Swan Sanctuary

There is an ominous feeling in the air. I know that others, like me, can feel it. Those of us with acute senses can notice the slightest shift in energy, just walking from one room to another, or driving from one part of town to another. We remain on high alert, always observing the world around us. Many of us are loners, living solitary, and often lonely lives.

We are surrounded by climate change deniers. Recent months have shown us that climate change is really happening; although some still refuse to believe that humans have played a part in it. The ocean temperature in Florida has risen to over 100 degrees F. threatening marine life and coral reefs – and ultimately, entire ecosystems. Extended droughts and heat waves in many areas of the country are also affecting human life. People in Phoenix, Arizona are piling into emergency rooms with 3rd degree burns, obtained from touch metal seatbelts in their cars, or stepping on hot pavement. Their pets, too, suffer from burns to the bottoms of their paws.

The nearly total covering of the Earth with concrete, asphalt, and tall buildings with glass windows has caused temperatures to rise as much as 8 degrees higher in cities. This is exacerbated by the lack of trees and vegetation that would normally provide shade. Trees and plants protect the planet just as the skin on our bodies protects what is inside of them. We have removed the earth’s protective covering, exposing our planet, other species, and ourselves to unfathomable suffering. We have taken what was once beautiful and replaced it with impermeable substances. Then we have strewn it with trash, cigarette butts, and bits and pieces of metal, plastic, and electronic rubbish.

We can no longer deny that our world is heating up. Peoples’ tempers are heating up as well. Our own country continues to become more divided. Suicide bombings and wars continue to rage in other parts of the world. Are you one of those who can feel the urgency of our situation? Can we turn the tide of the glowing and growing embers – both real and emotional? I believe that we still have time – but very little. We can find ways to douse the flames that are threatening life as we know it; but we must choose to do so. We must be willing to change. We must do our part.

When you have lived for nearly three quarters of a century, you begin to see how much life has changed. The morals that were in place in the 1950s would seem almost prudish to today’s teenagers – assuming they have them at all. Prior to color television, we watched The Donna Reed Show, I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Father Knows Best in black and white; where couples were never seen in the same bed together. Fast forward to movies in the 2020s and you will see intimate scenes on your television screen that rival that of porn. Sex was just as prevalent 75 years ago. Marital affairs, incest, and rape were just as common; but the taboo was in talking about such matters. The sexual revolution, which began in the 1960s, has kept rolling, seemingly gathering momentum over the years. The pendulum between the sexual denial of the Victorian era and the promiscuity of today has swung further than could have been imagined.

Clearly, the human race is undergoing a moral upheaval, especially where family values are concerned. Rebellion against organized religion, that for centuries had suppressed and hidden many human behaviors, has created a fissure in the stability of our culture.

Roughly fifty percent of marriages end in divorce. The average marriage lasts only seven years. Still, there are a surprising number of people who still believe in the lies they tell themselves. Thousands of dollars are spent on elaborate weddings, for marriages that often end in the first year or two. Still, many cling to the fantasy of “happily ever after.” Others live sexually active lives without ever considering marriage.

Life continues to change and each new generation views the world through a different lens than the previous generation. In 1969, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young recorded Teach Your Children. We have very little control over the code our children choose to live by. We can only look at them and sigh.

I had barely awakened this morning when the rain began. It was a downpour. There was little wind – only the rumble of thunder now and then. It is the kind of morning I relish, with the fresh scent of just washed air streaming through the window. It has turned out to be one of those cool summers with a high of only 64℉ predicted for today. The plants in my garden are reluctant to grow, but this does not diminish my enjoyment of the unusual abundance of rain that we have been blessed with this year.

Other parts of the country have been plagued with drought and smoke from the wildfires in Canada sometimes drifts down here, enveloping the sky in haze. Many places further north, especially the Arctic, are experiencing warmer temperatures as glaciers continue to melt. Still, we go through our lives either enjoying, or complaining about the weather that comes our way. I love rain every bit as much as a warm, sunny day; but while I am grateful for the rain, I am also concerned. Catastrophic weather events continue to occur worldwide and we can no longer afford to be complacent.

We, the people, must demand that our governments take immediate action to fight climate change. We must reduce the use of fossil fuels and our carbon footprint, to help halt rising sea levels. We must hold enterprises accountable for their contribution to what could ultimately be our undoing. Many people do not care about the loss of thousands of species, or the fact that polar bears are facing extinction; but they care when a tornado rips through their town, or a wildfire destroys their home. It hits them in the pocketbook – the only thing that will jar them enough to reconsider their personal impact on Earth.

I have no problem accepting what is when it is something I enjoy, such as this morning’s lovely rain. At the same time, I know that as a human being living on this planet and as a citizen of Earth, I must do what I can to facilitate positive change. On this beautiful, rainy morning I know that above all, I must remain hopeful.

We have known for quite some time about the widespread contamination of our oceans with plastics. What I do not understand is: why do we not immediately stop doing something once we have become aware of its detrimental effects on the environment? These discoveries should dominate every news channel world wide; and those responsible for such circumstances should be required to cease and desist what they are doing. The problem is that most of the practices that continue to negatively impact our world are carried out by billion dollar corporations. Corporate enterprises are made up of people just like you and me; but no one person assumes responsibility. Therefore; the cause of the problems we face remain blameless in the name of profit. The compassion shown by a handful of individuals is snuffed out and the unconscionable deeds continue.

