After watching the film “Call of Life”, I realized on a deep level how interconnected life is on this beautiful planet. I also felt a deep concern about the challenges that we face. This response to the film includes information from the film, some of my own research and my thoughts about the potential mass extinction and what we can do about it. Ultimately, I hope for a shift away from individual wants and consumption towards earth sustainability and quality of life for all. It is time to call forth courage so we can look past the denial that our culture has created about what is truly valuable. The dominant lifestyle in the U.S. is causing enormous harm to the earth. I trust that people don’t really want to harm the earth, but they also don’t really want to face what is happening because the guilt and sadness is too overwhelming. By collectively feeling the grief, we will unite in honoring our authentic experience and stand up for what we deeply value.
I invite you now to think of an amazing experience you’ve had in nature; an encounter with wildlife, a magnificent landscape, or perhaps an experience you had of complete purity or peace. How has this impacted your life? Do you want your child or the children in your family or community to have a similar experience? I imagine that your answer is yes. Allow this yes to resonate deep within your core.
Perhaps you and I share a similar relationship with Nature; how it offers powerful experiences of connection, purity, reflection, peace and divine beauty. It is painful to imagine who I would be without the natural world. I’ll bet that you too have found refuge in nature and felt renewed by a fresh breeze, warm sunshine on your skin, the sounds of water rushing, birds singing, or leaves rustling in the wind. On a scale of 1-10, how important is nature to you? How important do you feel it is for a child under your care or guidance to have access to the natural world?
This beautiful planet, including all of the extraordinary creatures, plants and humans all over the world are in trouble. We are facing what scientists say could be the next mass extinction since the dinosaurs. This is not a dramatic doomsday message, but a call to respond to a need: wake up and see that the earth provides you with everything you have and acknowledge that what you most value is in danger of being lost. Let’s discuss how we can create a positive outcome from the challenges ahead. The analogy in the film is perfect: we are on a train headed for a tunnel, what is on the other side of the tunnel remains to be seen. There is still time to affect the outcome.
Evolution occurs when there is a need to adapt to a changing environment in order to survive. The Call of Life film covered a vast array of perspectives about extinction: scientific, spiritual, economic, political, psychological, and social. Each of the contributors said we have a great need to acknowledge the devastation happening to the Earth and act quickly to counter the damage that is happening. Otherwise, we will need to get ready to adapt because the environment IS changing! For most species, there is not enough time for them to adapt, which is why so many are going extinct. Some people are already aware of this, some deny it and others are completely unaware. It was hopeful to learn recently that organizations that manage rescue personal are learning through responding to events like hurricane Katrina, that they must evolve and change the ways they’ve been thinking and acting in order to respond effectively; like transforming the paradigm that we are separate and disconnected individuals who must “depend on ourselves” into a new understanding that our survival depends on an appreciation for the intricate orchestration of a much larger web of interconnectivity, where everything and everyone plays an important role. Each person must carry out their role to the best of their ability and trust others to do the same. I hope this paradigm shift is happening globally.
It seems that the people living closest to the natural world understand the need for change, but they are not given air or media time because they do not have a lot of power or monetary wealth. There are 1000’s of people living on coastal islands like Kabara and the Carterets whose homes and crops are going under due to rising waters from the ice caps melting. Tribal people in Brazil who have been living in harmony with the rainforests for countless generations have lost and are losing their homes and reason to live, due to companies who are clear-cutting for soybean farms and cattle raising. The movie Avatar was written to illuminate this horrific reality. If these people were given voice, I’m sure they would help spread the word that something is greatly out of balance and there is a need for change.
There are several reasons why change is slow to happen. First, there are huge investments by those in power to keep things the way they are because they have been greedily milking the resources of this planet and our very life essence (40-60 hr work weeks, little to no vacation time) for their benefit. Second, we have not needed to consider from an evolutionary standpoint up until now, that our very existence depends on the interconnectivity of life on this planet.
