We leave two kinds of footprints behind, a carbon one upon the earth, and a psychic one upon our existence to come; the two are intertwined.
Therefore, the size of our carbon footprint is an accurate gauge of what our next existence will portend - will it be a heaven, or a hell? Awareness of what we are doing to ourselves, to the earth, and especially to others, such as our children and grandchildren, are indicators of where we are regarding our state of mind.
Subsequently, this state of mind is then a true indicator of our destiny.
Our actions follow our mind, and our minds follow our habits and tendencies, so if we are accustomed to thinking only of ourselves, then our destiny will be a place where others act the same, and our next destination will be a dog-eat dog existence.
That would be a hell.
If we don't really care about the world, and perhaps rationalize our actions by believing that what we do individually doesn't matter, then we must live amongst those who believe as we do.
If we can get by with a small car, but buy a larger one because of our insecurities, perhaps trying to prop up our egos or some other childish fantasy, then others will do the same.
We are all connected at the hip, and individual decisions always reflect the whole of society.
If we believe those that say fossil fuels harm many things, and that oil, itself, promotes violence and greed, no different from gold, diamonds, drugs, or anything else that excites the senses, then we would be well advised to personally take a stand against those things.
According to Christ and the Buddha, less is more.
If you don't believe it, look at history and all the lives that have been shattered by the greed and hatred fueled by oil, diamonds, gold and anything else promising riches with little work.
Our carbon footprint is the amount of energy and resources that we use over a lifetime, and how that usage will affect the earth and generations to come.
Our excess carbon footprint is the energy and resources that we use over and above what we minimally require.
This indicates our state of mind, our selfishness, and consequently this state of mind determines our destiny, not only in this world, but in the next as well.
A mind that only thinks of itself is a mind of delusion.
This kind of mind cannot understand and actually laughs at the premise that we are interconnected.
This kind of selfish mind sees only itself and how it compares to others, never understanding that this duality is an illusion.
Unfortunately, this kind of mind, a mind that cannot get past itself, is the kind of mind that entraps itself in a world of fear and anxiety simply because it has only itself to rely upon.
This spells trouble, because mind does not exist in reality, only in time, and therefore can never be relied upon beyond existence.
Therefore, this person has all of his or her eggs gathered in one basket, a basket that doesn't exist in reality.
And they fear death terribly.
A person who sees smog and says, "That's my fault, not some legislator or some branch of government, but my fault," is a person that can see.
When a person sees gas prices becoming a burden for people who are struggling to make a living on low wages, and says, "that's my fault;" that's a person who can see.
A person who sees, sees that wars are caused when people want more than they have, or want others to be like them.
And when that same person stops buying oil, gold, diamonds, drugs, and all the other things that promise an easy way out, that person not only can see, but has the unique courage, known only to few, to act.
If you want to begin seeing, rather than moving in lock step with a failed theory that wealth provides happiness regardless of the cost to the earth and our descendants, then take a few minutes out of every day and sit in silence, in meditation.
Go to that place of truth mentioned by all the great sages, go to that place where your actions will be heroic, regardless of how small they seem to be.
Go to that place where you will begin feeling good about what you are doing to help, not only with the earth, but with your destiny as well.
Therefore, the size of our carbon footprint is an accurate gauge of what our next existence will portend - will it be a heaven, or a hell? Awareness of what we are doing to ourselves, to the earth, and especially to others, such as our children and grandchildren, are indicators of where we are regarding our state of mind.
Subsequently, this state of mind is then a true indicator of our destiny.
Our actions follow our mind, and our minds follow our habits and tendencies, so if we are accustomed to thinking only of ourselves, then our destiny will be a place where others act the same, and our next destination will be a dog-eat dog existence.
That would be a hell.
If we don't really care about the world, and perhaps rationalize our actions by believing that what we do individually doesn't matter, then we must live amongst those who believe as we do.
If we can get by with a small car, but buy a larger one because of our insecurities, perhaps trying to prop up our egos or some other childish fantasy, then others will do the same.
We are all connected at the hip, and individual decisions always reflect the whole of society.
If we believe those that say fossil fuels harm many things, and that oil, itself, promotes violence and greed, no different from gold, diamonds, drugs, or anything else that excites the senses, then we would be well advised to personally take a stand against those things.
According to Christ and the Buddha, less is more.
If you don't believe it, look at history and all the lives that have been shattered by the greed and hatred fueled by oil, diamonds, gold and anything else promising riches with little work.
Our carbon footprint is the amount of energy and resources that we use over a lifetime, and how that usage will affect the earth and generations to come.
Our excess carbon footprint is the energy and resources that we use over and above what we minimally require.
This indicates our state of mind, our selfishness, and consequently this state of mind determines our destiny, not only in this world, but in the next as well.
A mind that only thinks of itself is a mind of delusion.
This kind of mind cannot understand and actually laughs at the premise that we are interconnected.
This kind of selfish mind sees only itself and how it compares to others, never understanding that this duality is an illusion.
Unfortunately, this kind of mind, a mind that cannot get past itself, is the kind of mind that entraps itself in a world of fear and anxiety simply because it has only itself to rely upon.
This spells trouble, because mind does not exist in reality, only in time, and therefore can never be relied upon beyond existence.
Therefore, this person has all of his or her eggs gathered in one basket, a basket that doesn't exist in reality.
And they fear death terribly.
A person who sees smog and says, "That's my fault, not some legislator or some branch of government, but my fault," is a person that can see.
When a person sees gas prices becoming a burden for people who are struggling to make a living on low wages, and says, "that's my fault;" that's a person who can see.
A person who sees, sees that wars are caused when people want more than they have, or want others to be like them.
And when that same person stops buying oil, gold, diamonds, drugs, and all the other things that promise an easy way out, that person not only can see, but has the unique courage, known only to few, to act.
If you want to begin seeing, rather than moving in lock step with a failed theory that wealth provides happiness regardless of the cost to the earth and our descendants, then take a few minutes out of every day and sit in silence, in meditation.
Go to that place of truth mentioned by all the great sages, go to that place where your actions will be heroic, regardless of how small they seem to be.
Go to that place where you will begin feeling good about what you are doing to help, not only with the earth, but with your destiny as well.
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