Not so long ago, we purchased soap in simple paper wrappers. Today, bar soap and soap dishes have given way to giant plastic bottles with pumps and sprayers. Dispensers of body washes, shampoo, hand soap and hand sanitizer line our store shelves. When empty, they are rarely recycled. Laundry and cleaning products, cat litter, cases of bottled water and enhanced waters, tubs of salad and fruits, plastic utensils, makeup and lotions, hardware, over-the-counter and pharmaceutical drugs – in fact nearly everything – is packaged in difficult to open containers that are thrown away without a second thought.

Ninety percent of our seabirds contain plastic in their stomachs due to the vast amounts of plastic that get washed up on shores. Kamilo Beach in Hawaii and Henderson Island in the south Pacific are two of the most polluted places on Earth. Shearwaters unknowingly feed plastic to their newly hatched chicks, mistaking it for food, so most of their offspring do not survive. Whales and dolphins also contain plastic in their guts and sea turtles are known to eat plastic bags. These plastics cause internal injuries, lacerations, infections, and poisoning to these innocent creatures.

Much of our own food now contains microplastics. Our clothing is made with plastic threads and spandex, which are other forms of plastic. Polyester has replaced much of the cotton and other natural fibers that our clothing used to be made of. Polyester is also derived from plastic. All of these plastics require crude oil, natural gas, and coal for their manufacturing – all taken from inside the earth. The plastics that we unwittingly consume are making us sick, too. The doctors and hospitals don’t mind; however, because they are getting rich off of so many sick patients. There is also widespread use of plastics in the entire medical industry.

Plastic has become so prevalent in our modern world that it is like a fungus spreading into every nook and cranny of life as we know it. Are we, as this human race, willing to change, to save the world and ourselves? That is the big question.

I have just begun watching a short documentary series narrated by Morgan Freeman. It is called Our Universe. In this world that we live in, we either eat – or we are eaten. Humans, being the top predator, are not literally eaten; but the rule still applies. We do not eat one another; but we often feed on each others’ energy. Our egos have ravenous appetites.

Like all animals, we never let our guard down for long. Our lives are driven by a hunger to reach some point in the future where we hope we can at last let out a big sigh. Those moments of reaching the top of whatever proverbial mountain we have climbed never last for long. We are soon faced with another challenge, for challenge is in a sense, the metaphorical predator that keeps us on our toes.

Human beings used to be nomadic, migrating according to the seasons and the availability of food. Millions of other species, birds, fish, herbivores and their predators, turtles, insects, and whales embark on annual migrations in order to reach their breeding or feeding grounds. They encounter danger and difficulty along the way. Sometimes, they are eaten. It is most often, the very young or the weak that are preyed upon. This has been the way of the world for millennia. The population of one species never outgrew the perfect balance that had been put in place.

When humans ceased to migrate, settled down and immersed themselves in agriculture, the stability of life on this planet slowly began to waver. In the past mere fifty years, our human population has nearly tripled! We are the sole cause of the extinction of hundreds of other species.

Some humans live selfish, greedy, egocentric lives, with no regard for any life but their own. Scientists are now revealing to us; however, what wiser humans have known for ages. We are all connected. Whether we are white, black, indigenous, male, female or something in between; and whether we are rich, poor, short, tall, thin, obese, intellectual, or artistic, we all are made of the same basic molecules. We are made of the very same stuff as insects, elephants, lizards, birds, fish, snakes, and trees. We breathe the same air. We drink the same water.

Whether we prey on other species, destroy their habitats and food sources, or whether we feel superior or righteous, we cannot change the mode of operation of life on Earth. We can prey mentally and emotionally on our fellow man to feed our egos, but whatever harm we do will return to us. The good that we do will also return to us. We can reverse some of the damage that we have caused to others and to our planet through good deeds, good thoughts, and love; for these too, are forms of sustenance. We must be willing to be eaten by allowing our divine nature to feed those around us. It is in giving that our hunger is satiated and it is in offering ourselves that we can transform our world and bring it back into balance.

Living in this unenlightened town is challenging, to say the least. Fireworks are banned in many places, especially where there is drought and fire danger; but I had to endure four nights of legal fireworks here. The rain that we had on Tuesday night (the 4th) did not stop the pyromaniacs. Fireworks were being exploded in the street only a few feet from my upstairs windows that rattled and echoed with each boom. I felt certain that the windows would shatter. In the morning, the lawns and streets were covered with the aftermath debris. I saw a man, too lazy to pick up the mess that had been left, using a leaf blower to blow it all away.

I have previously expressed my dismay over the fact that recycling does not exist in this town. More recently I went on a Saturday to the farmer’s market only to find that it was no longer happening here. The only grocery store in town that offers at least some organic options, does not have self-checkout and the employees do not have a clue how to bag groceries. Most of the consumers still walk out of the store with dozens of the plastic bags that have been banned in more progressive places.

It feels as though the country is moving backwards and all of the progress that has been made over the past fifty years is unraveling. The overturning of Roe v Wade, the continued destruction of habitat, cigarette smoking and drug addiction, and gun loving NRA supporters – to name only a few things – is evidence that our wheels are spinning and progress to restore Nature is running into a wall at every turn. We are no longer a democracy. Our country is being run by corporate billionaires who do not care about the people or the planet. I know that there are others who, like me, are hoping the world will awaken. David Attenborough and millions of others are doing what they can do, imploring people to look outside of their own selfish ego-centered lives, to show compassion, and to seek wisdom over knowledge. We will never give up, but will we be enough to turn the tide? Will the Age of Aquarius arrive? More importantly, will it arrive in time?