Mindful Communicating
If you have followed the journey on this web site through the science
of global warming, the deadly consequences that may be awaiting us and
our children, if you have examined the MIT greenhouse gamble pinwheel
that shows that there is a 57% probability that our climate will warm
by 5C or more, if you have learned how to tell the myths from the facts
and learned how to spot a troll, if you have discovered how living
mindfully can help change what is happening, you are ready to take the
final big easy step. You are ready to tell others.
If you let people know what you know, if they agree that we are taking
a risk we should not be taking, then the world will change.
Talk the Walk!
Many people are already living a mindful life. Many people already care
deeply about the world that we are leaving to the next generations.
Many people have said that they already do all the things suggested so
far; they consume mindfully, they notice where their food comes from,
they travel in the least destructive ways, and they always vote. These
people walk the talk. But just as important as walking the talk, is
talking the walk!
We need to let people know what we know.
There are people who do not want us to act. Acting to eliminate the
risk we are taking threatens the perceived livelihood of vested
interests, especially in the fossil fuel industries. The threat to
their earnings today may be real, but ultimately the changes that are
coming at us, the changes that are already upon us, will affect them
and their families as well. It is in everyone's best interest that we
recognize clearly what we are doing and take the necessary steps to end
the gamble. We cannot allow the vested interests, the trolls and other
distracting parties to divert us from what we need to do. We need to
let people know what we know.
Six Degrees of Separation
There is a belief that everyone on this planet is separated from
everyone else by only 6 people. You are, at most, 6 friends away from
knowimg anyone and everyone. You know someone, who knows someone, ...
who knows President Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper. You are
also just 6 friends away from knowing a starving family in Darfur and
an Arctic resident who has just lost their home due to permafrost melt.
You are just 6 friends away from a resident of Tuvalu who may have to
move her whole family to New Zealand in a few years, as rising sea
level floods her country.
This 6 degrees of separation cannot only help us care about the
consequences today of global warming, but it can help us get the word
out to everyone. We are in this together. Through a true grassroots
movement, we can ensure that we overcome the myths being spread by
slick public relations firms and a few energetic trolls, and educate
everyone to the risks we all face.
Start with the big easy first. Talk to your friends or family members
who you know are somewhat concerned but confused. There is no need to
begin with "Old Uncle Joe" who will never change his mind. Start with
the people who are easy to talk to. Let them know what you know. Talk
about the risks we are running. Even if they are not sure what to
believe, ask them if they are 100% sure that there is not a problem.
Remember, we insure our houses and our cars even though there is a very
small possibility that we may lose them. We do so because the
consequences are just too dire to take the risk of losing them.
We do not need to be scientists to benefit from what science is telling
us. We do not have to listen to singular voices of this scientist or
that spokesman. When the world's leading scientific organizations speak
with one voice, we need to listen. Remember, the US National Academy of Sciences
(the NAS) is the highest scientific body in the States, over
140 years old and founded by Abraham Lincoln to be the supreme court of
science in the USA, and, despite many voices trying to drown them out,
this prestigious body has basically said several times that:
The climate is changing
We are the ones causing it
And the consequences will be bad.
The top scientific organizations in the largest economies of the world
have agreed with the NAS and have made similar statements. One or two
oil company or coal company spokesmen, or a few unpublished scientists,
should not dissuade you. Beware of trolls and astroturf.
Live Mindfully
When your friends and family agree that we shouldn't be taking this
great greenhouse gamble, share with them what we can do. Explain the 3
Mindfulness Practices. Send them to this web site or print out the one
page summary and give it to them. Explain how simply changing our diet
and reducing our consumption of meat will have a huge impact. Let them
know that being aware of where what we buy came from can also make a
big difference in the amount of carbon we emit. Suggest a no-car day
once or twice a week, just to see how easy it can be. Then...
Encourage People to Vote!
Once you have explained the risk that we are taking, or directed your
friends and family to the resources listed in this site, ask them to
vote. Convince them to vote as if their hair was on fire. That's an old
Zen saying, but it means ... this is really important!
There is always a next election. Just a few more voters can make a huge
difference. In fact, just mentioning our intention to vote a certain
way to pollsters and directly to the candidates can make the
difference, even before an election is held. It costs you nothing to
vote. This is one of the easiest of the 3 big easy things you can do.
Everyone can do it. Simply vote! Vote federally or nationally, vote
provincially or at the state level, and vote locally at the city level.
Find out what each candidate is saying about global warming, evaluate
his or her platform carefully, and then make your decision mindfully.
After talking to your friends and family, mention what you know to your
coworkers. Spread the word! You do not have to be annoying and
obnoxious, just talk to as many people as you can calmly, share what
you know, and then ...
Get Them to Talk to Others
Pay it forward. If your friends, coworkers, family members agree that
we are taking a risk that we should not be taking, if they agree that
the 3 Mindfulness Practices can make the difference, then ask them to
tell their friends and families. They need to talk the walk too.
If you run a blog, blog about this. If you are a writer, write about
this. If you are a teacher, teach it ... make a documentary or create a
web page! If you just like to talk, talk about this! Email this web
site address to others. Get the word out. Let people know what you know
and share what we can do.
Be Committed
While these mindfulness practices are easy and they will make a big
difference, we still have to be committed to change and determined to
end the gamble we are taking with our environment. We still have to do
the work. Live with intention and attention. Live mindfully.
"To be mindful is to be truly alive, present and at one with those
around you and with what you are doing. We bring our body and mind into
harmony while we wash the dishes, drive the car or take our morning
shower."
Plum Village - Art of Living Mindfully
Aware of the damage to our planet and the suffering to come caused by
silence, ignorance and apathy, I resolve to communicate what I know
about the current state of our environment and to share with everyone
what we can do about it.
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Talk to friends, relatives and co-workers
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Tell them about the risk we are taking
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Tell them about the 3 Mindfulness Practices
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Ask them to talk, email and communicate to others
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Get them to vote!
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