Image by Genesis Eco Fund: Earth Day 2014 Reflection: Mechanical Approach v.s. Sustainable Approach
“A mechanical, systems-based approach can only produce more exploitation because its foundation is separation. True sustainability emerges when we consciously embrace an ecosystems-based approach.”
~ Wolfgang Amelung, Inventor & Co-Founder of Genesis EcoFund
Every Earth Day it’s the same thing: the world expounds in the virtues and necessities of saving the planet, and they point to the perils and evils of one kind of technology, while gushing over the benefits and glories of a different brand of technology, all the while missing the point entirely.
To truly comprehend the meaning of “Earth Day,” we must begin to comprehend that “the earth” has always had a second meaning as it applies to humanity. While this meaning is not exactly “hidden” in the strictest sense, it has been lost on most people.
“Earth” is another word for “soil;” the
hume in the word
hummus (a very “earthy” substance indeed); that is the stuff;
earthstuff, if you will…the
flesh of the earth. This sense of the word applies to the
hume in
human. In truth, the word
human is a compound word meaning earth and mind (
hume and
manas).
In a very real sense, when we think about Earth Day, we should not avoid thinking of ourselves.
But we do. We see ourselves as somehow
separate from the earth when in truth, we are the earth; it is us. This is both a physical and metaphysical phenomenon: it is a reality in every sense and at every level. It is not the
whole truth, but it is far closer to the complete picture than modern science (or even contemporary religion, for that matter) comprehends.
And therein lies the problem. We separate ourselves into a distinct category (human world v.s. the natural world). We believe ourselves to be lords over nature: that it somehow is ours to do with as we please; subject to any and every monstrosity our mechanical minds can conceive of.
What we call progress and civilization, built on so-called human ingenuity and technology, has been at the expense of the earth; of nature; and our fundamental nature as earth! Our relationship with the planet is directly 1:1 analogous to our relationships with ourselves and each other.
Production, consumption, construction, destruction, addiction, affliction, subjugation, medication…anxiety, stress, SUFFERING.
And what’s our response? To continue the
insanity, as Albert Einstein described it; that is, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
Humanity believes so-called advanced technology—the same old linear, binary, mechanical systems-based approach made more complicated and sophisticated—will save it. Economists actually believe they can achieve perpetual growth by returning indefinitely to the wellspring of efficiency.
All it takes is a conscious, honest, objective look within oneself and any and all of nature on this planet and in the vast expanse of the universe to know the utter tragicomedy of modern humanity’s thinking…
nothing in the physical universe lasts forever: not even planets, stars or galaxies.
So what’s the Answer?
It’s quite simple, really. We advance with a conscious appreciation of authentic nature. We throw away the crude linearity of a binary existence—the legacy of our mechanical systems-based approach—and embrace the infinite complexity of an ecosystems approach.
Instead of imposing a mechanical bias on nature (which is a crude and superficial understanding at best) and subjecting it to the unspeakable horrors such cold, heartless calculations create in the real world, we expand our consciousness and with objectivity embrace the reality of nature…ecosystems.
Only nature can create authentic sustainability. And even then, we must acknowledge and accept that the cycles of birth, death and sacrifice are fundamental to the nature of all things—ourselves, our civilization, and our planet is no exception.
The beauty is, once you start embracing an ecosystems approach—once you immerse yourself in the electromagnetic field of an indoor ecosystem and open your consciousness to your participation in it and relationship with it—you settle into the unavoidable laws of the universe…comprehension follows.
By comprehension we mean a deep, conscious appreciation and direct experience of the nature of yourself and all things; this is not an intellectual pursuit, and cannot be achieved by reading books or any other intellectual means. However, it can and must be experienced for real personal growth.
And, as it turns out, conscious comprehension and direct experience of the nature of ourselves and all things is the birthright of humanity, the dream of every living being, and represents the real “progress” and true sustainability for our individual earth, and the planet as a whole.
This is the mission of Genesis Eco Fund, and our hope for you and the whole planet from this Earth Day forward.
To look at all this in a slightly different way, contemplate the following quotation which has been attributed to Chief Seattle, although according to
Barefoot Windwalker it is neither “historically accurate, nor even something that Chief Seattle said” regardless…
“This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.”
~ Chief Seattle
Source: barefootsworld.net: CHIEF SEATTLE'S LETTER
Image: Quote by Chief Seattle, “This we know: the earth does not belong to man…”
Source: www.plentifulplanet.com
Related Links:Earth Day Canada Earth Day Network PeapodLife
