“Ah – there’s the rub,” replied Annie, remembering to thank Shakespeare, as she so often did, for providing her with an apt phrase. “People have to change the way they live, don’t they? But that’s not an easy thing to achieve.”
“That’s what you’re doing here, isn’t it? Trying to change the world – one person at a time.” He paused and looked thoughtful. “Surely it would be better to pressure governments to act.”
“Yes, it would,” she agreed. “There are individuals and environmental groups doing that as we speak. Except governments aren’t acting quickly enough. In a democracy they’re afraid to do anything that might be unpopular – it might make them lose the next election. Then there’s the way that business influences government. The reality is that commercial and industrial groups have a lot of power to lobby government, and these are organisations that don’t want to see the economic status quo upset.” Annie looked at Adam. “That’s what bothers you, isn’t it? You can see that the sort of changes that need to be made will have an impact on your business, and it may be quite an adverse effect.”
“If I’ve understood your point of view,” he replied, “you want people to stop buying, to stop being consumers. If that happens, businesses will go bankrupt, jobs will be lost; the economy will suffer. The Great Depression will look like a picnic in comparison.”
“And if we don’t stop soon, the environment will suffer. Except corporations aren’t prepared to change their business model - they can’t seem to see beyond increasing their profits. Meanwhile we face a future where economies will collapse anyway as crops fail and people starve”
“I can see that that is what will happen,” said Adam sadly, “but not yet. Surely not for a long while yet.”
“If we don’t act now we are dooming the earth,” insisted Annie. “Acting now increases the chances of change being effective. We may be able to avert disaster. You understand the idea of a “tipping point”, don’t you?” Annie asked.
“Yes. The point beyond which nothing we do will make a difference. Climate change will be irreversible.”
“And no-one can really say when that point is reached. Though the scientists seem to think it will be soon. That’s why I feel such an urgency about all of this. Once we’re past the point of no return, changing our minds and our behaviour won’t help: it’ll be too late.” Annie tried to push from her mind the image of a handsome black dog falling from her arms as she cried out, No! I don’t want you to die!
The man in front of her needed to hear something positive. Changing life-style would have an impact on business and this was what concerned Adam, but there was no way to sugar-coat the truth. Change was necessary. Every-one needed to accept that sacrifice would be involved. “If every-one started by giving up what they don’t need it would make a huge difference. The commercial concerns whose activities are causing the most damage might actually do something about changing their operations - if the public pressure them by refusing to be a part of the destruction. At the very least the business world needs to get its head around the idea that continual increases in profits are not sustainable.” Annie did not add her feelings about the obscenity of the levels of profit some organisations seem to expect, paying millions to the CEOs who achieved these profits while they paid a pittance to the workers who actually made their products.
“If there is a way out of this mess, it lies with the people. I believe in the goodness of the majority of people. They want to do the right thing. If we all act together we can make a difference,” Annie said. “We can save the world.”
Adam looked carefully at the grass near his feet before he responded. “You’re asking people to make sacrifices that may undermine their security.”
“No-one will have any security when we can no longer grow enough to feed ourselves.”
“It’s too extreme,” said Adam, rising to his feet. “It’s going to hurt.”
Annie rose so that she could meet his eyes. “It will hurt even more if we allow climate change to continue. It will be the end of the world as we know it.” Adam began moving away from Annie, obviously wanting to leave now. “One last thing before you go. There’s an episode of Catalyst that was aired last year: ‘Taking Australia’s Temperature”. Find it. Watch it. Listen to what they’re saying. You’re smart enough to see the writing on the wall.”
“Okay,” said Adam, beginning to turn away.
“And when they tell you about the Carnaby’s cockatoos falling from the sky, dead from heat, think about this: these are creatures which are adapted to our hot, harsh environment, but they are dying. Dying from heat. What chance do we have?” asked Annie, making a last impassioned plea.
“I don’t know,” said Adam, “Good-bye.”
He walked away across the park.
“Hello. My name’s Annie. What are you doing to save the world?”
The neatly dressed couple paused. Annie knew the reaction – they were interested, ready to engage.
“We’re members of Greenpeace and the Greens. We try to keep our carbon footprint small. But I don’t think we’re doing enough. It’s getting worse.”
“I’m suggesting that people stop consuming anything more than they need. If enough people stop it would send a message to the people in power.”
“A boycott? It would make them sit up and take notice. Something has to be done.”
A man had been walking behind the couple. When they stopped to talk to Annie he had halted his staggering progress. His shabby clothes, haggard face and the odour that gently drifted about him all suggested he was homeless. He drank carefully from a bottle in a paper bag as he listened to the conversation.
“I heard that the Sahara Desert was originally a rainforest,” claimed the well-heeled woman, “but then they cut down the trees to feed a civilization’s need for timber. When the forest died, so did the civilization.”
“That may be so – although I believe a change in the earth’s axis of rotation may have been involved in the creation of the Sahara desert,” responded Annie. “But what we’re doing today - deforestation, erosion, salinity, over-use of chemicals and irrigation, mining for coal-seam gas – we are turning fertile land into desert. Unless governments and business change the way they operate we will make our world uninhabitable.”
