Article - New Awakenings

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New Awakenings

By Barry Fraser
May 25, 2002

Let Spring wake you in the morning. Let her soft breath quietly caress and gently nudge you into consciousness. Let her fill you with her green fragrances, and let her songbird voice whisper sweet promises of sunshine, flowers, budding leaves and of joy for the coming day. Let Spring fill you with hope.

A few weeks ago I was talking with another Heart of the Earth Council member and we began talking about global warming issues and about the disintegration of a large piece of the arctic shelf and how significant this was and how little most people paid to this event. We wondered why such a clear sign of the impact that global climate change is having on our world was hardly mentioned in the news and received little or no notice. We asked ourselves why is it that, with all the unmistakable signs all over the world of impending environmental destruction, there isn't a major outcry from all of us to demand that we change our ways to begin to live more sustainable lives?

It didn't take us long to figure it out. It is for the same reason that we see little outcry when our government proposes the use of first strike nuclear weapons; or when we see an energy policy being dictated by greed rather than for the good of our country; or when we see our air and water being poisoned by interests more interested in making money than in protecting our lives or the lives of our children.

The reason isn't that we don't care. The reason is because we feel overwhelmed and hopeless that we can really do anything about it. We see a world that now seems to be spiraling toward inevitable destruction and we don't know what to do. So we go to sleep. We numb ourselves to the painful feelings and go about our lives secretly hoping that all will be well. We do it for our own psychological survival.

But it is Spring now, the season of hope and renewal. Winter's extremes have long passed and it's time now to come out of our womb; out of our hibernation. We've had our time of rest and now it's time to leave the darkness. It's time to awaken and to begin to experience the wonder of birth and renewal. Like soft, green buds, it's time for us to push up through our isolation and into the light.

So I, representing all of the Heart of the Earth Council members, invite you, in the spirit of Spring's new awakening, to "push through the isolation" and join with others in making a difference. Find something that you can be passionate about and find others with the same interest. Join a group. Take action. Awaken yourself to the wonder and beauty all around you. Help yourself and others to see that together we really can make a difference.