BY BILL GERLACH | JOIN ME ON TWITTER

[Note: This is the first in a multi-part series reflecting on how a shift in our personal and collective perspectives can do wonders for achieving a new sense of balance within ourselves and the world. Read Part 2 (Consumption Junction: 5 Steps Towards Reclaiming the Lost Art of Moderation). Read Part 3 (Imagining a World Without Labels). Read Part 4 (Interbeing: Why Seeing Everything in Everything is a Game Changer for the World).]

“The realisation that our small planet is only one of many worlds gives mankind the perspective it needs to realise sooner that our own world belongs to all its creatures.” — Arthur C. Clarke

Who is in need of “saving” more – humans or the environment? What if we made no distinction between the two — that humans were just another fiber in this big blanket of life?

John Seed has a great essay in the book, “Thinking Like a Mountain: Towards a Council of All Beings” that basically challenges the long-held anthropocentric view that humans, in all our top-of-the-food-chain glory, sit above Nature and are meant to dominate it for our own gain.

Consider this: What if the human perspective shifted from one of being apart and above Nature to being an integral part of it? So instead of working so hard to protect the environment as some stand-alone entity, we, as being one with the environment, would be working to save ourselves from our own demise and achieve that ultimate balance point.

That’s a game changer, isn’t it?

I love using the analogy of a 24-hour day to track the 4.5 billion year lifespan of the planet. Not to spoil it, but modern-day humans only come on the scene at 11:59:59 PM.

Yet, in that one proverbial second we have systematically eradicated much of the natural resources that came to be in the last several billion years: Mined, drilled, cut, dug, burned, flooded, and pumped the carbon lifeblood on or below the surface; cultivated, bred, factory farmed, genetically altered, and/or drove to extinction that life which grew, swam, slithered, walked, or flew above the crust. We have designed ways to all but eliminate our species from existence with the touch of a button.

When you take a step back and try to look holistically at the trajectory we’re on, it’s questionable what the end of this ride will bring.

But you can do something about that. Shifting our perspective about how we fit in with the world around us is the first step. To help, here are some ways you can begin to do this:

• See the Big Picture // Humans have egos. Egos naturally incline us to live a silo’d existence, concerned only with a small sphere of space and influence around us. Seek to step outside of that and see the world through a wider lens.
• Connect Dots // Strive to understand how each action you take has a ripple effect – on your own life and the lives of all living things; on the finite supply of natural resources Nature gives us and how what we consume impacts the long-term vitality of that.
• Take Stock of What’s Important // Discern between need vs. want, love vs. like, value-add vs. non-value-add. Don’t fall back on what is easy and compromise on your life’s integrity.
• Eliminate the Rest // Self-explanatory. Clinging will only bring you down and take you away from pursuing that which is most important in your life.  Plus, the less you consume, the less you plunder the earth’s resources.
• Spend More Time Outside // Get out of your man-made wonderland. Immersing yourself in Nature—whether it is the woods, the ocean, the city park or your backyard–can do wonders for allowing yourself to be in the present moment and open to the subtle intricacies that the world has to offer. This is the first step in seeing yourself as one with all life.

Be well,
Bill

[Image: LaPrimaDonna via flickr]