I’ve just finished watching a documentary on Netflix called, “Kiss the Ground.” I have to say it was disheartening in some ways, but beautiful in so many other ways. I have to say I was totally choked up watching the end of this film because it is truly talking about the restoration of “Eden” referenced in the Bible. We have come so far from the way that life was intended to be lived and there is a little fear that maybe we are so far gone that we won’t find our way back. However, I know the truth, there is always hope. When people take the time and communicate the impact of certain practices in an effective manner and encourage people with love to take the time to make this place better for us all, there is greater likelihood that hearts and minds will shift.
One of the biggest shifts I’ve ever had in my own way of thinking was the one from selfishness, to otherness. As an only child, for a long time I thought about how things benefited me or impacted me. I didn’t necessarily always consider how what I said or did affected others. Obviously, living in this way caused some pain for those around me and also hurt me. I know from experience that being focused on myself doesn’t work and so when I watch this documentary, the focus is really about planting seeds so that others have a better future. It’s about thinking beyond our own well being and considering how we can not only keep ourselves comfortable, but actually make life better for those to come after us.
Industrialization has really made a mess of things in a lot of ways from my perspective, especially as it relates to the industrialization of the farming and food industries. I don’t believe in the industrializing of life. Life is meant to be somewhat wild and live in accordance with its nature. When we coral animals in small areas and force them to feed on certain diets that aren’t organic or natural to how they were created, we see problems. There is a system of natural order and when we buck that order, we suffer the consequences.
So many people don’t like the idea of religion, and honestly I do not like blind religion either, but what religious texts point to is the natural order of things and what occurs when the natural laws are not followed through the use of various stories with the same morals across religions. When will we start to learn from historical failures instead of thinking we can continue sticking our hand in the fire and not get burned. That’s really what I see when I read the Bible… a collection of stories and insights from others who have come through this life before me. I can learn from their failures; I can see their desires in myself and know where they will lead if followed. The answers are there for us if we are willing to learn, trust, and humbly follow the path so clearly outlined.
Anything that comes out of war is usually not a great way to go. I won’t go into detail here (because I want you to watch), but interestingly enough the same poisons used in the Holocaust were then repurposed to strike war on the pests within the farms, which ultimately is causing war within our own bodies. You’ll see more about this about 15 minutes into the documentary. The destruction of life has consequences on us whether we see them immediately or down the road. No action goes without its compensatory karma. If a chemical kills the pests, it will also most likely attempt to kill the microorganisms within your being also… microorganisms that your being needs to successfully function. When they are thrown off balance, you pay for it in the form of illness and disease.
I’ve written about the Lorax previously, and this has a similar tone to it. We need to live alongside plant and animal life as partners and cohabitators, not as though we are gluttons at a buffet helping ourselves to everything we see while wasting the stuff we don’t have anymore room for. The documentary spoke a lot of regeneration… the need to give back to the Earth in the form of composting and other sustainable practices. I’m currently researching more about sustainability so that I can begin to effectively practice a more loving relationship with the planet that allows me to exist here while practicing ahimsa (non-harming). I don’t have all of the answers and I don’t always get it right, but as I learn, I try to implement what I believe within my life and live so that what I believe doesn’t just sound good, but actually reflects through my behavior one small shift at a time.
We are connected to the Earth as a part of it… we are not visitors just passing through. The Earth, in essence, births us and we return to the Earth to nourish the birth of new life. Your body is nourished by the Earth. Your waste returns to the Earth, nourishes new life, that then goes back into nourishing you so that you can create new life (if you should choose to have a child or in the form of new ideas birthed from a healthy being). So often, I think people forget about this very elementary, yet complex circle of life and act without regard for what they are doing to themselves each time they fail to treat life (this includes microscopic, plant, animal, and human) on this planet with love and respect. How we treat the external is always a reflection of how we feel about and treat the internal. I’m a firm believer that helping others to find love within will evolve into a better world without, which is where I see my work in this lifetime.
Join me in working for progress by sharing my work if you are inspired it, following me on Instagram @work.4.progress, or working with me directly. I currently offer private coaching and yoga sessions along with a few other services. It is not a quick fix (anyone who claims otherwise is selling you a lie), but a steady commitment that pays off one healthy choice at a time.