Much has happened since then. But I find myself coming to what I once called home and grieving over the change in both the land and it's people. Before, I loved taking the bus and being amongst people who were on their way to somewhere. Taking the bus everyday together made us comrades and I enjoyed the many connections that I made there. Now taking the bus feels dangerous and hostile. Everyone curls up around their cell phones and ignore that fact that they are surrounded by faces. Then it was a journey, now it feels like simply transportation. I can't explain the difference. It feels like everyone is in a bubble and can not be touched.
Yes, the climate is different! It was wetter than history remembers last winter. This summer hardly saw even a drop of rain. All that beautiful green has been swallowed up in fires and smoke. Even without fires the land is brown and brittle. I see a connection spiritually between the two. Do you???
I went down town last month. Something I once loved doing. There are so many interesting people and so much to see. This time, the people seemed hunkered down, curled up within their own worlds and thoughts. Lots of people sitting on street corners with signs that read, "Please Help!" Who could address it all. I also saw people openly selling what I knew they did not own. Like whiskey, brand new levi's and who knows what else.
I can not make a huge difference with Climate change. Oh, I compost, and recycle. I take public transportation when I can. I try to use less water and keep the heat to a minimum. But, at the end of the day, we have a much bigger problem. We have lost our connection to humanity.
Before climate change can be addressed we must first begin again to look people in the eye and consider their plight above our own. Yes, the man on my city's streets crying "Whisky! Who needs Whisky!" Is all kinds of out of order. But what drove him to where he is? And a better question is am I in some way a part of the problem? Why are so many so desperate? How can we bring back a sense of community? In community, you have an understanding of the ripples caused by your actions. You see how your buying the last apple in the store might effect everyone else who is shopping for apples.
Perhaps the need for this kind of climate change is what Jesus was looking for when He said, "Go into all the world and make disciples of all the nations. Jesus didn't make disciples in a day. He lived and breathed 12 men for three years. Making disciples was a lifetime occupation. It takes time and connection and commitment. But oh how He changed the lives of those 12 men. Could we do the same?
I can not make a huge difference with Climate change. Oh, I compost, and recycle. I take public transportation when I can. I try to use less water and keep the heat to a minimum. But, at the end of the day, we have a much bigger problem. We have lost our connection to humanity.
Before climate change can be addressed we must first begin again to look people in the eye and consider their plight above our own. Yes, the man on my city's streets crying "Whisky! Who needs Whisky!" Is all kinds of out of order. But what drove him to where he is? And a better question is am I in some way a part of the problem? Why are so many so desperate? How can we bring back a sense of community? In community, you have an understanding of the ripples caused by your actions. You see how your buying the last apple in the store might effect everyone else who is shopping for apples.
Perhaps the need for this kind of climate change is what Jesus was looking for when He said, "Go into all the world and make disciples of all the nations. Jesus didn't make disciples in a day. He lived and breathed 12 men for three years. Making disciples was a lifetime occupation. It takes time and connection and commitment. But oh how He changed the lives of those 12 men. Could we do the same?
