What Will You Do? | Citizen Muscle BootCamp | “Man” by Steve Cutts

Regarding this post I recently did on my other blog https://digesthis.wordpress.com/2015/01/22/solution-to-what-will-you-do-citizen-muscle-boot-camp-be-a-climate-changemaker/

I’ve been engaged in the process guided by Annie Leonard who created the StoryofStuff.

ponder whether you choose to be a guardian or a destroyer

This is my take so far, on a personal level, of why I’m involved:

I really believe that every animal and species has a right to be here sharing the planet with us, and that we (human beings) are sort of the stewards (guardians rather than destroyers); since we are the top predator and ultimately have done the most damage to the planet. I’ve seen images captured by scientists about the amount of plastic that has collected in several tremendously huge garbage patches in each ocean. I believe that even what we do here, in our own backyards, affect this. If we are aware of how we use materials like plastics and chemicals that drain in water run-off, going into streams and ultimately into the oceans, perhaps we would tread a bit more lightly and be more thoughtful in how we direct our actions. I notice for example that Pennsylvania has a dramatic amount of sunny days, and that we could create a community that embraces using this renewable energy. We are all responsible for how we tread on the earth and it is not our right to consider it merely as a commodity to make a profit from or use, abuse and discard.

I’m sure that you would want your children to be able to live in an environment with clean water & air, where there is a possibility to play outside and swim in streams, lakes and the ocean. And for your kids to know what their parents have done to respect and love all of the different species that make this earth so wonderful.

I’ve seen that in parts of China, people literally have to wear gas masks and the children can not play outside, but in fabricated airtight blowup gymnasiums. “In China, Breathing Becomes a Childhood Risk“. Do you recycle paper and plastics? Do you think about how your daily actions can add up and affect not only your local environment but also places far away, that are ultimately choking and destroying animals’ habitats that are far away?

Think about this quote by Albert Einstein: “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” I’m sure that if all of us would take the time to stop and recognize how incredible this life is and see everything as a miracle, that time and one’s actions become less of a commodity, and more recognized as something vital and precious. Being consciously aware of how our actions contribute en masse, to everything, and stepping back to breathe in just how magnificent this planet and all of its creatures are, will propel us to think and act differently.

And because I feel that this animation “Man” by Steve Cutts says it quite humorously and eloquently, here it is again.

“Man” animation by Steve Cutts displaying the history of human beings’ cruelty towards life forms in 3 minutes.