Funny, but we often hear the saying that art imitates life. What we may need at this point is for life to mimic art. It seems that in several plays and movies, just before the resolution, the words are explicitly said, so the audience knows, "It Is Time!" Each of us necessarily needs to come to our own realizations, our own growth, our own learning curve and our own levels of insight along a unique path. Having been trained as a teacher, I know that not everyone can be open to all learning or information at the same time, nor should they be. Some of us are too tired at the end of the day to listen to another word. Others spend so much time posturing and keeping up appearances that no understanding can come to them. In point of fact, there are innumerable ways to estrange ourselves from matters at hand, ideas worth understanding and information that has the power to change our lives forever.
In the theater, using the three words, "It is time." produce two things in the audience. Immediate suspense, because we want to know what it is time for and a certain excitement, much like when a fish latches into your bait and tries to take it to the bottom. you know that the ride is about to get serious and the process is going to be the crux of the whole production. Much like the staging lights at a drag strip, when the first light is illuminated, you know that the moment of reckoning is about to take place. In our culture, we are so insulated from all things natural, that we forget our place in them. We keep waiting for the lights to change, yet day after day we hear the same news and the same stories. Even though it really is time, we are often placated, distracted and/or frozen with fear over trying to do anything to make the world more stable. more hospitable, more sustainable or more habitable for future generations. It is time for real life to reflect the wisdom of understanding that we have to wrap up this phase of our cultural life.
Today, the internet is awash in posts about the "Western" Antarctic Ice Shelf collapsing. It is melting away far faster than any scientists dared to predict, but that is not all. The largest area of warm water ever to be recorded in the South Pacific is setting up to push the extremes of climate worldwide. Instead of reacting to these occurrences like intelligent people, many of us are continuing to allow business as usual to destroy even more land and water than ever before. The corrupting influence of those who deceitfully rule our nations has been evident for generations. It has only been since the advent of mass media that their lies could be so carefully crafted as to keep us both submissive and tolerant of their abuse. If one has not seen the writing on the wall yet, perhaps there is nothing that will sway them to understand that their efforts are not only important but essential to changing the current state of affairs. Who we speak to, what we say, who we throw in with and what we commit to are what separate us from the rank and file that oligarchs and corporate elites need so desperately to prop up their lies.
If we each choose just one thing to make it clear that we will not stand idly by while our species is pushed to extinction, it may not be enough. Taking in stray dogs or restoring old cars may feel good and I applaud the accomplishments of those who would be or feel like nothing without their hobbies, but the future of our species is too important to forget about. We cannot afford to sit in the audience and watch our own actions continue to strangle us in our beds, silence us at work or keep us out of the state houses across the nation. Before it is too late, we must make significant steps toward sustainability or we may all perish. I used to wonder about those among us who hoped for the apocalypse, spinning their tales of the dreaded end times. now I understand that the whole concept only exists as a pressure release valve for those who might otherwise blow up, apart or out under the stress of knowing that our current system has a date with their own destruction. Perhaps that is also why so many people love to speed, take risks, abuse drugs and drink too much. Is death at our own hands any more benign than dying at the hands of corporados? What can be said about those of us who are willing to sacrifice our planet for the continued rule of the oligarchs?
In the theater, using the three words, "It is time." produce two things in the audience. Immediate suspense, because we want to know what it is time for and a certain excitement, much like when a fish latches into your bait and tries to take it to the bottom. you know that the ride is about to get serious and the process is going to be the crux of the whole production. Much like the staging lights at a drag strip, when the first light is illuminated, you know that the moment of reckoning is about to take place. In our culture, we are so insulated from all things natural, that we forget our place in them. We keep waiting for the lights to change, yet day after day we hear the same news and the same stories. Even though it really is time, we are often placated, distracted and/or frozen with fear over trying to do anything to make the world more stable. more hospitable, more sustainable or more habitable for future generations. It is time for real life to reflect the wisdom of understanding that we have to wrap up this phase of our cultural life.
Today, the internet is awash in posts about the "Western" Antarctic Ice Shelf collapsing. It is melting away far faster than any scientists dared to predict, but that is not all. The largest area of warm water ever to be recorded in the South Pacific is setting up to push the extremes of climate worldwide. Instead of reacting to these occurrences like intelligent people, many of us are continuing to allow business as usual to destroy even more land and water than ever before. The corrupting influence of those who deceitfully rule our nations has been evident for generations. It has only been since the advent of mass media that their lies could be so carefully crafted as to keep us both submissive and tolerant of their abuse. If one has not seen the writing on the wall yet, perhaps there is nothing that will sway them to understand that their efforts are not only important but essential to changing the current state of affairs. Who we speak to, what we say, who we throw in with and what we commit to are what separate us from the rank and file that oligarchs and corporate elites need so desperately to prop up their lies.
If we each choose just one thing to make it clear that we will not stand idly by while our species is pushed to extinction, it may not be enough. Taking in stray dogs or restoring old cars may feel good and I applaud the accomplishments of those who would be or feel like nothing without their hobbies, but the future of our species is too important to forget about. We cannot afford to sit in the audience and watch our own actions continue to strangle us in our beds, silence us at work or keep us out of the state houses across the nation. Before it is too late, we must make significant steps toward sustainability or we may all perish. I used to wonder about those among us who hoped for the apocalypse, spinning their tales of the dreaded end times. now I understand that the whole concept only exists as a pressure release valve for those who might otherwise blow up, apart or out under the stress of knowing that our current system has a date with their own destruction. Perhaps that is also why so many people love to speed, take risks, abuse drugs and drink too much. Is death at our own hands any more benign than dying at the hands of corporados? What can be said about those of us who are willing to sacrifice our planet for the continued rule of the oligarchs?
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