Recently a Bishop in Carlisle, England, was slammed by the national papers for saying that the bouts of severe flooding suffered in Gloucestershire and neighbouring counties was a judgement on us all. And he’s right.

 

Of course it s a judgement on us all.  The flooding in England is a knock-on effect of our high-speed industrialized lifestyle on the fragile environment. And if you look closer, you’ll see there are many more subtler signs of wear and tear right on your doorstep.

 

Ironically, this western lifestyle is held up to be the shiny, happy way forward for less developed countries yet homes some of the most depressed, miserable, misguided people on this planet. This only goes to show that material wealth does not make you a happier person - period. It just makes you suspicious, grumpy, ungrateful and greedy.

 

But what goes around comes around and the change in climate is a judgement on the way we have been abusing the world we live in.

Over the years, man has become decidedly more self centered. The marketing spin that derives from the States has slowly brainwashed us all into believing we are so unique, so special, so individual we are entitled to everything this world has to offer, at any expense.

We have been brainwashed into such deep individualism many of us now find ourselves stranded, isolated and forlorn in our ‘me’ kingdoms. We are prisoners in a society of indifference created by our own hands.

 

If I were a cartoonist I’d have a field day. One cartoon I’d draw would be a long line of dejected looking westerners returning down the path pointing to the promised land of ‘You too Can Be Someone’. Passing hopeful travelers from the 3rd World, they’d say shamefully, “We missed the point”.

 

Choking in material junk, gasping polluted air and struggling under the aggression and crime that accompanies hell bent egoism, we have truly missed the point. And the only thing capable so far of making us finally sit up and listen is a slight case of implosion. The world that sustains us is imploding. This is fact - lets deal with it.

 

The truth is, we are no better than any other animal on this planet. We humans have been given the ability to think but that does not make us superior and certainly does not give us the right to destroy everything in sight. As a good friend of mine points out - the ability to think is the root of all evil. We are evil because we can think. Thought is behind every misdeed suffered on this planet. Instead of using our ability to think to explore our spirituality and ability to love, we use it to command power and control, instill fear and manipulate others for our own benefits.

 

It’s time to stop thinking and to start feeling. Remember the prickle of conscience, the heat of shame, the warmth of compassion? Focus on your heart and the message your body sends every second of every day. Trust in your animal instincts and be proud to be part of the animal kingdom, a member of the greater society of ‘we’.  It’s time to be who you really are. All you need to be is aware...