When people view my Jesus Icon, they often say, “Mary Jane, this is so spiritual, what were you thinking of when you did this icon painting?¨ At the time I was thinking of the cosmos and how we should mend the hole that is there.
The question may be, is there a whole in the cosmos? As a metaphor perhaps there is. Humankind is making real deep and lasting gash on the face of the planet, deep bleeding holes in continents around the world. We are using up the resources for our own benefit with little thought for the future health of the planet. Sheep have eaten grass for centuries with no noticeable change to the environment, but humans have created a massive machine cranking out everything in its wake for its own self preservation leaving their footprint all over the countryside.
Greed and Beauty
Magnificent coastlines which have no buildings, and pristine mountain slopes standing naked but for some weathered trees are both visual comfort zones of peace and rest. The fields grow wheat and oats, the sheep and cattle graze on a thick bed of moist green grass. At first glance the beauty will take your breath away until you realize a few, a very few humans own it all, swapping its production and output among themselves. The beauty is owned by the unbridled greed of the supper wealthy, fortunes amassed in an age of greed and excessive power.
When is it Enough?
I learned 85 % of land in Scotland is owned by 7% of the people, the percentage may vary a bit but it illustrates the point. Ownership keeps the land beautiful and productive but at what expense to the rest of us, our education, freedom and human diversity? Perhaps we should thank these few chosen dynasties for their environmental concerns and conservation efforts. Perhaps we should hail the rich persons vision of shared resources. I cannot, it is a lie, this sort of pristine beauty is controled and not shared, not sustainable and not realistic.
So Where is the Hole in the Cosmos?
The hole is in the greedy heart, it designs systems for its own gain. The Lord, Duke and Earl paradigm is over, it no longer works in a world that loves plastic, fast food and Cell Phones. Their wealth drives the system and is intimately linked to the ignorance the ones in power perpetuate by seducing the poor and the way they a taught to live. The wealthy owners of great conglomerates hide their waste and miss management of the environment from the press but not from the poor souls who see the destruction happening in their fields, forests, water systems, air quality, etc. More and more of the population is squeezed into small urban areas, working long hours, with very little beauty around them, their glory is in buying more stuff and sending selfies to one another. The unavoidable effect from the greed driving these “unseen owners” is costing the rest of humanity our ability to live on the planet in a flourishing environment.
There is no way to stop the behavior but there is a good bit of waiting to see what our collective future will be. The time is now, to see clearly. There is hardly a place you can look and see beauty with no human footprint. When we notice original untouched beauty, not created or manipulated by humans our heart is filled with the thought, Ha! This is the way God created it!
Mathew 18:15-20
“Whatever we bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever we loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” I wonder what it is we are doing on earth which will be reflected in heaven? There is an abundant amount of great beauty being created as well as a great amount of misery. I would suggest we reflect, think carefully and go gently through life. Don’t waste, or take more than we need and be kind.
Perhaps this small effort, to shift our consciousness will be enough to keep it all in balance.
Peace
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