What a beautiful and delicate little flower the Wild Violet is. Would you deliberately trample on it? Would you pluck it and let it wilt and then discard it? I am sure you would not. I am mulling something over here, so I hope you will bear with me.
A very good friend mentioned recently that she was horrified to see a woman purchasing some weedkiller – no need to mention the name and give them free publicity – needless to say a weedkiller made by a notorious company. She wanted to say something, to alert the woman to her error, to tell the woman not to harm our beautiful precious Earth but she was so angry she could not bring herself to do it without incurring aggravation. I believed she should have said something but like her, if it was me, I too would have been angry and would have the made the situation worse. Taking a deep breath I realised that it would be better to reach out with a friendly word of warning rather than berating people who may simply not know!!! After all, I was once one of those people who didn’t know.
Bluebells
I live in a beautiful part of the world and we get a lot of rain so it is difficult to believe all the dire predictions about global warming even though the evidence is right there. How much is due to human behaviour and the exploitation of our planet and how much is due to the cyclical nature of weather is not really the point. What is relevant to me is the pollution we create, the sheer waste of resources, the wanton destruction of our Green Relations and pristine places, deliberate extermination of beautiful animals and the overwhelming greed that is endemic in Western society. I say to myself, “..it’s not all my fault, it’s the system I was born in to…” which is true. I would have never voted for plastic, for weed killers or cars but they are here in my world. I have avoided weed killer and I avoid plastic NOW – that I know better – but I cannot avoid my car.
Daisy
George Monbiot, writing in The Guardian recently, warns of an approaching apocalypse and says that “they” (the powers that be) are not coming to our rescue. He tells us not to feel disheartened or feel guilty. He says it is time for civil disobedience that we – the ordinary people – must agree that enough is enough. Whatever is causing climate change is exacerbated by consumerism and we in the west all have enough. (I feel angry that the “system” in which I live has trained me to be a consumer and I have to fight with my conscience and common sense each time I go into the city).
Foxglove
However, as George argues, we cannot allow ourselves to be defeated by feeling guilty and therefore becoming powerless to do anything, we have to stand up for what we believe in, do what we can, be disobedient if necessary.
With love in our hearts, we can approach people who may not know they are poisoning our Mother and themselves. We must speak out while we still , just about, have time and speak our truth. We must refuse to give in to the fear mongers, defy them and truly believe that the world we want to see is here, now.
Be a rebel, dream a beautiful world where there is care for the planet, shares for all and happiness quotas instead of consumer quotas. Speak out when you see injustice to the planet and to those beings we share our planet with. It takes only 3.5% of the population to change things. Imagine if that little Wild Violet was the last one we might ever see, what would you do?