I have been becoming increasingly upset with the current state-of-mind that the majority of the world’s population is in. Since the movie “Avatar” was released we have seen certain changes in people, but not the type that I would have hoped. I’m sure there are those out there that have been moved and touched by this movie in regards to our planet and its current state, but not like I would have hoped. Instead we have countries renaming mountain ranges the “Halleluiah Mountains” after the movie. People committing suicide because they know that this world will never be as beautiful as Pandora. But this world IS as beautiful as Pandora and in my eyes it is more so.
There is so much of our planet that gets over looked every single day. Do people realize that it is only within the last millennia that mankind has stopped relying solely on planet Earth? Just 1000 years ago the world as a whole was still completely green. I’m not saying that people didn’t inhabit the land or that they didn’t cut down trees and build homes, obviously they did. But they led lives which did not consume more then was required. They led lives that took only that which was required. Every day mankind redefines what it means to be a mass-consumer.
Am I saying that I would rather live in a world that is based on only possessing the essentials that one needs in order to survive? Not at all. Whether due to the fact that I was raised in a consumer society or the fact that I enjoy living comfortably I’m not sure, but I don’t think we need to try and reinvent the hunter/gatherer lifestyle. I do think though that we should start to honestly look out how much we consume and take from this planet without giving anything other than trash and pollution back. This planet still has so much potential. But if we do not see this and act soon, it may be too late to do anything to save that potential.
Avatar showed the people what this world was like before we tore down the “restricting” walls of nature. Every time that I go hiking I marvel at the beauty of this planet and the serenity that being alone in the wilderness can bring. Everything from the Ant with internal body parts that must be so small our brain can’t even fathom it being alive to the Great Redwoods and the Himalayas that are so massive that they make us feel like specks, this world is just begging for us to stand in awe. Yet day after day people live in their cities made of cement and stare for hours at fictional characters living out completely fictional lives, and these people are happy. They are content with the lives in which they have created for themselves. There are actually people that have lived their entire life in large cities and do not understand what would be so fun about hiking a mountain. What will their children think of the wild areas still left in the world? Will there be any hope for this world if we continue on the way we are?
Many people do not think that humans, small as we are, could ever have any major impact on this planet, but we can. Think of the world as a living, breathing organism. Every day people get sick. A virus that is smaller than the human eye can even see gets into our bodies, spreads, and causes chaos. These little tiny things that we can’t even see can cause our bodies to shut down forever if they are not strong enough. If these little things called viruses can have this effect on the human body, what effect can the human body have on planet Earth? There are currently over 7 billion of us shifting around on the planet’s surface. Consuming. Polluting. Destroying. How long before we really start to see the outcome of all we are doing here?
Take a good long look at planet Earth sometime; it’s what we overlook every single day.
Are you a hasher?
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