The Natural Environment, Mother of All Life

"To rescue for human society the native values of rural life."  --Hilgard

What is your relationship to the earth?  To plants?  To animals?

How much do you drive?  How much meat do you consume?

Personal growth is not a matter of changing behavior, but simply a matter of shining the light of consciousness into the darkest parts of ourselves and seeing honestly what is revealed.  Shine the light on yourself; what do you see?

To live a mindful life, to live consciously, is to align one's self with the natural way of this world.  Integral to this aligning is one's relationship to all things environmental.  Without plants humans could not breathe.  Without water humans would die.  Without animals our basic goodness and our compassion could be lost over time.  What happens to the earth, will surely also then happen to humankind - how could it be elsewise?

You don't have to be a vegetarian to live a mindful life, you don't have to enjoy being in nature or love the smell of flowers to be fully awake; but these things do often support a deeper appreciation and enjoyment of our time on this planet - not to mention that to live in a softer and less impactful way ultimately allows generations to come to also enjoy what each of us has had the pleasure to experience.  In some ways it does come down to the simple distinction between selfish or selfless.  Each of us might ask ourselves these questions in the spirit of curiosity: 'What values motivate me to live in the way that I do?'  and, 'Have I chosen these values in an aware, discerning, and conscious way?'

"Treat the earth well.  It was not given to you by your parents,

it was loaned to you by your children."   --Native American Proverb

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