What Will You Do? | The Greatest Story of Our Generation | DoSomething | TimeForChange

image from “The Greatest Story of Our Generation”

I had viewed a two minute video “The Essence of Life“, a trailer of the Film “Beyond“, posted on Cryptik about a week ago. Something compelled me to hold onto it. I only really investigated the Cryptik site yesterday, perusing its postings.

Their prominent quote by Albert Einstein let me know why I had synchronistically kept this on file.

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.” -Albert Einstein

It was yesterday, 11/10/2014, that I discovered this movie – the subject of this blog. “The Greatest Story of Our Generation“. I believe that this information is essential to understand; that it should be mandatory viewing! I challenge myself and everyone; to listen, watch and respond with action. It resonates so completely with my heart, intellect and spirit and embraces so much of the content that I have been writing about, that I had tears rolling down my face as I listened to it.

“The Greatest Story of Our Generation” put out by “Films for Action”: A Learning Library for People Who Want to Change the World – is written by Andrew Dickson, directed by Louie Schwartzberg and produced by Lyn Davis Lear.

Narrated by Morgan Freeman (the sought after voice these days whose affect is one which invokes trust and respect) “The Greatest Story of Our Generation” is the story of the human journey at this critical moment in time. Of all the stories to belong to, this is the story to be a part of. Don’t watch it from the sidelines. Don’t wait for the experts to figure it out. Ask yourself: how can I become one of the weavers of the story? It’s a tapestry with 7 billion threads. What contribution do I want to make? If you’re not yet contributing to this story in some way, ask yourself why not? This is a story for everyone. See the video here.

Amazon Rain Forest 1975 2008 via Satellite

In fact, the earth is not in danger, we are. Changing our actions and moving forward is the one thing that can prevent our extinction. Destroying our rainforests and evaporating our lakes is like dissecting a lung; depriving our bodies – our earth – of oxygen.

Our best chance for survival comes from continuing to imitate nature, drawing inspiration from its awesome power.

Consider mycelium, a mass of filaments beneath the soil that allow the natural world to distribute nutrients and information to be communicated without a central brain.

mycelium filaments from mushrooms

 

 

 

 

 

mycelium decentralized network of communicaiton

 

 

 

 

 

It is similar to how the internet functions. People around the world can communicate information with each other without it being transmitted hierarchically – top-down – from a centralized source.

internet network world wide web of communication

I wrote about mycelium and how mushrooms can be a solution for the environment and economy in this former blog. http://digesthis.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/gross_domestic_problem_-why-measurement-of-wealth-depends-on-a-healthy-environment/

The message of “The Greatest Story of Our Generation” is that we have already contributed many designs from what we have observed in nature…It is still possible to redirect and save the world from ourselves. What is needed is a concerted effort.”

what is needed is a concerted effort

This isn’t a challenge that a few countries or world leaders can fix on their own, it is going to take ALL OF US – through actions large and small.

One day we will be asked, “What did we do?” We have never faced a crisis this big. This is our only home. You can choose today to make a world of difference.

What will you do?

faces from around the world up close

 

 

 

 

faces from around the world further away

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Become one of the weavers of this story.

 

footage donated by the following

https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-poaching-animals

DoSomething.org is one of the largest orgs for people to participate in social change.  Here are 11 facts about animal poaching, with information on what you can do to take action and volunteer with millions of members to in their words, “make the world suck less”.

Do Something – 11 facts about Animal Poaching

Here’s a link to explore the various campaigns that are existing today that you can join in. https://www.dosomething.org/campaigns

 

 

 

 

 

DoSomething Justice for Elephants Signup

 

 

For information about your own carbon footprint, http://timeforchange.org is all about personal growth and the meaning of life…not financially based goals or making purchases. As they say:

«Time for change» is about your life, your objectives and your decisions. We are convinced that basic human needs are the same everywhere and finally we all strive for the same thing:

•We want to be happy and satisfied • we want to be able to live our lives• without worries and cares.

If you don’t feel that you are there – this might just be the right time for change!

Because I am personally a HUGE animal advocate who appreciates all of life, I have included these links below, alerting people to various animals in danger due to poaching – because of ignorance and misconstrued ideas.

http://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000003221222/gorillas-in-the-crossfire.html?emc=edit_th_20141108&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=21379859

“Gorillas in the Crossfire” Virunga National Park – Democratic Republic of Congo

Andre Bauma works with orphaned gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been in conflict since 1996. More than 140 park rangers have been killed protecting gorillas in the past 15 years.

