I find myself looking at the future with a jaundiced eye. I don't care how many "Best __ of the year" lists we may see, this has been a mostly negative year. Very little has been positive, much less Best.
It does no good to place blame - the threads are too tangled. Whether we pay much attention to the MEDIA or not (I avoid as much as I can), we cannot help but observe the troubles around us: fewer song birds, more violent weather - fewer bees, more killings - hungry, desperate people trying to find a life - a government bent on creating a nation of wage slaves - a culture based on waste and greed - the list goes on.
And what are we, individually and collectively, to do? How are we to participate in this kind of world? There are no longer solutions to the many problems. It's too late. Patterns set in motion in the past will continue to work themselves out. How shall we live in this mad, bad sad world?
I have no answers to the big questions, only more questions. However, we are in a position to find ways through. These several generations on earth right now are the ones to meet the challenges of our time. Yes, you and your children and, perhaps, grandchildren, are here to change the world. We are the people we have been waiting for.
We have chosen to incarnate at this time in this world. Sounds too woo woo? Sure does. But that's the way I see it. I ask you to allow the possibility. The possibility that you are a hero. The possibility that you are the critical link between what humans have been and what humans can be. The possibility that your strength, your imagination, your deep spirituality, will create and guide our species to sanity.
Even though I am, notoriously, an optimist, I don't believe I am a Pollyanna. I know there are no easy ways through this. We will all suffer deprivation and pain. This isn't a walk in the park. But there are some mitigations.
First, don't hide your head in the sand. Have the courage to look at the worst possible scenario. What is the worst that can happen with: a) the government, b) the environment, c) climate, d) war, e) disease and starvation, etc. How far into all that will you be personally involved?
Then, begin to look at preparing for some of these eventualities. Find a way to grow your own food. That is the strongest political act you can make. You are pulling your energy out of the Machine, the mass market created by the masters-of-the-world. You say you don't have time? Make time. It's your life you are saving. You say you don't know how - learn. You don't have space? Get together with others who do. (We have both space and knowledge, need help with the work. Come out here). That's a beginning.
Gather together a group of people you can depend on, people of like mind, who are willing to work for the good of the group rather than only for themselves. Yes, we can no longer be John Wayne - we must learn to be interdependent, not only with humans, but also with the world around us, usually called “the environment.” Inaccurate phrase. You are not separate from the environment - you are part of everything. Every animal, every blade of grass, is part of who you are. We can no longer act as if we are the only valuable creation in the world.
Further out in the world - run for office in your town. Our struggling socio-political situation is almost defunct, but there are still some ways it can function. A paraphrase from someone “The way the (bad?) will win is for the (good?) to do nothing.” Find out what needs doing in your community and do it. See to the well being of your local people.
Help old ladies - and men - across the street. Throw the ball back to the kids in the park. Shovel walkways for people who are other abled. Grow sunflowers and share seeds with birds and squirrels. Get involved with Life.
I realize that these are simplistic ideas. They don't deal with what appears to be the "big issues." But you gotta start somewhere. Bloom where you are planted. You WILL make a difference. I feel that this time of tribulation will last 50 to 100 years at least. I won't be in this body that long nor will most of you. But you will put your mark on the future. You will change the world. That's what you are here for.
About the Author:
Grandmother Elspeth Odbert is the Visionary & Founder of GreenSong Incorporated and in her 90 years has become a living legend.