For those of you still doubting the concerns and validity of some of the dissenting voices about the “Health care” Bills now being considered by both the House and the Senate, please read the following:
National Healthcare is big on the media and Presidential coercion blitz circuit these days, but is it a good idea? In an idealistic world, perhaps, but although we are evolving every day, this is not an evolved place just yet. Instead, it is a world still riddled with politics and coercion and fear and manipulation and a sense of entitlement carried like a flag by those who seem to believe they are owed something simply because they live.
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What is the impact of our existence on the Earth? What is the true cost, in terms of renewable and non-renewable resources, of our energy consumption over the course of a week? … a day? … an hour? Is it really too much for the Earth to bear? What changes can we make as individuals and as societies (large and small) to alter the balance from mindless, selfish consumption to something a bit more realistic and sustainable?
These are excellent questions to ponder with Earth Day coming up (April 22, 2008) and Earth Hour just hours away (March 29)! “Going Green” is in vogue right now -it’s the politically correct stance to adopt. There is a large industry that has developed around the topics of artificial, human-influenced global warming, ecology and environmentalism - and not without justification. As a species we tend to consume more of Earth’s resources at a faster pace than they can possibly be replenished, even assuming all environmental destruction world-wide stops immediately.
So what happens if we simply turn out the lights for an hour?
That’s the question the folks at Earth Hour asked, and according to them,
“…if the greenhouse reduction achieved in the Sydney CBD during Earth Hour [2007] was sustained for a year, it would be equivalent to taking 48,616 cars off the road for a year.”
An hour without superfluous electronics and energy waste… An hour to cut down our mass consumerism, our reckless use of Earth’s resources. An hour to show some consideration for our planet, humanity and for the other species with whom we share the Earth. An hour to have a positive impact on our environment. An hour. Too much to ask?
But perhaps instead of just focusing on the “greenness” of this idea, we should also consider this a good opportunity to personally reconnect to our environment and our families - to consciously and intentionally remove some of those insulated walls with which we constantly surround ourselves. To go without our lights, media, and other conveniences for a single hour has an enormous potential to reconnect us with our families, with our community, with our world, and our universe. Take an hour and turn off the lights. Go look at the stars, take a night walk, cuddle with the kids, play a game, stare into your spouse’s candle-lit eyes. Meditate. BE. And make a statement while you’re at it.
And for some more information on Earth Hour, Earth Day, our ecological footprints, global warming and environmental issues…
The United Nations World Food Program presents a two-fold improvement opportunity for “armchair activism”: improve your vocabulary and feed the hungry! This game presents you with a word and four options from which to choose. If you choose the correct meaning for the given word, you get a more difficult word to try next and successfully donate 10 grains of rice to those who need it. If you choose incorrectly, you get an easier word for the next round. The rice donation is paid for by the sponsors whose ads appear (subtly) on the site.
The better your vocabulary, the more grains of rice you donate… enjoy!
Activism, true activism -whether political, humanitarian or environmental- comes from a sensitivity to imbalance on the planet. True activism comes from a pure, feeling heart. It is a ‘hurt’ we feel, and it is this empathetic pain which provides the incentive to help others -not according to our own personal beliefs or judgments necessarily, but because some other part of ourself (whether human, animal or the Planet herself) is hurting and needs our help to heal, to be protected or be provided for.
ONE. We are one. Our peoples, our nations, our various species and all aspects of nature are ONE!! And although there are lessons to be had regardless of apparent atrocities in the world, it still breaks my heart to see or hear of some (who genetically pass for human) committing acts so horrendous as to make our souls weep. How sad that humanity’s greed seems to necessitate the complete domination of the environment, each other, and even extends to murder - for money!
Ok, so I’m a couple days late to participate in the coordinated meditation for this, but there is much yet to come. This is part of the ‘greater work’ for humanity that I’ve been sensing, seeing, and referencing on this blog for months now. This is part of humanity’s evolution…
“As we move into the new vibrational time we are defining what kind of world we desire to be our final outcome in 2012. The energy we are transmitting at the time of this great energy transition will define the new time to come. What kind of humanity and earth do we want to present to the universe. Who do we consciously intend to be for the new time? This will be the first time in our human evolution where we will consciously choose our path. So no matter what method you choose to use or who you choose to sit with; the ultimate defining moment for each of us during this process is, are we holding love and optimism in our hearts as this cosmic event facilitates our vibrational lift.”
-Shelley, Fire the Grid
Please take some time to read through the web site, reflect on your joys and love, and declare your intent to help. We need to touch as many beings as we can with this effort to make the necessary changes, to spin humankind out of a downward spiral and into the light, evolving to a new consciousness. This is our future. This is our Now. Our Reality is what we make it…
Please help to FIRE THE GRID.
Namaste.
I am posting this for Women’s Health and Women’s Rights, and sincerely hope you join me in signing the petition to get this protective legislation passed. Please take a moment to read through the information about this bill and to sign the petition. Health care is a personal thing, specific to the individual. Care should be determined by the patient and by the doctor - not dictated and automatically restricted by insurance companies’ policies.
There’s a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It’s about eliminating the ‘drive-through mastectomy’ where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.
More information on this bill (links):
