You Can Save The World

Feeling Powerless To Save Our World?

I came across an interesting blogger today, a woman attempting to live her life entirely plastic-free. Beth at "Fake Plastic Fish" worries (rightly so) about plastics filling our oceans, environments being permanently destroyed by toxic chemicals and waste, as well as the personal health effects from our own daily use.

I read her "Plastic- Free Living Guide" and couldn't help but scoff the first time I saw her suggestions. Some of them are outrageous and seemingly impossible, especially where I am in Asia today. And then, I caught myself...I was being pessimistic, negative, accepting powerlessness and giving up before I even tried to give her ideas a chance.

Powerlessness is a tricky word. It often is confused with fatalism "what will be will be." But in fact, powerlessness is defined as a state of being in which we feel we lack personal control over certain situations or events that NEGATIVELY affect our lives, our lifestyles and our goals.

It is this feeling of powerlessness as individuals that limits our efforts and contributions towards creating a better world; sometimes we feel we don't have enough money, not enough time, or not enough of a voice to really make changes.

Problems in the world today are dire, never ending, that make us all feel helpless: war, world hunger, human trafficking, violence, poverty, animal abuse, discrimination, loss of environment and natural resources...we all know that we need to consume less, donate time and energy to others in need, but most of us lack 'the push' to action. This is feeling powerless as an individual.

Our apathy forces government and agencies to think for us and to provide solutions managed and distributed on a large scale; sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. And yet, we forget that revolutions and memorable moments of change in human history are from stories of individuals, not always governments or mobs. Heroes were people, just like you and me, who one day decide to start a fight.

OK, I'm not saying Beth is a hero. I am saying, I've looked twice at her blog now and I feel inspired. She's just trying to start a revolution, to drastically resist the norms of today...she's fighting against Plastic, a fight that seems impossible to overcome and yet there she goes. I for one, admire it.

Powerlessness from a Buddhist perspective:

Last year, as a last ditch effort to protect the forests in Northern Thailand, I set out with a group of 15 volunteers to tie sacred Buddhist scarves around the trunks of Teak trees. The scarves were essentially a scare tactic: if you cut down a tree that's been blessed by a monk, you'll be unlucky in this life and the ones after.

This, the simplest of solutions obviously works since all throughout Thailand green forests reflect oranges, reds and deep browns from forest walking monks protecting nature where and when they can.

This got me thinking about Buddhism and conservation actually. In Buddhism, powerlessness doesn't really translate. The only kind of power that truly exists is power over ourselves. We can not control those around us, nor can we change the course of nature, we can only control the way we view ourselves within it.

Buddha said "All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become." Our thoughts are the source of our happiness, pain, desires and eventually habits. Thoughts become words, words become actions, then actions become habits (for better or worse.) This is what I thought of when I caught myself being pessimistic. My own thoughts are the only things I can completely control, and I should better spend the energy to choose to think positively.

The point is, positive thinking. Control your thoughts and don't let pessimism and negativity force you into inaction. I alone act. I alone use less plastic. I alone use less water. I alone treat all sentient beings with love.

'I' can quickly become 'we', as individuals unknowingly become part of a community. Somewhere out there 'you' are using less water, 'you' use less plastic too. Even if we feel alone, acting as an individual, somewhere out there someone is trying to do exactly the same thing. Have faith that even if you act alone, you may not be.

While I may not be able to use a stainless steel ice cube tray, or make my own condiments, or seek out sanitary pads made from organic cotton in Asia, I will take some suggestions to heart and know that you will too. Individuals, be inspired, and you may find yourself unknowingly saving the world.

"Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."- Buddha

--Thanks to my friend Madeleine for sharing this documentary with me: "No Impact Man" is about Colin Beavan, one man trying to live 1 year completely 'green' giving new meaning to the idea Practice What You Preach.

...Check out his blog here...