April
2009
In this issue...
- Antidotes
to Terrorism?
- Your exploration this month.
- From the Blog...
- Quotes of the month
- Want to comment or contribute?
- Personal coaching
News and Events
Tuesday 7th April, 12:30pm. I’ll
be speaking at Community Soul in Bristol on “Healthy
People, Healthy Planet, Healthy Profit.” This
is an open business networking meeting. Members free, non-members £12.50
in advance or £15 on the door. Further information
from Community
Soul.
25 Apr – 3rd May. National Beanpole Week. This one
caught my eye as something very simple that the gardeners
amongst us can do to help protect the environment, wildlife,
rural jobs, ancient skills and traditions. Organised by
the Small Woods Association, the idea of this event is
to draw out attention to supporting coppiced woodland by
choosing locally grown coppiced beanpoles instead of imported
bamboo poles. Further details at www.beanpoles.org.uk
If you haven’t seen it already,
do find a screening of the film “The
Age of Stupid” (www.ageofstupid.net )
to view this month and take your friends. Apparently,
from 1st May it will be available for groups to hold their
own public screenings too. Looks like it could be a good
one for Transition Initiatives (www.transitiontowns.org)to
add to their repertoire.
1. Antidotes
to Terrorism?
One of the most disturbing realities
of living in 21st century society is the presence of
terrorism. Our
governments
currently wrestle with legislation and national security
measures in order to “combat terrorism”,
using methods and language that appear to stem from terrorism
itself. What is there that we can do as individuals to
help reduce it in a humane, life sustaining way? How
can living and working sustainably help us to find solutions
to terrorism?
In the Industrial Growth Society,
one of the assumptions we live by is that humans are
primarily consumers. Our
importance in society then rests on how good we are at
acquiring material wealth and the big consumers are seen
as more successful than the smaller ones. It is this
attitude of competition rather than cooperation that
has led to increasing unevenness in the distribution
of the world’s wealth, not just between nations
and geographical areas, but often within wealthy societies.
In nations such as India, the United States and Brazil,
you can see extreme wealth existing side by side with
the most extreme poverty. Within such out-of-balance
societies, you can expect to see high crime rates, family
breakdown, civil unrest, a sense of despair and domestic
violence, for example.
It is this extreme form of inequality
that gives the impression that “globalization” means
simply the colonization of the poor by the wealthy
capitalist.
This leads to humiliation and rage and fuels the hatred
of terrorists who both envy and fear the wealthy in developed
nations. Ignoring these inequalities and perpetuating
our narrow, consumerism based view of wealth has led
to the violent reaction we see against capitalism and
to the hatred that fuels anti capitalist and anti-Western
terrorism.
We need a concept of wealth that encompasses much more
than just material capital or money. This is where sustainable
living and sustainable business become essential. We
need a concept of wealth that enriches rather than impoverishes
the human spirit, that inspires people to give of their
best in creating it, that springs from a responsible
and compassionate inclusion of the less well off and
from a committed resolve to meet basic human needs. In
our business lives, we also need a notion of wealth that
reflects meaningful and fulfilling personal and working
lives.
Where does the anger and the hatred
that fuel terrorism originate? What terrorists seem
to have in common is
their feelings of being overlooked or excluded by society.
Their need for self-esteem is threatened or frustrated
and they want to lash out with a claim that their existence
(their cause, values, beliefs) be recognised. Indeed,
frustration or fear of one sort or another underlies
most anger:
love or loyalty that has not been requited, worth that
has not been valued, a point of view that has not been
heard, a self that has been rejected, denied or left
out. As a business strategy, anger leads to finding some
way to beat, destroy or damage the competition, even
when cooperation might have led to a better result.
This idea is not new. Rewind thousands
of years and you will find stories that can yield a
message that we
can relate to now and that makes perfect sense in the
21st Century. For this reason, I love to read parables
from ancient spiritual texts and one of my favourites
is “The Buddha and the Terrorist” by Satish
Kumar.
The main character in this tale
is Angulimala who is a serial killer. He terrorises
his fellow villagers by
ambushing and killing his victims, chopping off their
fingers and stringing them around his neck in a gruesome
and bloody necklace. His unusual encounter with the Buddha
leads not to the death of the Buddha but incredibly to
Angulimala’s reformation and enlightenment due
to the kindness and compassion of the Buddha. Whilst
the Buddha accepts Angulimala into spiritual service,
the villagers seek revenge and want him punished for
his awful deeds. However, when Angulimala is finally
put on trial, they come to understand that putting Angulimala
to death will not bring back their loved ones.
There are useful messages for us living in the 21st
century, especially in our current political climate:
- There is an alternative
to punishment and revenge.
- We need to address the
social and environmental issues underlying terrorism.
Conclusion.
On a personal level, by adopting attitudes of sustainable
living (compassion, generosity, inclusion, cooperation,
non-violence etc) we can do our bit to temper fear, anger
and hatred in ourselves and those around us.
On the level of our community and society, the sustainable
values of mutuality. consensus and equality are worth
giving serious attention to as an antidote to terrorism.
Suggested Further Reading
"The Buddha and the Terrorist" – Satish
Kumar
Satish Kumar is Editor of Resurgence magazine
and Director of Programmes at Schumacher
College.
He is the author of two other books: “No Destination:
An Autobiography” and “You
Are, Therefore I am: A Declaration of Dependence.”
2. Your
exploration this month.
In what ways do competition and consumerism play out
in your personal life and your business life?
What would be different if you were to decide to cooperate
with your competitors in some way?
3. From
the Blog...
The Wound of the Heart
On the surface we play out our
conditioning in our relationships with others, whilst
underneath –sometimes very
deep down – we all have the capacity to make soulful
connections… (more)
Downshifting to the Canary Islands
Today, I‘m treating you to a fascinating and inspiring
guest article from Stella in La Palma, Canary Islands.
She’s also offering an opportunity to experience
sustainable living in this beautiful part of the world… (more)
Top 10 Sustainable Business Rituals.
A ritual can be defined as a solemn
ceremony of observance. It is a term often associated
with religion. What I’m
suggesting here, however, is that rituals can be a way
to remind us to nourish ourselves every day, both on
a practical physical level and whilst engaging our hearts
in our work… (more)
4. Quotes
of the month.
"Character isn’t
inherited. One builds it daily by the way one thinks
and acts, thought
by thought, action by action. If one lets fear or hate
or anger take possession of the mind, they become self-forged
chains."
Helen Douglas
“ Beliefs
separate. Loving thoughts unite.”
Paul Ferrini
“
Souls don’t have races or sexes or religions. They
are beyond artificial divisions.”
Brian Weiss
5. Want
to comment or contribute?
If you would like to comment on any aspect of this newsletter
or submit an article for inclusion in it, please contact
me by email.
6. Personal
Coaching.
One-to-one coaching can help you:
- let go of your old,stressful
way of life, find a new path of vitality and an improved
way of living.
- deal with fears surrounding
financial responsibilities, your relationships with
others and other consequences of making a major life
change.
- improve your health, wellbeing
and spiritual life.
- further your personal growth.
- achieve balance, clarity and
peace.
You can view further details on personal coaching here
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policy
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Have a fruitful
month!
Sally
Sally Lever
Sustainable Living Coach
+44 (0)1749 674842
sally@sallylever.co.uk
http://www.sallylever.co.uk/
7 Welsford Avenue, Wells, Somerset.
BA5 2HX. UK. |
