Always Interdependent with Nature

When I first read Naomi Klein‘s interview in Tricycle Magazine, I was stunned by the radical nature of her statement about global capitalism. On second thought, I recognized that she was actually talking about how we are always interdependent with nature. She was expressing the idea that we cannot get away from nature, no matter how hard we try. We are part of nature and nature is a part of us.

Our manic consumption (mindless consumption – the opposite of mindful consumption) is giving support the idea that we are separate from nature. All seven billion of us want happiness and avoid suffering, yet, even though we all want to have a car, at television set, a home to live in, a summer vacation, and a high paying job, there would not be enough resources on the entire planet to satisfy everyone in the world. So, we naturally have a separation between the have’s and the have-not’s. This destroys our insight of interbeing, which is there, even if we aren’t conscious of it.

Always Interdependent with Nature
“Part of what fuels manic consumption is the desire to fill gaps in our lives that emerge because of severed connections of various kinds—with community, with one another, and also with the natural world. We tend to think about connections to nature as something you have to get out of the city in order to build. . . . But I also think that we have to be able to engage with the fact that we are still profoundly dependent on nature even when we are in urban environments.” “Naomi Klein Warsaw Nov. 19 2008 Photo by Mariusz Kubik 02” —Naomi Klein, “Capitalism vs. the Climate”

So what are we going to do about this? Well, for one thing, we can continue to practice mindful consumption. A good place to begin is with the Fifth Mindfulness Training:

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to cultivate good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I am committed to ingest only items that preserve peace, well-being, and joy in my body, in my consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family and society. I am determined not to use alcohol or any other intoxicant or to ingest foods or other items that contain toxins, such as certain TV programs, magazines, books, films, and conversations. I am aware that to damage my body or my consciousness with these poisons is to betray my ancestors, my parents, my society, and future generations. I will work to transform violence, fear, anger, and confusion in myself and in society by practicing a diet for myself and for society. I understand that a proper diet is crucial for self-transformation and for the transformation of society.

What do  you think about this? What do you think is a good place to start?

Books by Naomi Klein

This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi Klein The most important book yet from the author of the international bestseller The Shock Doctrine, a brilliant explanation of why the climate crisis challenges us to abandon the core “free market” ideology of our time, restructure the global economy, and remake our political systems. [Read More…]