Guest Blog Post by Kevin Eigel
Over the last few years, I have been a somewhat regular member of the Simply Living Book Club, organized by Chuck Lynd. As part of this Club, I have enjoyed exploring the big question for me at this point in my life: What can I do that will really make a difference for the future of life on earth, and especially human life? It’s an essential question, that we all need to be asking if the planet is going to have a future for humans. To be able to even ask this question means that I have already used way more than my share of the earth’s resources and that I am privileged, and also responsible now to help create a better future for our children, and their children. I have enjoyed hearing from others in the book club about what they are finding inspiring. A little while ago, Chuck mentioned Roger Briggs, and suggested I watch his YouTube video: Emerging World: The Evolution of Consciousness and The Future of Humanity. Which I did. The SL Book Club is now reading the book by the same title.
This book is the result of a lifetime of work by a brilliant and articulate educator. It synthesizes a huge amount of information related to the development of humans and of human consciousness – the Human Story, and making it accessible to ordinary people like myself. The book also addresses the Future of Humanity. I found this book very fascinating and compelling. Once I got started, I didn’t want to put it down. Having read this book, I am more motivated than ever to continue working on land conservation, and helping others to healthy living in natural ways. Here is an excerpt from the book:
“Industrial civilization now impacts every corner of our planet. Our oceans are filling with plastic, our rivers and lakes with toxins, our fields with soil-depleting chemicals, and our brains with marketing messages; the polar ice is melting as the planet warms, while around the world authoritarians seek power, and American democracy is corrupted by money. Many of us, especially young people, know that our present civilizational model is not sustainable. Young people know their future is bleak if we continue with business as usual; and too many of us have lost hope and given up because the levers of power seem to be in the hands of big corporations and people with lots of money.
But a greater power lies in numbers. A major change can happen if large numbers of us join together around the shared vision of a civilization that works for everyone and a culture that honors our Planet: All Beings, One Planet. We can take real actions together that are aligned with this vision – actions like conscious buying and consuming, boycotting harmful products and practices, and voting. On a large scale, humanity must turn in a new direction through a shift in culture and consciousness, to adopt and promote ways of life that take into account the wellbeing of the whole planet, all people, and all living beings. We must build a Planetary Culture, and this change can happen very rapidly in today’s world of social media and digital technology.” ~Roger Briggs
In the book, Roger argues that humans need to move from a “materialistic” consciousness to a “planetary” consciousness. Instead of seeing ourselves as separate from nature, and continuing the materialistic worldview we operate under, we need to see that all life on earth is connected. Instead of trying to protect our own particular turf, we need to take a bigger view and use our human intelligence and the technology we have invented to “create a civilization that empowers all people to thrive and contribute, and a culture of sacred regard for all life on the planet”. This is the only way we can create a sustainable world for ourselves.
Roger offers hope. Let’s evolve. We have a choice in the matter. We can create the type of world we want. And we are not alone, there are already many people working on creating positive change. Along with writing this amazing book, Roger has created The Planet Project. This group is devoted to “Growing a Planetary Movement For Social Justice and Environmental Stewardship”. They are focused on positive change. They have a great website, which I encourage you to explore. www.plantproject.io.
Chuck Lynd has arranged a Zoom question and answer call with Roger Briggs for December 4th . I encourage you to watch his YouTube video and maybe read his book and be part of the call on December 4th at 7pm. Email Chuck@simplyliving.org to register and include “Emerging World” in the subject line.