My love for the planet is a reflection of my love for you.
It has been said, the way we treat our environment is a reflection of how we treat each other.
Health of the Planet. Health of the People. Health of our Economy. It is all interconnected and interrelated. It creates a dynamic system that constantly shifts with cause and effect reactions as its parts move in the system. In balance, it looks like a beautiful, romantic dance. When out of balance, parts fly into panic building explosive energy driven by reaction.
Reflecting on the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, I think about the leaders who had the voice, vision, and drive to shake our species to recognize our imbalance, and wake us up!
We are not “apart” from the system of the planet…we are a part of it. We can be a part in the system dancing in sync with the other parts; or we can throw ourselves into it like an explosive particle reacting to rapid changes in the system and ignore our effects it has on others. We have plenty of examples of both in the short history of the United States.
Planet, people, and economy can be viewed as a nested system. This illustration shows the place of “economy” being nested within greater systems of the people and planet. Economy can thrive, but not without the stable condition of the people and environment supporting it.
I believe we are at another turning point in history. The pandemic of COVID19 shadowing this Earth Day is a part of the system. The concern of the economy is real. Our species built the economy. We are ignoring the impacts it has on our planet and people. Some view the economy as greater than ourselves and the earth that supports all things. There is a cost to that view. COVID19 is a wake-up call to our globalization, dependence, and demand on each other and our planet. The economy cannot operate well when the health of the people and planet are not well. It is a component of people and society, built and defined by us; therefore, we have the power to change it.
On this 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, I feel the urgency Gaylord Nelson must have had back in the 1960’s to create change and mobilize a new vision for a better future that respects the people and planet. It is the love I have for you that drives my urgency to want to heal the planet.
In these times of uncertainty and unknown, I wish for you to feel the love, encouragement, and support so you can learn to dance in harmony with the people and planet and redefine our economy.
Please comment and share the actions you are taking this Earth Day as a symbol of your love.
~ Peace, Susan Schuller