Working Together

Last week's quotation, by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, could not be more apposite: "Wenn einer allein traümt, ist es nur ein Traum. Wenn viele gemeinsam traümen, ist das der Anfang einer neuer Wirklichkeit."

Which being translated, means: "When one dreams alone, it is only a dream. When many dream together, it is the beginning of a new reality."

And this week, millions of protesters are gathering to support the Extinction Rebellion movement. So many people have been galvanised into action by the grim realisation that our planet is under threat. That our lives, and the lives of all living creatures and plants, are under threat. That it is almost too late to do anything about it. But that nevertheless, the effort has to be made.

Many Unitarians will be spending at least part of this week down in London to join the protests. I am so glad that we are a part of this, because we only have one planet. They are seeking to help people to understand that there are better ways to live, based on a lifestyle which Unitarian author John Naish calls "enoughness". 

Because at the moment we are a society of consumers, with our heads buried firmly in the sand. Natural resources such as gas and oil are running out and the biodiversity on which our planet depends for its health is at risk from the activities of humankind.

Extinction Rebellion has published a book called This is Not A Drill. In it, the authors write: "This is a crisis that requires radical system change on a scale never seen before."  They write: "The challenge we now face is extremely daunting. Because the problem, unfortunately, is not just the climate. The problem is ecology. The problem is the environment. The problem is biodiversity. The problem is capitalism. The problem is colonialsim. The problem is power. The problem is inequality. The problem is greed, and corruption, and money, and this tired, broken system. The problem is our complete and utter failure to imagine any meaningful alternative."

The book has some wonderful suggestions for ways in which every person can join the rebellion, by choosing sustainability over consumerism, by campaigning to *make* governments and industry understand what is at stake. 

This could be our last chance... let's work together to make it happen.