Transition Pasadena
  • Home
  • Our Projects
  • News
  • Get Involved!
  • Calendar of Events

Book Review: “Climate A New Story” by Charles Eisenstein

4/2/2019

1 Comment

 
Picture
Photo by Jason Schuller on Unsplash

The LA Times article shows a beautiful super-bloom and mentions folks trampling the flowers, out of ignorance, which seems to describe the general state we humans have evolved to in separating ourselves from nature. We are pretty much unaware of the individual life each organic thing has, and as a result lack respect, and yes reverence we would normally give another organic being like ourselves.
 
Reading the latest book by Charles Eisenstein, "Climate A New Story" I am made sensitive to the view that Eisenstein develops. The old story is that climate change needs to be met with keeping the fuels in the ground, reducing harmful gases, and becoming more involved with hundreds of projects like not using straws, and preserving water that falls from the sky. Important as these may be, they do not address the primary cause of these injuries to our planet. How we deal with that is the new story. 
 
In Eisenstein’s previous book, "The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible", that beautiful world is outlined as the new story. As the chapters unfold, the author invites us to look at our "old ways" of thinking, such as the notion of scarcity, and how that influences decision making.  Or, that growth is necessary. In fact, climate warming started many centuries ago, and our views are desperately in need of change. The resolution is as simple to describe as it is complex and difficult to fulfill. 
 
First, I need to recognize my being as an inter-being, not just an agent, but an actual part, one of many vital organs within this enormously complex cosmic system. How that is done is the hard part. I must look within, and I must be honest. I have to accept as the way - or ways - a lifetime of habits has taken me. Once seen, and the views between old versus new stories are clear, new points of view start unfolding, mercifully, since relying on old ways of thinking are going to produce the same old ways of doing. Each of us homo sapiens possesses a higher intelligence that sees and knows. We need only sweep away the dross of habit and allow it to function.  
 
We - most of us who are not indigenous, and have not been raised to care for nature - lack the teaching and discipline to respect and honor nature as interrelated, as inter-being. The damage done to one part of nature effects all of nature, just as an injured kidney affects the whole body. Also, thankfully, the health administered to one part affects the health of the whole. That is the new story we must take. Be an agent of nature, not simply a participant following prescribed remedies. My individual acts are vital to the whole.
 
I am nature, in every respect as much as a sunflower is, and as the fog is that quenches the thirsty throats of Coastal Redwoods, and blankets hillsides with glorious colors of orange and gold.
 
LA Times article:
https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?pnum=10&edid=da89cd4c-108a-470f-819c-b5a0c5ebcc86
 
 
-----Greg Marquez

1 Comment
Therese
4/14/2019 07:02:59 am

I am Nature.
This book sounds great.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Subscribe To Our Blog

    Want to stay current with news from us on a (almost) weekly basis? Click here to subscribe to our blog feed!

    Transition Network News


    Other Resilience News



    Our Previous Posts

    June 2024
    July 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    June 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    December 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011


•  Home
•  Latest News  /  Event Photos
•  Throop Learning Garden  /  History  /  Garden Photos
•  Repair Café Pasadena  /  Photo Gallery
•  Get Involved  /  Contact Us

Creative Commons License
Content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Picture
Site design: Qrys Cunningham
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos from Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, club125.greenbelt, Luigi Mengato, Images_of_Money, KJGarbutt, Will Merydith, Sayjack, skampy, El Coleccionista de Instantes, audreyjm529