A Message To Environmentalists: Start With Your Own Inner Environment

The planet is a hot topic nowadays. There’s no question that it’s not only imperative, but also downright logical, to protect our environment. But I’d like to talk about protecting another environment — one that very few people are talking about — which is our inner environment.

There will be no agreed upon solutions to climate change if we don’t first address our personal environments within.

That includes you, me, and every individual on this planet.

If we don’t clean up the mess inside ourselves, how can we expect others to clean up the mess of the planet? If we don’t stop polluting our inner environments, how can we criticize others for polluting the outer environment?

We must begin to understand the nature of the human mind — the part of us that seeks protection and tries to manipulate the outside world so that we don’t get disturbed.

We must examine this part of ourselves and question the validity of the thoughts and emotions that bubble up throughout the day and ultimately run our lives.

We need to understand that the psyche’s plea for help, of which we all bear the burden, is actually what drives humans into problems and away from solutions.

It’s not about who’s right or wrong, who’s morally sound or evil. Right, wrong, morally sound and evil are all just constructs of the mind. They’re all part of the nature of the human mind.

But whose mind?

Who is it that’s aware of these constructs? Who is it that has the power to recognize these for what they are — objects in the universe — and not get lost in them?

You. Me. All of us.

We all have the innate ability to recognize that our minds have their own nature, just like the trees and the wind. But we don’t have to get involved in it. We don’t have to listen to it. Just like the wind, we can let it be.

The more we do this, the more we can step into the moment unfolding in front of us with complete and utter presence, not bounded by the ties of the personal mind.

Instead, we can use our minds to solve problems and work together. There will be no right or wrong, this or that — there will just be a natural interaction with life.

This might sound like a pipe dream and cause you to dismiss what I’m saying.

Recognize that’s your mind telling you it’s a pipe dream. It doesn’t mean it’s true. Start to watch how your mind keeps you in a very narrow lane. If it senses anything that might derail it and throw it off course, it quickly voices its opinion.

It does this when it hears opposing viewpoints on global political matters, doesn’t it?

My friends, we must turn inward before throwing blame at others, no matter how illogical they might seem. At the end of the day, do you want to solve the problem, or dump more pollution into the world with your anger?

As much as this isn’t a proposed solution on how to deal with climate change, it also is very much the only true path forward. For as long as we play in the realm of our minds, we’ll forever be at the mercy of our neurotic psyches.

The first step for all of us, regardless of viewpoint, age, or religion, is to understand this predicament that we all share in common, so that we can enter a new realm of being and work together based on what’s right, not who’s right.

Live with substance!

Originally published at https://www.substanceoverstyleblog.com on January 23, 2020.