Bland concrete and steel contrast with bright shiny advertisements- cars, cars, and more cars. What is this world we have created? Have we arrived at the Utopia of ease and convenience, but is this convenience depleting our souls? As part of the living Earth, we witness the destruction and deep within us there is environmental grief. This is our connection to the damaged Earth- the environmental disasters, the de-evolution of the living biodiversity, the extinction.

Some of us are spiraling in a negative vortex of I’m not doing enough. We can go to all the protest and then eat salad, or even build the perfect off-grid homestead with all the eco-groovy systems of the solar panel, gray water marsh, and composting toilet, and yet, it still isn’t enough. The transformation that is needed is so enormous. It takes all of us. But this is another emotional drain that stops solutions and actions from evolving.

Like in a movie, the good seems weak because of its sensitivity, and the evil seems so huge because of its unsurmountable crassness. How can we overcome incredible amounts of greed, pollution, and unconsciousness? Change is difficult. The solutions are complicated.

Everything we know, everything we identify with and are comfortable with is problematic. We are not only in a physical crisis we are also in the midst of a psychic crisis. What do we do? Who are we? This is where the grieving comes in. We must see all of this, morn, and then still try anyway. This is an act of love – to do it anyway, even when we can’t see how it’s going to change anything.

Grief is actually a measure of our love. Recognizing our grief as coming from our hearts is a way of alchemizing it; turning led into gold. Honor the emotional aspect of extinction. By recognizing that we are sensitive and connected to the environment, then we can flip it into a positive light. The more that we can view our grief as love, the more we can transform that grief back into love. Love for this planet will ultimately lead us into right action, a meaningful action that arises effortlessly, joyfully – we want to do it, no matter the consequences. Every little action of love for this planet ripples towards the right direction. It all adds up and builds a new pattern of life, a domestic revolution.

HERE ARE SEVERAL SUGGESTIONS-

1. Use washable cloth instead of toilet paper for peeing and cloth pads for periods

2. Make your own toothpaste

3. Refill containers

4. Take local vacations

5. Wear organic cotton clothing

6. Cover up instead of using sunscreen

7. Buy in season, local food

8. Feed your animals scrap meat from the butcher

9. Live simply so others can simply live

10. Vote with your dollar