Shifting Paradigms: “Our societies have entered a period of intense change. As we become aware that our actions are affecting the equilibrium of our planet, it becomes clear that many things need to be done differently. More and more consumers are willing to pay a premium for goods and services that are guaranteed to embody ecologically sound practices, and more and more producers and service providers are able to meet those needs.
We are not talking a little change in pricing, but a paradigm shift in fundamental, underlying values, a shift in what we value most in life. The human species didn’t intentionally set out to destroy this planet and itself in the process; these are the results of actions based on simplistic assumptions.
It’s time for a change.
If our actions are to be inclusive and supportive of Nature’s needs, then we must already integrate Nature’s needs into our questions.
We need to think in terms of ‘we’ instead of ‘me’, and deliberately set out to cooperate rather than exploit. All change starts with intent. Perhaps we can start by intending to cooperate with Nature to make this planet – or our little piece of land – a healthy and prosperous place for all its inhabitants.”
These predictions also say that this important (albeit unpleasant) period of time is part of our own evolution in consciousness and we are each being asked to make a choice: we can cling to the old outdated values and ways we live or embrace the new evolving ones, with the ultimate outcome depending on those choices.
The Pope has just pleaded to his billion-strong flock to help stop the crumbling away of creation and the UN is harping on Harper and other countries to clean up their act. Now I say (if I may) that it’s “all hands on deck” to us tenders of the earth to step up to the plate and take on some of these troubles!
Poop happens, but ‘shift’ happens too – and it starts with one garden, farm, landscape and choice, at a time.
