Seeing our Earth from space has inspired millions. But it has also made crystal clear that we use the planet of our birth like an infinite supermarket and at the same time as a sewer. We extract materials to use as resources, confine our neighbor species into pens and warehouses and use them either as slaves or as food, and use our chemical knowledge to create materials the byproducts of which poison us at the genetic level. Yet we have the technological power to create sustainable practices today, if we want to. But that can't happen automatically.
Greed churns parts of the Earth into comforts for many, cash for few.
It may feel like these pathways are set in stone, yet they are really all about choice. Choices are happening all around us, yet we may not notice because of all the distractions that fill our lives. Joanna Macy, a great environmental scholar, psychologist, and Buddhist teacher, describes the time in which we live as The Great Turning. She says that this time has three great aspects. Holding Actions Actions taken by people all over the world that slow the damage to the Earth and its beings are the most visible dimension of the Great Turning.