Ever since I can remember, Gaia has called my name. In one way or another, I find myself drawn to the natural world. I feel that I owe it to her to speak on her behalf about what I believe she has been telling me.
By mere observation, I have seen her suffer dearly at the hands of humanity. Through our greed to extract her resources for everything she is worth and capitalise on it in the name of profit, we have collectively been the cause of global warming and mass species extinction.
We have become so disconnected from the natural world that we have become attached to our man-made technology, and as a result, we have come to live fast-paced lives that have continued to exhaust us on every level—mentally, physically, and most of all, spiritually.
The 21st century dwells in the depths of volatility, uncertainty, and civil unrest, all the while we continue to destroy the very environment we need to survive.
It is disheartening when you see the environmental issues that plague our planet and how, collectively, we avoid responsibility but put on a façade of environmental concern under the guise of so-called greenwashing. If big corporations have supported certain trends claiming to make a positive environmental impact, such as using paper straws, reuseable bottles, or making paperwork digital, then surely we should have seen a significant difference by now?
Small-minded and effortless practices like these trivialise the real issues that require attention to significantly improve the state of our environment. You could compare these insignificant trends to the tip of the iceberg and the major issues that really need to be addressed to what is below the water.
However, it seems to me that not many people are paying attention and are more interested in how much attention they can get on various social media platforms in the name of fame and fortune. This disconnect could well be Earth’s downfall, and if we, as a society, do not allow ourselves the time to be honest about what is really at stake and how to truly resolve the environmental issues that plague us, we will never succeed in bettering this world we call home.
Environmental and sustainability-focused education, as well as strategic activism need to be at the core of environmental planning as we pave the way for a brighter future where we are all in tune with our surroundings and all the sentient beings that share this Earth with the whole of humanity.
Humanity is not above all else.
We live alongside all species of fauna and flora. We are not here to dominate and extract Earth’s resources until there is nothing left for her to give. It is time we showed her the respect she deserves, and we started to give back to her what she so desperately needs. She deserves our attention, our gentle and loving touch, and our attention to detail. To put it bluntly, we need to care. We need to ignite our fire inside and start fighting for her survival because without her, we are nothing.
It is time we incorporated nature into every solution and kept it at the forefront of every plausible decision we ever make. We need to work with nature, not against her.
It has become clear to me that the people in power do not have an ounce of care about where we stand with our natural environment and favour not only profit but control over the masses. We need to take back that control; we need to fight for our autonomy and nature’s autonomy. We need to remember where we came from and where we will be in the end.
From the earth we came, and to the earth we shall return.
This is a call to everyone to step up to the table, where we, as a community, work together towards a better future for all who inhabit this planet. This needs to become the century where, instead of living selfishly, we start to act selflessly and remember that, at our very essence as a species, we are made of love. We flourish in its presence, excel in its company, and attain greatness when it graces us. We have only ever been able to overcome great feats when we worked together as a like-minded community.
Now is the time to get away from our screens, go outside, and open our eyes to the world of possibilities.
Whenever I step outside my house, I am so hyper-aware of my surroundings and how our environment has degraded. Chemicals, sewage, and plastic pollute the rivers and beaches. Our skies are obscured with smog, making it hard to breathe. The weather has turned volatile and unpredictable, with sweltering heat waves and flooding monsoons.
The winter months become shorter and shorter each year that passes, while the summer months grow in length and become more severe. Long-lasting droughts, unprecedented wildfires, and a growing food scarcity are plaguing us, while we argue over ineffective solutions that fail to address the underlying causes.
Let me provide some perspective on how unsustainable our way of life has become. 36% of the planet’s inhabitants are humans, 60% are livestock, and a meagre 4% are wildlife. Despite the fact that only 4% of wildlife remains, we persist in encroaching on their habitats to feed our unsustainable food system.
As the human population grows, we need more space for livestock, which leads to the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest and other untouched natural spaces, all in the name of unsustainably feeding the human population.
Wouldn’t it be appropriate to rethink our approach and shift towards a more sustainable, potentially even plant-based-centric, food system?
Plants have always been the answer.
We have become so estranged from eating plants in their natural form and have become so addicted to the meat and by-products of animals we consume that we are more than willing to ignore the long-term consequences to our health and the environmental degradation of the planet by consuming these products.
Now is the time to put aside our differences and help one another not only work towards a more sustainable future and food system but also encourage one another to thrive. Be it for improved health, living a happier and more fulfilling life, taking back control over our autonomy, saving the environment from utter destruction, or finding a modicum of peace, now is the time to step up and be brave.
Given the dire state of our environmental chaos, I urge you to actively explore the absence of nature in your surroundings. Imagine how you would feel if there was no smog in the air, no plastic debris in the rivers and beaches, trees lined the streets, and plants aesthetically enveloped the buildings. Even if you were not to realise it immediately, those things alone would already have a major impact on your wellbeing.
Now, if you were to also incorporate a more sustainable food system that was solely plant-based and most livestock farms could be converted to plant-based farms or wildlife sanctuaries, then less of humanity would starve, our rewilded eco-systems would heal and thrive, and several health diseases would dissipate out of existence.
You are capable of positive change. You just need to believe it and see the grand scheme of things.
You may be one person, but it starts with one person and has a knock-on effect, spiralling into a boundless number of people who care enough to truly make a difference.
Give an inch to Gaia, and she will give you a mile. Billions of people give an inch to Gaia, and she will give us the world.
