Earth Day

I was teaching a weekend meditation workshop in Seattle for Earth Day yesterday, and visited the arboretum and a research greenhouse at the U. of Washington there. My old friend John Perkins, economist and shaman, sent me this to think about and share.

Buddhism teaches that the whole world is my body, and sentient beings my heart-mind. We are each like cells in the body of the cosmos.

“10 Things You Can Do to Save the Earth

Dear Friends,

As part of the celebration of Earth Day, I wanted to send this very important message to you. Thank you for your continued support and all that I know each of you do to make the world a better place.

The hour is ours. It is now time for each and every one of us to step up to the task at hand, to ask the important questions, to search our souls for our own answers, and to take action.

1. Demand a world where the models for our children are the founders and managers of institutions that restore rain forests and polluted lakes, promote sustainability, and help starving people feed themselves — not the CEO’s of irresponsible corporations, overpaid athletes and celebrities.
2. Break the pattern and rid our world of the viral form of predatory capitalism that has a stated goal of maximizing profits regardless of the social and environmental costs.
3. Bequeath a world to future generations that is headed toward sustainable, just and peaceful societies for all of us.
4. Join organizations that represent your passions, support them with your energy and/or money.
5. Use materials that are environmentally and socially responsible.
6. Support politicians who are in favor of the environment and will enact changes to protect it for future generations.
7. Vote in the marketplace for companies committed to doing the right thing environmentally and socially.
8. Let leaders know you want wholesome food, clean water and air; send emails — they do count, big-time.
9. Demand that every person on our planet has access to clean air and water, sufficient food, clothing and shelter, health care and a decent retirement.
10. Support companies that sell organic and local foods and operate on the basis of making profits but only while creating a sustainable, just, and peaceful world.

We are poised to enter a new era. Growing numbers of us recognize that it is time to stop the craziness, to stop honoring people who perpetuate a greedy, materialistic mentality, to cease buying magazines that feature their faces on the covers, and to switch off TV programs that try to convince us that squandering resources is something to be admired. it is time to move from a militarized economy into one that produces goods and services that enhance life for all sentient beings.

Now is the time to turn the Fortune 500 into a list of only those corporations and NGOs that best serve the planet and future generations. YOU CAN DO IT.

John Perkins

Author

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