I have shared this story before, but many years ago. I heard a teaching given by a Zen master. I dont remember exactly how it went, but it had something to do whith a husband and wife, and they were going to have to cross a desert, and they were carrying their small son on thier back. They failed to bring enough water and food, and about half way through the desert they ran out of food and water. They dicided to eat their own son. The Zen master said that they were devastated, and that they didnt feel good at all about eating their own son.
I wondered how could a Zen master who is so compassionate tell such a terrible story. At the time it didnt make any sense to me at all. But over the years, I have come to understand the deeper meaning of the story he was trying to impart. This story he was telling, is our story. We are eating our own children alive.
We are eating away at this earth. We are taking up every thing she has to offer. We are using it all up, without consideration for our children, or our childrens, children. By our own actions we are eating our own children.
Life like ours exists becasue conditions are exaclty like they are. Becasue there is water, and air, because the elements are in the ground just as they are. These are the conditions that have given this planet life. But we are removing those conditions for life like ours, one condition at a time. We are eating away at the earth bit by bit. We are leaving nothing left for the future generations on this planet.
In our very lifetimes unless we act soon, we may not even have water to drink, or irrigate our crops. This is not somethign that will come in the far off future, it is coming now, it is already here. Water scarcity is not a thing of the future, it is happeing now. The consaquenses of our actions will be catastrophic. There will be mass starvation, mass migration. There will be wars, and famine. But this does not have to be our future. All we need to do is make a few tweaks and we can avert assured disaster.
It can be compared to knowing an asteriod is heading for our planet, one that will have assured destruction, and just ignoring it, and not doing anything to try and stop it. But in this case we know it is coming, and there are things we can do to avert this disaster. This water crisis is our asteroid.
Water scarcity is not the only concern, we are destroying our planet with our destructive mining practices, and extractions. It is a crime against humanity, and against this earth that gives us our very life. Many people are dying all across the world from this terrible pollution. Waterways, and air, are being sacrificed for the greed of the corporations. They will not stop until they have taken every last drop. The cost of life to humans, and plants, and animals, is of no concern. We are carving away our earth bit by bit, we are destroying and rendering land unlivable, water undrinkable, air unbreathable. We have allowed corporations to destroy what belongs to us all.
The corporations are killing us all. If we do not realize it very soon, it will be too late. This is the truth, it is the reality of what is happening in our world as we speak.
If a person argues in favor of this unimaginable destruction of the very planet that gives us life, they are either just ignorant and unaware, or they have invested interests, or they are paid on behalf of the corporations to sell us this lie. So, that we will believe their lies and just allow them to plunder to the very end. They want us to remain ignorant and to believe that the destruction of our earth is just fine. But the truth is, that it is not just fine. The truth is that we are being fed lies. We must stand up against these corporate injustices before it is too late.