"Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing " (Arundhati Roy), when I first read these word at the beginning of Joanna Macy's book "World as Lover, World as Self " they created a stirring effect upon the rest of my thoughts that I had been recently pondering, thoughts of sustainable living, interconnectedness and conscious living . It was if I Macy knew when deciding to open her book with the quote from Roy that I would be in need of hearing these words for I was in need of not only hope but guidance. Through the journey of reading this book i gained many things such as knowledge on buddhism feminism and ecology but I truly believe that guidance is the largest gain I received from this beautiful work of love and reflection. Throughout her book Macy touches on three key concepts, It's All Connected, Gratitude and Sowing seeds for the future. She separates each concept into individual parts that make up the entirety of her book "World as Lover, World as Self ". .
It's All Connected .
Joanna begins this section by discussing ancient cultures, at first I was concerned that I would be reading yet another doomsday prediction describing how the world will set on fire and all that is and ever way will no longer be, but contrary to my initial reaction Macy began to create a solid argument that altered the way in which I believe we should perceive ancient cultures, like the ones that are continuously manipulated by pop culture to feed some sick hunger we humans have for destruction and death. "There have been small groups throughout history that have proclaimed the end of the world "(1), Macy gives examples of these "groups " of peoples correctly predicting mass deaths affecting multiple cultures such as the Bubonic Plague that wiped out 60% of Europe's population, these predictions were created upon a religious context, of a belief in an angry but just God that had the will to punish his children if need be.