Bring Back the Earth

The guest post below has been generously contributed by Eco-learning Legacies. Founder Candia Lea Cole outlines the mission as follows, “As an eco-visionary, I envision a future on earth in which all people are conscious of their role in protecting and sustaining the living ecology of people and the planet and they wholeheartedly embrace the wisdom for everyday living and learning rituals that honor their innate eco-intelligence.” Their company is currently in a contest for the best idea to help humanity. Votes can be received up until October 17th. Here's a link to the voting page: http://www.bestideaforhumanity.com/register.cfm

Lately, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the probability that my children, and my children’s children, will be here long after me. I’ve been trying to envision how the earth will function in another 20, 30 or 40 years, and whether or not the branches extending from my family tree will be green and thriving.

To be perfectly honest, I have my moments of doubt. I am tempted at times to indulge in the cynicism of our age. Yet, just as the doubters and critics are about take over, I realize that it is up to me to determine how I will survive amidst the terror of environmental waste, pollution, and destruction. It is up to me to find strength. It is up to me to find resolve. It is up to me to see the hidden blessing that my situation is bringing me.

In today’s world, millions of us are feeling the pain of being imprisoned by our current reality upon earth, where the cries of hunger can be heard day or night around the globe, and the ice caps are melting, and the rainforest is burning to the ground.

It is hard to know where to step next, what to do next, and how to think about our place and purpose in the grand scheme of life. Yet what is becoming increasingly clear to me and others, in the face of this chaos, is that each of us needs to try and remain calm. We just need to take a deep breath.

As human beings, we are equipped to handle even the direst emergencies in our lives. As long as we have faith in each other and our surroundings, have the loving intention to live well and give ourselves permission to reclaim the innate eco-intelligence we were born with that guides us to live well. The truth we must all come to terms with is that we may never live on a planet that is entirely free of problems and dangers. What is essential is to not create any more problems, but try to fix the ones that already exist by living in an eco-intelligent manner.

Imperfect Circumstances are Perfect for Our Learning and Growth

There are hundreds of circumstances on Earth right now that seem less-than-desirable, but actually are perfect circumstances from which we can all learn about our place and function in life. These perfect circumstances represent one of the rarest opportunities in our history as a human species for our growth and maturation.

They represent one of the greatest opportunities that our bodies, minds, and souls will ever know for learning about how to function in greater harmony and balance with the rest of life. It also presents the need of each and every person to shift their everyday beliefs, actions and choices in the world, to support an ecology of personal and planetary well-being, rather than an ecology of disease. In essence, our perfect circumstances on earth today present us with an opportunity for healing and an opportunity to “bring back” the earth that we depend upon for our life and survival. 

Though I realize that some people on earth are set in their belief that our long-term destructive relationship with the earth cannot be healed, I cannot agree with them. The reason for this is that I have seen and experienced the power of healing in my own life.

If you’re saying to yourself, “What exactly is the power of healing?” I can help you to understand what I mean. The power of healing is the power to “live whole.” It is the power to set right the things that have become lost, injured, or unsettled in the course of life. It is the power to focus our energies in a direction that does not dissipate our vital life force. It is the power to avoid the kinds of internal and external conflicts that hurt our health and separate us from our true spiritual natures.

Ultimately, HEALING is about exercising the ability and willingness to live connected to the greater whole of life and to cultivate the kind of healthy relationships with the earth. It is about honoring our innate potential for integrity through eco-intelligence.

Eco-Intelligence Empowers us to Live Well in Today’s Eco-Challenged Times

In today’s eco-challenged times, it is our ECO-INTELLIGENCE that I believe will empower us to live well, because it is based on the common-sense idea that we are part of a living whole and we are meant to live in balance and harmony with the whole. Our eco-intelligence represents the intuition about “why we are here” on earth, and it validates our need to be in a relationship with life! When we are guided by our eco-intelligence, we stop believing the lie that there is separation between ourselves, each other, and all living things. We start to remember that what we do and what we think affects all life.

When we are guided by our eco-intelligence to live well in the world, we live with a clear sense of what it means to be connected to the earth. We live guided by a clear sense of what it means to be connected to global continents, nations, and cities, as well as people of different races and religions.

We live with a clear sense that we are not just bodies walking the planet, but bodies who share a connection with our minds, emotions, and spirits. By connecting with our innate eco-intelligence, we become aware of the fact that life is supported by the exchange and flow of positive energy. Energy is the key to health and the key to life!