Thanks for the comments. It’s great to know that After the Storm is getting around the globe!

Here is a link for folks who may have further interst in the With Forgiveness Project.

All the Best,

David

- I got an e-mail this week from Ecoistituto Terremutanti, based in Milan, Italy, and they plan to show both “After the Storm” Pearls for their Nov. 4 event that’s part of a global action to call attention to climate change issues. They were nudged by someone at Greenpeace who saw it on Green TV, I think. They’re also showing “An Inconvenient Truth” and other films on global warming and caring for the Earth. They needed clarification on parts of the words for translating into Italian!

- Also, I am a contributor on Day 45 of WITH Forgiveness, a project created by Sheri Rosenthal and Susyn Reeve, distributed by Pass Along Concepts via e-mail.

Here is the text of that message, which came out 11-26-06:

WITH Forgiveness Daily Message
Day 45 - Ignorance and Acknowledgement

How far must suffering and misery go before we see that even in the day of vast cities and powerful machines, the good earth is our mother and that if we destroy her, we destroy ourselves?
Paul Bigelow Sears

Humans have often viewed the environment as a thing, something outside and separate from us. While the environment may be inconvenient at times, like raining on a day we planned to go to the beach, we rarely pay attention to our inter-connectedness. While we all learned in school about photosynthesis and our dependency on trees for the air we breathe, we are often ignorant about the deep relationship we have with the environment.

It wasn’t until I read Peter Russell’s book, The Global Brain, in the early 1980’s that I “got” that all life on earth is connected; and that the earth herself is a living being. Yet, even with this information it took me many years to consciously change my behavior and honor my part and my responsibility in respecting the environment. My guess is that there are many - actually millions of people like me. In the end, there’s no excuse for our ignorance, only forgiveness and the desire to acknowledge our responsibility for our current level of consciousness.

Linda McLean, Executive Director of Little Pearls (”tiny films” that open hearts and minds), created a beautiful film after Hurricane Katrina called: After the Storm: Compassion, Wisdom, Change. She shared this with us: “Every single one of us, without exception, depends on the health of the Earth and on our regional environment to meet our most basic needs, including the life-giving or life-harming quality of our food, water and air. Every single one of us in turn impacts everyone and everything else by the choices we make, whether we are conscious of our impact or not. We all have the power to wake up and make new choices - if not now, when?”

Imagine what the world would be like if each of us acknowledged our intimate relationship with the environment. Find out what actions you can take to honor the earth and natural environment that provides the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. How would you express your gratitude and how would your actions be a reflection of your love of our home, our earth?

With all my love, Susyn
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Practicing the lesson

Make a list of how you can honor the environment. Items on your list may include: recycling, in the winter keeping the heat low and the windows closed, using reusable bags for your groceries, reducing the use of plastic utensils and paper plates, turning off the water when it is not needed.

If you haven’t always honored the environment, forgive yourself for any laziness, lack of awareness, or for believing that your individual actions don’t make a difference.

Take a moment to watch Linda’s short movie After the Storm: Compassion, Wisdom, Change.

Today’s Affirmation

I forgive my ignorance for any actions that have had a harmful impact on the environment. I honor the environment in my thoughts, words and actions. I acknowledge that I make a difference and my contributions are valuable.