“Ya know,” the homeless man interrupted, returning the bottle to his safest pocket, “expecting capitalists to change is like asking an addict how you can help him. He’ll just ask for more heroin. Greedy money-junkies don’t give a shit about any-one but themselves.”
He wove from side to side for a moment, before leaning towards them to share his pungent odour and ask, “Can you spare two bucks for some coffee?”
The small group reached for change, then he walked unsteadily away, well-compensated for his wisdom.
Chapter Eight: The Monk
Annie observed the monk as she ate her lunch. He was sitting cross-legged in the shade of a tree, meditating. She wanted to talk to him, but did not want to interrupt. It was also very pleasant, sitting in the leafy park and eating her lunch. She had been speaking with people all morning and was glad of the chance to rest.
She was putting the lid back on her water bottle, packing it away when she saw him stretch and look about at the busy, lunchtime park. When she approached him, he gestured for her to sit.
“Hello. My name’s Annie. What are you doing to save the world?”
He looked surprised, then laughed.
“I saw you talking to people when I arrived here. Do you ask every-one the same question?”
“More or less. I’m concerned about climate change. I don’t believe we are acting quickly enough.”
“And you think I can change the world?”
“Can you?” asked Annie, hope rising in her heart despite the silliness of the notion.
When the monk began laughing, Annie joined him.
“Do you foll
ow a faith?” Annie asked, when the laughter subsided.
“I am a Buddhist.”
“What does Buddha say about the environment?”
"We do not exist independently, separate from everything else," the monk began, "Buddha taught us to live simply, to cherish tranquillity, to appreciate the natural cycle of life. In this universe of energies, everything affects everything else...Once we treat nature as our friend, then we can see the need to change from the attitude of dominating nature to an attitude of working with nature. Too many people in the world today see the environment as an opportunity to profit rather than an essential support system. People must understand that we are an intrinsic part of all existence rather than seeing ourselves in control of it."
“So, you believe it is wrong to see the natural world as something to exploit?”
“Oh yes. Modern mankind are too focussed on material gain – they have lost their way. Enlightenment can only come from the spiritual, not the physical.”
“Buddhism has been around for a long time,” said Annie. “Most of the world is not enlightened and we continue to destroy the environment.”
When the monk looked towards her, his eyes offered compassion. “You have reached a point of despair. You see so clearly that there is great danger to the world, yet it is difficult to lead others to the same understanding.”
His perception caught her off guard. How could he possibly be so right? Before she could respond, the monk spoke again.
“Nirmala Srivastava said, ‘There can be no peace in the world until there is peace within.’ The yogis of India have always known that the way to change the world is to change the individual - but we cannot force any-one to accept our teachings – they must come to it freely.”
“How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb?” Annie quipped as the old joke jumped to her tongue, unbidden.
“Only one,” said the monk, his eyes sparkling, “but it has to want to change.”
Annie was refreshed by the easy laughter they shared, then he spoke again.
“The Dalai Lama has said, ‘Taking care of our planet, our environment, is something like taking care of our own home. This blue planet is our only home. To change the external environment we have to change ourselves first, and without an external environment that is healthful it becomes more difficult to change ourselves.’”
“So the planet won’t change until people change; but changing people is difficult because the planet’s in a mess?”
“Yes,” he replied, “I suppose you could put it like that. There is a principle which we call pratitya-samutpada. What this means is that both the human body and the planet are provisionally sealed but causally interconnected. Under these conditions, action in one place creates ripple effects throughout the entire system. Have you heard of Tom Lehrer?”
“Yes. A very funny man – ahead of his times. And scarily accurate – almost prophetic in some of his songs.”
“You would know the lines from ‘Pollution’ then, wouldn’t you? ‘The breakfast garbage that you throw into the Bay, they drink at lunch in San Jose’… Your action and the world’s action interpenetrate and influence each other in complex, multifaceted ways that we are only beginning to understand.”
“And he wrote that in the nineteen sixties, didn’t he? Before environmentalism started getting serious.”
“There have been many prophets who have been ignored by the world. Perhaps you are one.”
Annie stared at the monk. Was he serious? Then, when he smiled again, eyes lighting up, she found herself laughing.
“We were talking about interconnectedness,” said the man, his saffron robes fluttering in the gentle breeze. “The health of our bodies depends on clean air, clean water and clean food. Interconnectedness means that our welfare is bound up with that of the entire world around us. Similarly, all the systems of our body are interconnected. In evolutionary terms, these systems evolved in rhythmic coherence with natural seasonal patterns. Industrial society, however, has disrupted these delicately balanced rhythms.”
The monk stopped speaking and gazed into the sky as a flock of corellas flew noisily over the trees. When he returned his attention to Annie, she had framed her question.
“You’re a monk. Doesn’t that mean you spend a lot of time isolated from the rest of the world, meditating, perhaps in an ashram?”