Biologists in the film can explain how each species has a unique role to play in the global ecosystem. For instance, when a salmon is born it leaves the stream a tiny fish only to return years later to its birthplace as a massive 50 lb fish after a heroic upstream feat. It then spawns and dies, but what is also amazing is that the minerals and nutrients from the dead fish nourish the plants and animals connected with that stream. Nutrients in pine needles and 50% of the calcium in bear bones have been sourced back to marine origins and the only possible marine influence is the returning salmon. So, when salmon are over fished and/or can no longer make this journey home due to dams and pesticides, the effect on the larger system is immeasurable. Can you imagine the ripple effect of an entire species going extinct? How about 10, 50 100’s of species leaving the planet forever? As of 2008, according to the species that have been documented (there are estimated 1000’s that haven’t been): 32% of reptiles, 32 % mammals (48% of primates), 40% of fish, 13% of birds, 31% of amphibians are extinct or threatened with extinction. This is due to several primary factors: overpopulation, habitat destruction, invasive (non-native) species introduction, pollution and global warming. Currently, the effort to slow or stop these culprits is not anywhere near enough, which means these percentages increase each year.
Who has the right to threaten the diversity that we all depend on? Who says it is okay to demolish countless tribes’ homes in the rainforest not to mention all the wildlife that live there? What about the plants yet to be discovered that that could provide cures for HIV, cancer and who knows what else? A group of scientists took a sample from a tree in a Brazilian rainforest to their lab and discovered that it completely knocked out the HIV virus, but when they returned for more of it to make medicine, the entire area had been deforested. Who is making these executive decisions? Whose planet is this anyways? I agree with the film that suggests, “If UFO’s were attacking the things we value most… we would fight back”.
It seems that big business, which we support with our dollars, is deciding what our “needs” are: a new blackberry phone, a 3D laser TV, etc. Advertisement tells us that in order to be satisfied we need to look, smell and act like we just walked out of the mall or a Hollywood movie. Then to complete the picture we are suppose to eat “food” that is far from fresh and loaded with all sorts of chemicals we can’t pronounce and processed sugars and oils that are known to wreak havoc on our bodies. And the majority of people go along consuming and consuming without questioning if it is truly good for them or what effect this might be having on their quality of life or the earth which sustains them. Are all these things and “foods” truly bringing people deep contentment and a high quality of life? Are the chemicals processed into food and used to grow non-organic food really making you feel the very best you can feel? On top of this, we Americans are role models for people all over the world who are trying to emulate this model of living and way of being! How embarrassing.
Why is it that all this focus on popular trends seems to take us further away from true wellness and contentment? We all have similar human needs, but we can get the basics met without so much excess and without taking a huge toll on the earth. We live in a throw away society that promotes buying new phones, electronics, clothes, home furnishings and cars just to suit our fancy. I think we need to look at how we define “quality of life” because if we factor in the toll we are taking on the earth, the next generation and other humans who support our extravagance, we may realize that there is much we can do without. Take a look at the contribution that our spending and lifestyle habits are making to the desecration of the planet and everything on it. How might you be able to spend your time and money differently to reflect what you truly value? Envision that you are on a huge web and everything you do and think creates a vibration that affects the entire matrix that you stand upon. Let’s shift our wants from “I want new clothes, ipod, phone, furniture, car, etc to: I want food for all without devastation, pure air, clean water, rainforests intact, our oceans alive and an energy revolution.
I find that the majority of people living in our society are out of touch with their emotions and don’t know what their deeper needs are or how to get them met in satisfying ways. Unfortunately, the big fish in the pond of consumerism have an answer for this; right after the ad for the next thing you should buy, is the one for the alcohol or drug that will help you to fall deeper into the illusion that everything is “fine”. Have you considered that there are some people who are “benefiting” from maintaining the status quo? It is no wonder we are duped into going about business as usual…consume and pretend to be happy.
Though I will leave it up to you to pinpoint what and who is benefiting from the stupor that most people are living in, I hope to illuminate how our current way of living, which is promoted by TV and advertisement, is insane.
