“Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools.” ― Dogen Zenji
I’ll keep this short.
We consume more than we give.
We hate more than we love.
We are separate and apart from nature — and it shows.
Of course, there’s no going back. By the year 2100, the population is expected to grow to 11.2 billion.
What will the earth look like then?
It wasn’t that long ago that the deep ecology movement suggested:
“5. The flourishing of human life and cultures is compatible with a substantial decrease of the human population. The flourishing of nonhuman life requires such a decrease.”
What does that mean?
We introduce a ban or restriction on childbirth?
I don’t know. I honestly don’t know.
But the trouble is, without a narrative suggestive of something more than capitalism, growth, prosperity, jobs, security and everything human-centric, it looks increasingly likely we’ll be the actors of our inevitable demise.
I realise this a difficult subject but then again, why shouldn’t we question everything about the extant situation and not just the amelioration or cessation of our habits that to date have done so much harm?
Photo by Rafael De Nadai on Unsplash