“I find it necessary to spend some of my time in retreat. Some remain cloistered, but I prefer to be a part of the greater community. Achieving enlightenment may be more difficult amongst the distractions of the world, but the Buddha makes it clear that the sheltered life in the ashram is not the most noble or desirable. We are all connected. All have their part to play.”
“Are you trying to save the world?” Annie found herself asking.
Again the monk laughed, then his face became sober and intense. “I share your concern. The viability of Earth’s life systems, the viability of our future, is in danger. If humanity is to survive and thrive, we must learn to live in balance with nature. Now is the time to cleanse and heal the Earth and to establish a sustainable relationship with the environment for generations to come. I teach the ways of Buddha, hoping to lead people towards a proper reverence for the life all around them.”
“Are you successful?”
“Many listen, but not all are changed,” he replied sadly. “But do not be discouraged. Whatever you may think, you are not alone in trying to save the world.”
The monk rose nimbly to his feet and bowed respectfully to Annie. “Good-bye. I have enjoyed our conversation.”
Inclining her head gently, Annie replied, “So did I. Thank-you.”
Although his robes flapped energetically as he walked, the monk’s graceful stride was calm. He left a stillness with Annie on the grass beneath the shady tree.
The sun was sliding over the horizon, forming an incandescent red puddle, while Annie finished picking the tomatoes. Several had not made it to the basket, quenching her thirst with their sweet juice.
She stood in the veggie patch among the beans and rows of lettuce. The sky was luminous with the dusk; night sounds began to take over. Annie breathed the peaceful evening.
What a contrast to the “dusty, dirty city”! By day she walked the concrete canyons and sought refuge in the few green places that had not been smothered by cement and bitumen. When traffic fumes overwhelmed her she would recall the impact of the motor car and fossil fuels on the world. The foetid, unnatural stink of car exhausts seemed triply poisonous and she would try not to breathe, unwilling to partake of the toxic clouds.
Display windows in the shops offended Annie, symbolic of the role of consumerism in destroying the environment. Her own special wicked witch cackled in her head. The greed of a few exploiting the greed of many. Buy more my little pretties! Your unsustainable guzzling of the earth is making me rich! Mwahahaha. Laughter and despair echoed in her footsteps.
Now that she was acting on her inner urging, walking the streets and talking to strangers, her voices were quieter; the constant nagging usually less intense. It was in the city and its suburbs that she was most likely to be confronted by the voices of judgement. At home, where there was earth underfoot and the trees shielded her from the excesses of her society, there was some sanctuary.
Safe in her garden in the gentle dusk, Annie closed her eyes and breathed deeply. The plants bathed her in the earthy exhalations of life. A bat began to flit about above her, feasting on the evening insects.
Here Annie felt connected to life. This was what made sense: the sky above, the earth below; digging in the soil to feed and sustain; encouraging growth, not destruction.
Here her voices were quiet, finding nothing to offend them.
Here was a celebration of life.
Annie was just considering going to the park for lunch when she was arrested by a welcome voice.
“Hi there Gorgeous!”
“M
oira! What are you doing here?”
“What, making a public spectacle of yourself and you thought I wouldn’t come and watch?”
“Such a friend!”
“So, have you saved the world yet?”
“I’m not expecting much success before next Tuesday.” The women hugged, then Annie cocked her head to one side, observing her unexpected friend. “Spit it out, Mozz. What’s on your mind?”
“Are you okay?”
“Concerned for my mental health? Please note the absence of sandwich boards announcing that the end is nigh!” Annie ran a hand through her hair. She was tired. Was her crusade worthwhile? “I know this must look crazy. Sometimes it feels crazy to me. But not doing it is even crazier. Trouble is, if I talk to you about the “voices” in my head that drive me on you’ll call the men in white coats.”
“Voices . . . ”
“So, I suppose you’ve never found yourself responding to the voice that says, ‘You idiot! What did you do that for?’ We all have internal voices. The scary thing about mine is the way they’re set on doom and destruction.”
“Have you talked to any-one about this?”
“I’ve spoken to an expert on the subject. Look, I know these voices aren’t real. Perhaps you’d be more comfortable calling it my conscience. But I don’t think these are just my ‘voices’ – they come from something bigger. Remember the day of the fires? I saw you at the market in the morning. We knew something bad was coming. Everyone did, racing home early to make last minute preparations. Remember that feeling? That knowing in your gut that hell is on the way. It didn’t just come from the warnings, did it?”
“No.” Moira’s face was darkened by her memories. “You could feel it in the wind.”
“And that’s what I feel nearly all the time. I don’t know why or where it comes from, but the really crazy thing is that basically every-one agrees with me. Climate change is real. It won’t get better unless we do something – only we don’t. We’re dragging our feet like Neanderthals at a computer.” Annie adopted the voice of a whining devil’s advocate. “Too hard! No-one else is doing anything. The government should act. What can I do? Why should I stop? I’m no-one special! . . . and nothing changes.”