One of the biggest drugs that affect our perception and ability to respond appropriately to what is truly going on is TV programming. If you do a little research about TV and its affects on the brain, you'll learn that TV induces sleep-like states in the brain that makes people highly suggestible to the information that enters directly into the subconscious mind without one’s permission or awareness. This is because TV primarily accesses the left side of the brain, which is responsible for emotional responses without stimulating the right side of the brain, which is responsible for logic and critical thinking. Additionally, the right side of the brain releases endorphins during TV watching, which has sedative effects similar to that of heroin. This sets the perfect stage for advertisers and other media programming to influence the way people think. “Almost all media that reaches a large audience in the United States is owned by for-profit corporations--institutions that by law are obligated to put the profits of their investors ahead of all other considerations. The goal of maximizing profits is often in conflict with the practice of responsible journalism.” Responsible journalism deals with topics that are truly significant to society and not just what is topical and exciting. This article goes on to say that, “Not only are most major media owned by corporations, these companies are becoming larger and fewer in number as the biggest ones absorb their rivals. This concentration of ownership tends to reduce the diversity of media voices and puts great power in the hands of a few companies.” You can see from this chart on media ownership who the very few are: http://www.nowfoundation.org/issues/communications/tv/mediacontrol.html
Which of these companies prioritize a high quality of life for all living beings or for the health of the earth itself? Which of these media companies would give airtime to the “Call of Life” or other films that promote awareness about the needs of the environment on which our lives depend? Do you trust these profit-oriented companies to have unfiltered access to your subconscious mind? Are they concerned for your best interest or preparing you for the next evolutionary step you will need to take in order to deal with the changes ahead?
The veil of denial about what is happening on the larger stage of life, is very thick and it is no wonder that the use of antidepressants and other pharmaceuticals that effect brain chemistry has sky rocketed over the past decade. Psychiatrists and big drug companies are profiting from our disconnection from the unity of life…big time! Like a parasite feeding off a sick and dying tree, we are unconsciously allowing ourselves to be manipulated into providing an easy energy resource for the bigger fish in the pond. When we realize how we’ve given our power, our hard earned resources and quality of life so that these bigger fish can profit we will wake up confused, angry and sickened. This cycle of consumption, regardless of where you are in the food chain, is destroying the fabric of life, which our future is inextricably woven. We need to wake up, feel our true feelings, realize our true needs and answer the call of life, which is in every heart and soul on this precious planet. We need to buy less stuff and support what we truly value with our money. Research which material items are causing the most damage (like plastic), reduce/eliminate your consumption and share this with others. Whatever your talents and/or industry, find a way to care for or give back to the earth.
We must utilize our will to pull ourselves out of the stupor we are in, out of this slumbering unconsciousness and choose consciousness again and again. It takes courage to unplug from this insanity and plug back into what is actually healthy, normal and sane because it is not the dominant movement in our culture. I have come to realize through writing that the only truly fulfilling way to consume anything is with deep gratitude. The only reason to consume anything at all is so that we can have the energy to give and to bring our gifts into the world. I know from experience that the more people live in this way, the more unconditional love and connection they will feel. Isn’t this what we all so deeply yearn for? The more we give from a balanced place of loving all life, the more we take our place in this interconnected system of life. The future of life on earth is dependent upon each of us living with and attitude of gratitude in service of all life, including the animals, insects, plants, you and me.
Joyful blessings on your becoming and on our evolution…together!
Kathleen Sutton, M.A.
Videos:
Call of Life trailer, 10min:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbOXUza9ZeE
Give Earth a Hand, 1.5 min:
http://www.wimp.com/earthhand/
Internet resources used:
Extinction stats:
http://www.grinningplanet.com/2004/07-13-2x/endangered-species-conservation-article.htm
TV and the brain:
http://www.eruptingmind.com/effects-of-tv-on-brain/
Responsible Journalism:
http://www.mediascape.ac.nz/cms/index.php?page=what-is-responsible-journalism
Corporate ownership:
