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RECONCILIATION
~ restoring a relationship after an estrangement ~ accepting an unwelcome situation
~ bringing conflicting things into harmony
In the classic stages of grief, people begin with denial and then continue through anger, bargaining and depression, before coming at last to acceptance. Today, if they are aware of the dire situation of this planet, most people appear to be in the denial stage. Even many environmentally concerned folks can be found there. Acceptance for them appears to be a long way off, and we have run out of time.
Yes, we need to grieve. It will help embed in our collective memory what we have lost, but we must also begin to grapple with the reality of living on a degraded, bio-engineered world.
Some participants at the interfaith conference said they could not live without hope, but if we can no longer “save the earth” as we know it, then we must place our hope in saving the best that is within us as a species and using that to fashion a new world. Unfortunately, people are still talking about saving pockets of wilderness or corridors for wildlife, when we must start thinking now about living in vastly different environments, with flooded coasts, scorched interiors, and failed crops.
What do we do when someone we know is dying? We send a card or flowers; perhaps take a casserole to the family. What do we do when someone we love is dying? We sit with them. We touch them to convey our feelings through personal contact, not just verbal or visual expression, but with the intimacy of our hands. We reminisce together. We gather with others and share our sorrow. Well, Mother Earth is dying. We should sit with her. Touch her. And reminisce. We should gather together on a Day of Reconciliation to confess our failures, and then move on to envision how we want to live in this new world we have created, and what we can do to get there.
Yes, we need to go out and experience what’s left of the old planet, while we can, while portions of it are still somewhat intact, but not as recreation or indulgence, as a way of saying goodbye.
21st Century Questions
When we cannot restore a previous relationship, how do we create a meaningful new one?
What skills will we need personally to deal with what’s coming?
Four Precepts for a Global Day of Reconciliation
Earth Day, as it should be, is a time for celebrating biodiversity, for sharing our organizations’ projects, for protesting ecologi- cally illiterate decision-making. A Day of Reconciliation needs to be a solemn affair – a day of atone- ment and reflection – but at the same time, a day for renewing our commitments and dreaming of what can be.
⊕ fasting – use as little energy as possible in both fuel and food
⊕ grieving – share the sorrow, but help one another move to acceptance of what can no longer
be changed
⊕ contemplating – spend time alone with nature to consider personal roles and responsibilities
in this new world
⊕ crafting – envision a model for a human-engineered planet worth inhabiting for all life forms
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