Hope: Deep Ecology Practice

People have a responsibility to look at what is happening to our natural world and be honest about it. There may be a role for despair. However, none of us sees the whole picture. This Earth is complex and full of life. The life of wild things is still with us, and may still be experienced. When naming this era the Anthropocene it is implied that humans will create the destiny of all. Humans are doing immense damage, but in the complexity of our ecosystems more may yet emerge than we can predict.

This essay is an invitation to hope. Not hope that simply wishes away trouble, but rather hope as a practice, a commitment, and an action.

Humans are capable of great and beautiful things. It is hard to understand why we accept making the world uglier and poorer in life each year. Why are we creating desolation? It feels as though we imagine that there is no other choice. But there are choices.

Once we know our vision, we can act in service to that vision, and live in a way that makes it more likely to become reality. This sounds very grand, but it doesn’t have to be. Small actions matter. They make up our lives. They don’t have take place in your job or career. They can be in your interactions, for example. It’s a symptom of capitalism that too many people think only their paid actions have value, and the higher the pay, the higher the value.

Practice 1: Create a Vision

Pausing, take some time to imagine the world you would like to live in and to leave to our descendants. Let go of any self-censorship concerning what is possible, and be free in what you imagine. Be specific. Imagine the homes, the ecosystems, childhood, education, work, daily life, what is valued by human cultures, what people eat, how people interact, what people hear and see around them and give attention to…

Write about this world on paper, or speak of it with a partner.[2]

People are already doing this work

If the vision feels remote, it’s worth remembering that millions of people are already acting to love and nurture this living Earth. We can celebrate their strength and courage. You cannot solve the terrible problems of this world alone, and no one asks it of you. It helps to ask the question, What can I do? but don’t emphasise the I.

The pressure many of us feel in that question — what can I do? — comes from a highly individualistic society that celebrates ‘heroes’ and teaches us that we have to prove ourselves within a competition of worth. The result is, many people have fragile egos that need confirmation through perceived success, whether that’s material wealth, impressive careers, or ethical and spiritual achievement. Let go of the need to be seen as a hero, or to be a hero, the one who solves all the problems.

This is not to detract from the great courage and vision shown by people working for healing all over the world. On the contrary, let’s celebrate the great works of others. There is a wonderful Buddhist practice, joy in the joy of others. Their acts of courage and kindness and dedication bring life to our world. And we all take part in this process, in many unseen ways, when we act with love and peacefulness.

Finding joy in the joy of others can be quite challenging for those of us brought up in an individualist society that encourages a mindset of competition. There might be an uncomfortable sense that the success of another reflects badly on you. If that resonates with you, can you let it go?

Celebrating the healing work of others helps to nourish trust and love.

Practice 2: Mudita

Practicing sympathetic joy is similar to the loving-kindness and compassion meditations we have explored. It is called Mudita, joy, in Sanskrit, and is a powerful balance to envy, which creates separation.

To begin this meditation, settle in a comfortable position, and find stillness by taking some moments to focus upon the breath. Then bring to mind people who you have interacted with recently and the good that they have done. Any small act of helpfulness or a gesture that created happiness: someone drove the bus for you, or made you coffee, someone made you smile or greeted you warmly. Even if there have been no direct interactions today, someone made your clothes and provided your water. Think only of the good that people do, letting go of any irritations. A hug, a kind remark, a meal.

Reflect on the good actions that the people around you do all the time for one another. Working hard to provide for their families. Caring for one another. Providing essential services. Creating beauty. Think of how today, all over the world, people have interacted with one another peacefully, in simple co-operation that helps us to co-exist, in workplaces, in the streets, in homes.

And now call to mind the great acts of loving-kindness ordinary people do: carers and health-care workers healing and comforting those with illnesses, parents looking after children and children looking after parents, animal rescuers protecting the most vulnerable, peace-workers healing conflicts, researchers finding ways to protect life… Call to mind the people working with dedication to create peace in the world, to heal, to express love, and to protect animals and wild places.

Really allow yourself to rejoice in the good being done. Reflect on how many countless acts of kindness, courage, dedication and creativity have been performed by people today, and then back over time: so much joy shared with the world. Rest in awareness of this enormous goodness for as long as you wish, be joyous with it, and when you are ready, offer it through your heart to the healing of this world.

Practice 3: Encouragement

The practice of Mudita, joy in the joy of others, is considered to be the most challenging of what are called in Buddhism the Four Immeasurables: Metta (Loving-Kindness), Karuna (Compassion), Upekkha (Equanimity, meaning balance or even-mindedness) and Mudita (Empathetic Joy). Isn’t it interesting that joyfulness in the happiness of others should so often meet resistance?

Yet, taking joy in nature is a form of this meditation. The joyousness of hearing the birds sing on a sunny day, or seeing the dew sparkle in the early morning, or hearing the roll of waves onto the beach. This is shared joy, and opens the heart. Let’s make a decision to respond to one another’s kindnesses and happiness with shared joy. We could uplift one another in our successes and encourage the actions we see contributing to a happier society.

A wonderful, simple practice in support of this shift is encouragement. When you see someone doing good, notice it and offer support by expressing appreciation.

Try doing this also for yourself! So many of us don’t stop to appreciate what we are doing and have achieved, because we see so much still to accomplish. Pause, acknowledge your efforts and express appreciation for yourself.

Practice 4: Let Go

Hope may falter when you believe that what you wish for is not possible. You might think, it just won’t happen. Then hope seems a deception. We have to be realistic.

It is odd, though, to see what counts for realistic in this world. It is usually money and self-interest, while all the time our souls and the natural world are speaking in other languages.

Allow there to be a vision. The vision itself is powerful. And then act in service to that vision, but don’t cling to the outcome of your actions. The results of what we do are where we have least control.

I don’t know the results of writing these words. I don’t know who will read them, if anyone, or what effect they will have. I have decided to let that go, and write from the vision I have of humans realising a closer relationship with the more-than-human world, and acting for healing with the Earth.

Yoga philosophy teaches to attend to actions with detachment from the outcome of the action. The Bhagavad Gita teaches, ‘The wise man lets go of all results, whether good or bad, and is focused on the action alone. Yoga is skill in action.’

Can you act for healing of the natural world without the security of knowing that you will succeed? This means acting with trust and acceptance, without force.

You are not acting alone. This is not a hero’s journey that you have to take without companionship, not when you are part of the Earth. Picture the endless immensity of the sea, humming with whale song, deep reaches of the night skies full of stars, of a forest alive with birdsong and green. So much power and beauty is right here with us.

Life wants to live, as birds want to sing, plants to grow, and humans to love. We are embedded in a system full of extraordinary potential and strength. We are on an adventure with life. When sharing with Gaia we become immense.

More deep ecology practices are listed at the end of this article. Follow me on Medium for updates.