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Pointing Fingers
We have become so good at pinpointing what is wrong in the world, and yet these problems are reflections of our actions and behaviors. With so much of our cultural and natural world being destroyed, mutilated, and oppressed, everywhere we look we can catalog the issues that urgently need to be addressed before it's too late. But every time we point out the damage being done, there are still three fingers pointing right back at us. When we point at what is wrong, we must take responsibility and try to embody and enact what is right. For me, these digits pointing in our own direction stand for power, responsibility, and love in our daily life, community life, and global life. The first finger represents power. We are all powerful beyond our wildest imaginations. We have been conditioned, numbed, and manipulated over time into giving our power away to name brands, corporations, and governmental officials, just for starters. It's time we take the power back!
We have the power to change the world. Everything we do and say does change the world. Even our inactions have impact. If I had walked away from the destruction of the redwoods without trying to stop it, my inactions would have had as much adverse impact as my decision to live in a threatened ancient redwood tree. In every moment of every day we make choices, and every choice has an impact, positive or negative. We are moving either toward the problem or toward the solution. The second finger stands for responsibility. Because we are beings of tremendous power and energy, we have the responsibility to choose carefully, compassionately, courageously, and consciously. We have become addicted to, and transfixed by, our right and freedom to choose. Yet, all the while, we accept less and less of the responsibility for the impact of our decisions and how those decisions ripple out and affect the planet, its people, and the future. Every time we do not take responsibility for our choices, some other person or place is paying the price for it - and that price is high. Compound interest is not just an economic reality; it is inherent in the equation of life. The third finger symbolizes love. Why love? Why not! What else would we want to do with our lives than offer them in loving joyous service to the Earth and all its inhabitants? With love, hatred and anger transform into fierce compassion; struggles and challenges become opportunities for growth and strength. Responsibility transforms from drudgery and necessary evil into a newfound happiness in our ability to respond. The greatest, most positive, and longest-lasting change will always come from a shift in consciousness in the heart. As we point out all that is wrong in the world and see the three fingers - power, responsibility, and love - pointing back, we realize they lie in the palms of our own hands. Our ability to change the world lies in our hands, minds, hearts, bodies, and spirits - committed in action. It's not only that we can make a difference, it's that we do make the difference. The kind of change we make is up to us. Each and every one of us has the power to heal or to hurt, to be the hero or the destroyer - with every moment, with every breath of every day. Excerpted from "One Makes the Difference," published by HarperSanFrancisco, April 2002. Available from Amazon.com HarperSanFrancisco says, "One Makes the Difference" is printed on paper made from 100% post-consumer recycled fibers and is processed in a totally chlorine free process using soy-based ink. A percentage of the author's proceeds are being donated to the causes that are highlighted in this book. For 738 days Julia Butterfly Hill lived in the canopy of an ancient California redwood tree, called Luna, to help make the world aware of the plight of ancient forests. She descended on December 18, 1999. The Circle of Life Foundation was founded in 1999 by Hill to activate people through education, inspiration and connection. Her biography, a scrapbook from her treesit, and her current schedule of public appearances are given on the foundation's website. |
Julia Butterfly Hill overlooking Stafford, California from atop the giant redwood tree Luna. (Photo courtesy Circle of Life Foundation)