A Letter From A Friend

My friend, Mike Babel, one of the most spiritual people, one of the best men I know--a truly peaceful soul--sent out an email a few weeks ago and I was very moved by it. He sent it to his entire mail list. I had to get permission to re print it here, but here it is:

Peace
Ste

Dear Friends, I saw a movie a few weeks ago called An Inconvenient Truth which was about the environment and Global Warming. Before I go on specifically, I will say it here, and repeat it later, YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE.

I would love to do what this movie does beautifully which is to tell you it's thoughts and "opinions" but tells you through facts, without judgement. It states simply what IS going on in our environment and how our actions as human beings have contributed to it. It's astonishing to think that our actions can have had such a huge impact. Strolling through the grocery store and taking a sample which is served to you in a plastic cup is a BIG DEAL. Not because one little plastic cup going into the landfill will strangle the Earth, but because of the lack of consciousness that goes along with it AND the fact that we all do this in many, many, ways everyday. That makes it a big deal. It's a big deal because we do these little interactions constantly and don't ever think about them. By the way, that example wasn't in the movie, that was a highlight from my life today as I made my way down the isles of Trader Joes had a sample in a plastic cup and threw it away.

So much of what we do IS unconscious. We are not trained to think about what goes into and what we get out of our products and services. What is our responsibility? Is it enough to say, "well I'm not making it I'm only buying it so it's not my fault." in doing so we keep at it, the cycle, and it keeps after us. Consider this....Americans use the lions share of the worlds resources....in fact....we use WAY more than any another other nation IN THE WORLD....including China, who has quadruple our population. Consider this: the cars we build in our country cannot legally be sold in MOST foreign countries because our cars do not meet the environmental standards set down by those countries. Of all civilized countries who make cars, our country has BY FAR the lowest environmental standards on our product.

What we are able to accomplish as a culture has so much to do with technology, mobility, visibility, and expediency. But we forget that these things take-a-toll. We forget that these things do ultimately have consequences. Pay me now or pay me later....we still have to pay...and it will be us AND our children and probably their children too if we don't start to connect to these challenges. Interestingly our environment is trying to tell us that, and to an alarming degree. There is a disconnect somewhere in our thinking about responsibility that comes with out actions. Change comes through our recognition of that responsibility....to ourselves, each other, the world culture, and the planet. We need to remember that all things ARE connected and our smallest of actions make the biggest of differences. Huge things can be accomplished if we care enough to be present to them.

I was in Bali a few weeks ago at an International Conference On Global Peace and Healing. There were people there from 35 countries and 6 continents....people from all over the world committed to looking at what we as a world culture have created and figuring out where to go from here. HOW to go from here. What actions to take. It was astonishing to be witness to that kind of hope, optimism, crazy wonderful idealism. Who are these people? What makes them step into these kinds of shoes? Are they Phd's? Scientists? Doctors? Authorities of some kind? Maybe all of the above AND none of the above.... most are just "regular" people like you and me.

The thing is, you don't need letters after your name, you don't need degrees, and you don't need any special authority. All you need, is to care. Being human GIVES YOU THE AUTHORITY to step into whatever shoes you like...even if the "rules' tell you you can't. YOU CAN. You absolutely can. Just care, and people will care along with you. Bali was full of people who care and they went back to their hometowns and are working on their projects there. I KNOW they are. I know they are because they couldn't live another way. They can't not care. THESE PEOPLE EXIST. And here is the most amazing, most thrilling part, these people are YOU. The only difference is, these people have identified the thing they are most passionate about and are DOING something about it. They are making it's cause part of their lives.

The world is changing. One person at a time things are changing. There is more hope, more joy, more possibility in the world right now than I have ever seen in my life. And i say that while getting just as frustrated/sad/angry as you do when I watch the NEWS, read the papers, and listen to the president speak. But I tell you, there are more wonderful ideas and more groups taking action, and more people inventing ways to make it better than ever before in the history of our planet. In 2002 there were around 130,000 groups worldwide devoted to Social Action of some kind. Now, in 2006, there are over 1,000,000 such groups worldwide. It is exponentially growing and the regimes of oppressors, in my opinion the Bush Administration, are being challenged and many will soon come to an end. People may be finally realizing that you can't eat money.

I think it's also important to acknowledge though that this is not about THEM. To some extent there will always be groups of people shrouded in the kind of energy that doesn't encompass the "good" of mankind, and there will also always be people who are the checkers and balancers who keep those people in place. Like recently, it was announced that the Heads of Enron are going to jail for the rest of their lives for fraud. Even still! This isn't about what THEY are or aren't doing. It's about EACH OF US. It's about what each of us is or isn't doing. And that's REALLY CRUCIAL to recognize. The VISION is to create a new world. We ARE CREATING a new world. We are supplanting the existing institutions with new ones that will usher us into a future where governments and groups stand for human beings, clean water, a healthy planet, and not how much money drilling into the Arctic Refuge will make. Or destroying the Glaciers in Chili to reach a gold and silver mine. Choices like these won't even be ON THE TABLE. We are evolving into a group of people whose consciousness will be founded on and grounded in a world that is inclusive and connected. We are in the midst of this journey. And it's a long and wonderful road to be on...and we will get there.

Until then, those who hear these words, find the thing you're passionate about and MOVE FORWARD TOWARDS IT. The people, the resources, whatever you need to make it happen will appear. There are so so so many people out there who care, and they will find you....and you will find them. Believe it.

Honestly, Bali changed my life and made me realize that we can change the song playing on the Juke Box....by dropping in another quarter. 'VISION' is replacing 'IDEAS.' Vision is the great creator whose energy attracts. So dream BIG! There's nothing to worry about. There are directions to take and stands to make, so let's do that. People who feel compelled to worry will always do so, so thank them and let them do their part. Now it's time to do yours....which is.....CARE! It makes all the difference and WILL INSPIRE THOSE AROUND YOU TO CARE AS WELL. Truth is said and repeated and repeated and repeated and always will be, because truth resonates. "there is no way to peace, peace is the way. "be the change you wish to see in the world." phrases like these are about responsibility. We no longer have the luxury of hoping someone else will do it. The ONLY one to git 'er done is you. And from that simple action, people will come out of the woodwork to make it happen. So be peace, be change, and live in an astonishing world that you create.

FIRST OF ALL SEE THIS MOVIE! Let its truth penetrate deeply, the situation with the planet...and also hear it's message about HOW WE THINK. And see how you feel about it.

Go on now witches and wizards!! Create! Make your dream...Your Vision....true.

peace and love,

michael

"Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to your God..."