We claim that we are above every other species on Earth. We think, reason, change our environment according to our desires. We are different. So with power comes responsibility. Does the mere fact that we have the skills of thinking and reasoning make us more than animals or do we need to live according to our capabilities?
The reason why I'm asking these questions now, when one lunatic wants to drop a nuclear bomb on another one, when the USA, England and half of Europe have been invading the middle east, killing innocent people since god knows when and even in the 21st-century privacy means nothing.
Is that because I'm trying to find an answer to why we are what we are?
Ruining the planet
Why is it that more than 7 billion people live on this planet with the gifts of creativity, compassion, thinking, to create something out of nothing and still, we are at the edge of ruining the planet for not just the next but for the following generations as well? We built cities, raised skyscrapers, printed money and created a whole infrastructure behind it. Now we are working in jobs with which we can keep this whole artificial mess going. We work more so we can buy a bigger house, shinier car, move to a better neighbourhood. We have all these desires which are all based on our imperfect creation. We are so busy living in this dream world that we completely forgot our roots and what we really are.
We are damaging the enviroment
Part of nature, nothing more. But still, we are exploiting its resources till the end and after, poisoning it, killing animals simply because we can. Does it even have any benefits from us? Does anyone? We are erasing rainforests and species living in it so we can grow crops for animals, which we then put through unimaginable misery before killing them so we can eat them.
We are buying clothes, diamonds, smartphones which were made/mined by the children of the third world. We are in endless War with everything and everyone. Dropping bombs on countries which we never heard of, creating conflicts between minorities. We are poisoning the waters, air and soil with our waste, with our plastic, with the by-products of our industries.
There is barely anything which has stayed directly untouched by us. I know, everyone knows all this, there is nothing new in what I just said. But this makes it even worse! Because nobody - or really few people do anything. There are a small amount of hard-working men and women who are trying to fix what others messed up. But the problem is we are messing it up much more rapidly than they can fix it!
You could say that it's not up to us
It's not our decision, not our fault. It's the rich and powerful who own and control everything, it's not me who kills and exploits anything for profit. But we are all consumers and decision makers of this artificial environment. You decide whether you buy a product or take a look at the label and choose another one.
You decide to vote on a party or president because everyone else does. You decide who you are supporting with your money with your trust. You might not always have the option to do it so, but if you do, then it's up to you!. These people, who are running these businesses for such little profit, are depending on you. You have the ability to make decisions, to think, and we still have time to help nature to recover. All those excuses you are thinking about now are just excuses. Who's making your decisions? Nobody else but you.
You can help others
Do you not have enough money to buy clothes made locally? Then look up your best options and if you really don't have any other than just don't. Can you not pay for real free-range meat just for the one created by the meat-factory?
Then just try to eat less meat, or don't eat it at all. It's not necessary. Helping others doesn't have to cost anything. Speak up and don’t believe what you hear/read in the media, question everything. Don’t be a puppet. Making the right decision in a given situation is not always easy but you can train yourself by stopping for a moment and thinking instead of doing something because everyone else is doing it. If we really think that we are more than animals than we should use the skills which make us different. Don’t base your decisions on your actual mood, don’t be lazy to think. Read, educate yourself and take responsibility. Did you make a bad decision in the past? It happens - learn from it.
Distancing ourselves from the consequences
We got to a Point where we are making decisions day by day, decisions which affect others more than we think. We managed to distance ourselves so much from the consequences that we believe that there isn't any. But there is, and sooner or later everybody will need to face with them. If you still think that it is your life and you can be selfish and not to think about the consequences then there isn't too much to say. One thing though, whether you live a life with positive or negative impact on others and on the very Earth you were born on, at the end we will all end up the same way. We will all be dead. If you died tomorrow, the world would go on the same way it did a day before.
You are not that important as you think. We are all part of this play right now, and we should all participate according to our capacities. Imagine that this is your last day of your life. Would you regret anything you did before? If you would then just don't do it tomorrow. It is this simple.
