Happy New Year! But, did you hear that the world might end soon; there is a possibility that there will be more earthquakes than ever in 2008. I heard so many horrible things as the New Year was pronounced by all television and radio channels that I wanted to go to bed and stay there until December 31, 2008.
The media in its every form predicted even the unpredictable for the New Year before it began a few months before. Even the Farmer’s Almanac featured an article about the significant weather and environmental effects during the past decades and years ending in “8.” The world’s weather patterns and the effects of global warming present a clear threat to all of us some scientists inform us. They offer suggestions to help us preserve our environment or else we will face catastrophe. According to the environmentalists every single person on earth has an obligation to help save our planet for the future generations. This is true. I believe in keeping the planet clean and safe for all of us.
As we listen to all the gloomy predictions about the environment, economy, and terrorism, the important thing to keep in mind is that as individuals we need to focus on the teachings of the old sages. Dhammapada affirms that, “All that we are is a result of what we have thought; it is founded in our thoughts and made up of our thoughts. If a man or (woman) speaks or acts with an evil thought, suffering follows him or (her) as a wheel follows the hoof of a beast that draws the cart.” Then, why are we being so negative? Should we not as a collective body of spiritual beings, (who desire to live in a peaceful and healthy world) create the mindset to affirm a more positive outlook for all of us? Should we not be thinking good thoughts and try to spread positive ideas about how to live in harmony? Many great thinkers believed that we create our own experiences through our thoughts. Is it possible for us to synchronize our thoughts and to visualize a war free of pollution? There are so many marvels in nature that are pure and havens of good earth and toxin free air. Let us focus on those places and learn to make our earth more human, fauna, and flora friendly. People just need to listen and learn the message of an old song from the Barbara Streisand repertoire that says, “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world …” We seem to know how to come together when disasters hit any part of the earth. Can we not then create a massive front to avoid calamity. Is it not worth it to try at least and see what we can achieve? I do not profess this ideal in a simplistic way but in a truly spiritual format. I know that we have the power.
