Why do we persist in a behavior that does not forward or solve anything?

In order for us to shift into our power, we first need to examine the root causes of this behavior, we need to be honest with ourselves and see how it serves us. What jumps out immediately is the issue of responsibility. If we blame others, then we don’t have to see how what we are doing, or not doing, contribute to our problems. For example, if you are unhappy with your spouse’s behavior, is the solution to cheat or become depressed? In either case you are running away from the problem rather than dealing with it directly. It may be painful or uncomfortable to confront the issues head on, but the alternative ultimately is more uncomfortable. Additionally, if we relinquish responsibility as when we blame the corporations, then we don’t have to interrupt our daily habitual lives to do what we can to hold them accountable. We can boycott their products and buy from socially and environmentally responsible companies. But that would require time and energy to research and find these companies. Are we willing to make this a priority and inconvenience our lives to promote our planet’s health?

A deeper emotional reason is that we have simply not evolved to the level of maturity that will allow us to accept responsibility for our predicament, individually or globally. Specifically, regardless of how grown up we are physically, most of us are still operating emotionally as helpless children, waiting for our parents (our spouses, our government) to take care of us and solve our problems. Until we embrace the fact that we are adults, capable of using our great intellect, our strengths, our compassionate hearts and our creative spirits to find new solutions, we are not in charge of our lives.

A deeper spiritual reason is that we don’t perceive how we are all interconnected. In spite of the events on September 11 and other terrorists threats, or global warming and its current effects on our weather patterns, or the genocides in Kosovo, Rwanda, Darfur, after we said NEVER AGAIN!, or the AIDS virus spreading all over the world, or the advent of the Internet, we are still living our lives as if what happens in another part of the world does not or will not impact us directly. If we don’t experience the pain first hand, many of us think it is not our problem.

We do not yet recognize that our planet is a living organism, and just like any other ecosystem, it must live in healthy balance with all organic and living things in order for it to thrive. The planet is our greater home; we must take care of all of its inhabitants. If we care only for a part of it (me or mine), and neglect, or destroy other parts (them or theirs), it will surely come back to bite us. It’s time for us to realize there is no mine or theirs---it is all ours. We are on this planet together.

Where do we begin?

We can begin by first becoming aware of the mess we are in. While we, in the West, may not feel the full impact of what is about to unfold if we don’t do something soon, we cannot continue to ignore the warning signs. It does not take a genius to see that with our climate change, the increase in global population, the decrease in natural resources, and rampant disease and violence, something has to give. Our whole system cannot be sustained by shortsighted, partial solutions. We need a new, comprehensive approach.

We then need to bring this discussion into our daily lives, as well as, demand that our political representative and the media address this issue. Collectively, with one voice, we must scream from the top of our lungs and the depths of our hearts and souls that we are no longer interested in blaming, bickering and brainless entertainment. Our survival is at stake and all attention and resources need to be brought to developing and implementing creative and comprehensive solutions to the complex issues facing our planet.

Remember how the whole country and most of the world was captivated by the heartbreaking events of September 11th. Remember how for days we could hardly think of anything other than the missing victims and the horror of it all. Remember how the media coverage was focused on the tragedy. Does something catastrophic have to occur in order for us to give this our undivided attention? Here, today, we either take control, and interrupt our lives to devote more time and energy to the prevention of such calamity, or our lives will be interrupted again by something or someone beyond our control.

Given our innate talents, our great minds, our creative spirits and our loving hearts, there is no reason why we could not tackle any challenges facing us. The only things standing in our way is our ignorance of what is at stake and our inability to put our egos aside long enough to unite as one people of this one planet. The choice is ours, as are the consequences of our actions and inactions. It is our call.

We are calling on one and all to wake up now, take charge of our lives to Transform the Planet.

Some actions you can take immediately:
1. Take time to reflect on this article, and share it with people in your life.
2. Instead of blaming and complaining in your own life, decide what you want to do to change things. You are not a victim.
3. Contact your political representative and demand that they stop blaming and start doing. They are serving you. To find your representative go to, http://takeaction.lwv.org/lwv/dbq/officials/
4. Contact the various TV stations and demand that they stop covering sensational, superficial and divisive stories and start covering issues which directly affect our present crisis. Most of them can be found by adding a dot com to their name, e.g. www.abc.com, www.cbs.com, www.cnn.com, etc.
5. Educate yourself about the many issues facing our planet.