You can view National Geographic Society’s 2013 Annual Report of what has been accomplished through their efforts.

http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/03/18/sloth-curse-cute

Tinka Plese is a Croatian woman who has been rescuing sloths for almost twenty years. She started this Sloth Sanctuary in Columbia, South America.

three-toed baby sloth at Columbian Sloth Sanctuary

 

http://www.jaguarrescue.com

La Ceiba Reserva Natural – Centro de Rescate Jaguar, La Ceiba Nature Reserve, Jaguar Rescue Center

Why does this matter? Because we don’t inhabit this planet alone.

http://www.joelsartore.com/galleries/the-photo-ark/

“Battle for the Elephants” documentary speaks Louder than Words

I’m getting closer to figuring out what it is that I am here for in this lifetime. Though I am not sure where I will go next, having just watched a documentary featured on PBS http://www.pbs.org/programs/battle-elephants/ about the near extinction of elephants due to the skyrocketing pricetag of ivory on their heads primarily coming from the demand in China, I just had another realization.

I returned from a city that rarely sleeps – Berlin, Germany – to this sleepy town in Pennsylvania where I was raised. The impetus was to spend time with my father and reunite with my family, an homage to my parents. In this quiet place, I have maintained health and physical and intellectual fitness; doing outdoor sports, being in nature, playing musical instruments, reading, attending classes and taking in a lot of information. I’ve read plenty of articles in magazines such as the Smithsonian, National Geographic, UTNE Reader, Christian Science Monitor with worldwide scopes on social unrest, inequalities, imbalanced values, environmental hazards, greed (and some positive things ‘-) … I have been very fortunate that much of the information that has presented itself to me through local classes has been completely in synch with subjects that I have interest in. I believe it’s synchronicity or synchrodestiny, that I chose to return at this time. It has been a time and place of going inwards and absorbing – so that I could distill all of this information about the heart, spirit and mind…without distraction. Though I am absolutely pulled in many directions because of my interests, I realize that I very much adore and value the creatures that share our planet, many of which are nearing extinction. Something about this particular documentary, this evening lead me to believe that my purpose is to make a commitment to be a voice for those who have none. I don’t quite know how to effectively influence a population of a billion people to have empathy for the creatures that are being sacrificed for their commercial use of ivory – that has been going on for a thousand years – to satisfy their need to display wealth, taste, fine art, uphold religious iconography, meet their health needs or extenuate their impotence… but outside of joining a rebel force in East Africa to fire weapons at poachers, I will, to the best of my ability, convey information and tune whatever means I have with my body, mind, creativity, word, music and art, to raise the awareness and consciousness of the world to the plight of the creatures that we share it with, and to speak, for those who can’t speak for themselves.

http://www.wcs.org/elephants/ The Wildlife Conservation Society provides you with various ways to help.

Stop the Demand


WCS plans to utilize Chinese social media platforms to encourage public engagement to reduce demand for ivory and influence how government agencies respond to the illegal ivory trade. We will support the creation of a social media hub in Beijing that focuses on information sharing, opinion mapping, building partnerships, and mobilization.

How You Can Help

Elephants can’t protect themselves against organized, armed criminals. To face down this tremendous threat, they’ll need the help of dedicated ecoguards who can intervene immediately. They’ll also need you.

http://events.nationalgeographic.com/events/films/2013/02/26/battle-elephants/

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/world/africa/africas-elephants-are-being-slaughtered-in-poaching-frenzy.html

“Law enforcement officials say organized crime has slipped into the ivory underworld, because only a well-oiled criminal machine – with the help of corrupt officials – could move hundreds of pounds of tusks thousands of miles across the globe…Like blood diamonds from Sierra Leone or plundered minerals from Congo, ivory, it seems, is the latest conflict resource in Africa, dragged out of remote battle zones, easily converted into cash and now fueling conflicts across the continent.”

Another recent article in the New York Times just appeared on the subject, with respect to the illicit trail of African ivory to China. Here is an important resource with many articles on the subject. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/world/africa/the-price-of-ivory.html?ref=asia

Here’s more information on the subject. http://www.care2.com/causes/will-african-elephants-be-extinct-in-ten-years.html