One of the reasons most regular folks label environmentally concerned folks as "treehuggers" and "hippies" is for exactly what I am pointing out here. This tree is obviously bleeding from being partly cut with a saw - the macabre part of my personality noticed right away how sickly the dried black goo looked dripping out to one side... the part of me who strives to give nature all the respect it deserves wanted simply to share how strange and amazing this looks with others. I am not an advocate of deprivation, I am not seeing this and having it lead me to simply screaming "save the trees" - in a world of survival there are many uses for trees. It is how we (ab)use at this point in modern history that strikes me as odd and disturbing. We don't just build simple shelters, we build toxic McMansions in gated communities, we use billions of paper grocery bags instead of bringing re-usable bags...and still that isn't exactly the problem, our whimsies are just a symptom. The real problem is the disconnect from nature. Who will really think of a tree or the eco system while building their big 'keep up with the Jones' house in the wealthy or middle class neighborhood - and can you blame them for not thinking of it, when they have no exposure to the reality of our natural resources and where these resources come from? Sometimes I think people should act more responsibility towards the earth (of course they should) but the over educated rich are just as under educated as the poor in this modern consumer society. Without the hands on knowledge of what this eco system really entails, without the reality and experience (AKA living in the woods and with nature in the raw)- I have doubts to whether the majority of uneducated will come around very quickly to learning the basic elements of respect for the earth that supports their very life and breath. Our education system is concentrated on teaching children and adults what I would consider some really petty skills, mainly ones applying to consumption, sales, and how to fit into the economic box we've created. After learning to read and write- our most basic education should be to learn the one-two steps to what really keeps us alive - being our food & how we can grow it, our water & how we can keep it drinkable, our air & how we can keep the earth in balance enough to breathe it without breathing in later health problems.It's good to recognize it, it's amazing to talk about, but it's extraordinary to go out and really live it! I believe the low mummer of talk I hear these days of cleaning up the planet is a good sign - I am forever an optimist about the possibilities of change... I know that when things really start to break down and are seen for it's dysfunction people will undoubtedly be motivated to make changes - but it would be so awesome if we could fix before it completely breaks.
XoXo
