The Truth is Bigger than Us

Denial is pervasive in all areas of life and across all segments of society. Sometimes it's very benign, sometimes it threatens the entire planet. Research has shown that people are less likely to believe truthful realities when they contradict beliefs, lifestyles and cultural attitudes. If someone's mom passed deep fried lard off as good eats, then it'll likely take a coronary to convince him to take it off the menu. For a 4th generation coal miner, acid rain and global warming will sound like deceptive hoaxes. A culture built around consumerism isn't going to be easily steered toward a conservational lifestyle.

Too many people are getting by, if not rich, in the current system and will provide their own “facts” to prove that there's no need for change. And people are comfortably ensconced in their ways of living and thinking, and will be more eager to believe that all is well, as it is.

Masses have been shouting warnings of the potentially dire consequences of abusing our environment for millennia. No doubt there were those on Easter Island who cried for a dose of sanity. They were probably burned along with the last tree – right before the remaining residents all died off or were forced to flee.

Our presidents (presumably reflecting on what had become of the natural environment in Europe) have been preserving specific regions and articles of nature's splendor since the mid 1800's. The industrial revolution has upped the ante, and the volume of many of the activists. Yet, by and large, momentum and money continue to win out over the world that nurtures our very existence.

There are millions of people who live their entire lives without ever leaving the major metropolis of their birth. I've heard people react to the notion escaping society and immersing themselves in the wilderness as though it was akin to drinking used motor oil.

There's plenty of factual evidence to sway societies course, but that's not sufficient. Emotions have to join rationale for change to occur. Watching nature on TV can be helpful. (Which, unfortunately, millions never do.) Ideally it inspires people to go out and experience the real thing for themselves. That is where the heart gets the message.

The truth is that our hearts aren't all that intelligent. They trust the thinking mind to know what our main priorities are, and react to how life is conforming to them. When people live in cities and televisions and computers and phones, they lose their heart connection with the greater world. Their personal lives are front and center and determine their values and judgments.

While there are many that are too afraid of change to change, most people will naturally begin to feel their smallness and the glory of the larger world when steeped in it for even a short time. This is of great value for the individual, as well as the planet. When seen in terms of global and universal perspectives, our personal struggles and obstacles seem trivial and inconsequential. We can learn to feel content, just being. The more we embrace nature, the deeper and longer lasting the contentment we receive from it.

And it doesn't have to be sweeping vistas. A single insect can have the same affect, if one chooses to see life “in its shoes”, instead of ending its life under his/her shoes.