Editor’s note: This commentary is by George Plumb, of Washington, and is a member of Buddhist Peace Action Vermont.
[T]his time of year is a period of festivities and celebrations, but also a period of deep concern about what is going on in the world. It is an appropriate time to practice what I refer to as the “Two G’s — Gratitude and Grieving.”
Fortunately, we have much to be grateful for, particularly here in Vermont, including the following:
Our closeness to the natural world and the beauty that surrounds us.
The many recreation opportunities.
The abundance of music and art including places and events happening in our varied communities all over Vermont.
Our relatively good health, readily available medical care, and longevity.
A fairly vibrant democracy with viable town meetings, and state government generally free of the influence of large PAC money.
Good media including public television and radio, VTDigger, and viable local papers.
And most important of all, kindness expressed in so many ways including free community meals, health and wellness clinics, and homeless shelters.
There is also certainly much to grieve about with all the horrible things going on in the world.
Global heating. According to an ongoing temperature analysis conducted by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, the average global temperature on Earth has increased by about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states that the world temperature could rise by 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit over pre-industrial levels by 2040 and will continue to rise after then. This all means that much if not all of the Earth, including even Vermont, will become uninhabitable.
“The Sixth Great Extinction.” Human activity has killed off 60 percent of the world’s wildlife population just since 1970. Scientists estimate we’re now losing species at approximately 1,000 times the normal rate, with literally dozens of species going extinct every day.
Tremendous human suffering. According to Hunger and World Poverty, about 21,000 people die globally every day from hunger or malnutrition.
Hate crimes and gun violence on the rise. In 2017, 5,060 people fell victim to hate crimes in the U.S. for which the motivation was race, ethnicity, gender and/or ancestry.
Authoritarianism and fascism on the rise. Only 50 percent of the countries on Earth have a democracy and some of these leaders have no problem murdering people who question them.
Political and corporate corruption now dominate our social structure with some individuals making billions of dollars per year while a large percentage of workers struggle to meet their needs.
Degradation of our ecosystems on which all life depends. Overpopulation is resulting in sprawl, forest fragmentation, decline of forest and natural habitat, plastics in our oceans, and the list goes on.
Perpetual war committed by the United States. Instead of working towards peace, America has been at war 93 percent of the time – 222 out of 239 years – since 1776. This has resulted in millions of deaths all over the world. We are the only nation that has used a nuclear bomb which is why we Buddhists and others honor those killed by holding a Hiroshima Day Peace Walk on Aug. 6 in Montpelier every year.
The loss of our local, small farms which have been replaced by industrialized confined feeding operations that result in the inhumane suffering of millions of animals as well as major pollution.
Finally, loss of connectedness between people thanks largely to technology. This is resulting in stress, depression, drug addiction and suicide.
I will share a quote about both grieving and gratitude as the two are interrelated. These are not from famous people but from two Vermonters who most of our residents have never heard of and both of whom are kind of “back to landers” who live very simple and sustainable lifestyles.
The first quote is about the importance of grieving and is by Unitarian Universalist minister the Rev. Gregory Wilson of Vershire, who was one of the first spiritual leaders in Vermont to address climate change. “When we recognize what we are losing, and the grief we feel about it, we open ourselves to the potential for gratitude. When we fail to recognize the loss and grief, we experience symptoms harmful to ourselves, society, and nature, and the pathway to gratitude closes. In today’s context, grief has a two-fold nature: ongoing and anticipatory, and our best hope is grieving in community.”
The second quote is about gratitude and is by Claudia Stauber, an immigrant from Germany now living in Morrisville, who wrote an interesting little book titled, “Grow into the Flow of Life: Truth and Love are Slippery Little Suckers.” The quote is on the first page, “Gratitude is to happiness what breathing is to life.”
Now, as we enter this period of both gratitude and grieving let us consider what changes we need to make in our lives to better connect with other people and to help protect the Earth, our only home.
