Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of earth day. While there are many reasons to feel worried about the current state we’re in on this planet and the potential path we’re headed down, I’m instead inspired and grateful to be alive during such a critical point in time. Much of this excitement and inspiration is due to hearing John and Ocean Robbins speak last night during the Earth Day Celebration at the Brower Center in Berkeley.
John and Ocean challenged us all to consider what it means to be a partner instead of a competitor. In the world today we seem to have embodied this idea of competition as part of our reality…part of who we are. It’s always us versus them, or me versus you, when in reality there is no them or you. We are all connected in one way or another and we all depend on each other in some way for survival. Even “Survivorman” on the Discovery channel only braves the wilderness for a few days before returning back to society. When you think about relationships as partnerships it takes the competition out of the equation. Its no longer about me and my gain, its about us. The questions start to shift from: What am I getting out of this? To: What role am I playing in this situation? What can I bring to this partnership so that we grow?
One of the most important questions we can ask ourselves is: What am I bringing to the partnership with myself? Am I being judgmental, impatient, critical? Am I lethargic and stagnant because life isn’t going the way I expected? Or, am I nurturing, supportive, and honoring who I am? Am I choosing to move forward in spite of what difficult situations are present? I thought about the relationship I had with myself because if I’m not partnering with myself I’m not going to be very useful in engaging anyone else. I recognized that I was more often than not a competitor.
My battles range from getting myself to sit in meditation on a regular basis to finishing that paper, to exercising and eating healthy…and the list goes on. One thing that Ocean said last night was, “if you see a problem that’s not a reason to despair, that’s a call to action.” So instead of being crippled by the potentially overwhelming question “where do I even start?” I was grateful and inspired by this awakening moment and used that energy to act.
I decided to deal with an overdue credit card that I had been avoiding for weeks. Every time I’d see their number come up on my cell phone it would evoke anger and anxiety. “I’ll deal with it later,” was my motto. But in continually putting it off, I developed a mind of fear and avoidance that just fueled more irrational and negative thoughts. I started to think I would need to get another job; that I wouldn’t be able to afford the school retreat to Esalen in the fall; that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy my life in San Francisco because of this debt. When I finally decided to make the call I wasn’t anxious or stressed. I was finally ready to deal with the situation…I was finally ready to partner with it. I gave them the information they needed along with my payment and once the conversation was over a huge weight was lifted.
I was amazed by how easy it was to accomplish something once I accepted what was really there. I think one of the most important things we can all do for ourselves and for the sake of this world is to be present and to really assess what’s going on. What are we bringing to our partnership with reality? Are we accepting and supporting the present moment or are we avoiding it and exacerbating it?
When we ask these questions in relation to our society and our planet, we’ll be present enough to hear what we already know deep within the souls of our being. We can’t be in partnership with our society when some of our neighbors are struggling to make ends meet and others are homeless and hungry. We can’t be in partnership with this planet and continue to mindlessly consume and waste and deplete our resources. So, I for one am excited to meet this challenge and to find creative ways to partner with the current state of our world.
