Long Walks On Leafy Streets

5/27/2014 Peabody Street NW, Washington, DC
On Wednesday morning last week I was cutting grass and planting seeds in our home. As mentioned in the previous post I had been feeling a bit melancholic over several events, including the latest round of bad news over climate change. I also said that the way I deal with this is by doing something about it. Well, planting the zucchini and chili pepper seeds was satisfactory in that way, but it also literally planted the seeds of an idea in my mind. I came up with a way to empower people at the same time as fighting climate change. It is not really new as much as a synthesis of many things people have been doing. I want to help people to become self-sufficient and live in harmony with nature by using technology and scientific innovation to provide livelihood, food, energy and shelter for them in a sustainable way. Already people are forming co-operative societies that provide food from farmers directly to people.
We should form co-operatives to provide energy and shelter and livelihoods as well. We should provide jobs for people by helping them design sustainable transportation such as the solar powered bike that I talked about last time. I felt euphoric upon coming up with this idea. This is the mission I have been looking for all my life. It combines my interest in protecting nature, bringing people together, helping the poor and in figuring out new ways to do things.
The environmental movement has achieved much success all over the world in cleaning up our air and water and protecting nature. Now we face our biggest challenge in the form of climate change. Dealing with this challenge would require a change in the way people live. But it is very difficult for people to do that, and that is why there has been so little progress in addressing climate change except in Europe. But climate change is not waiting for people to become enlightened and change their way of life. That is why it is important that we provide an alternative to the current model of development and economic progress that is so destructive to the environment. We need to strengthen the hands of those who are working to show that people can live a comfortable life with all modern amenities without having to destroy the environment. We need to show the poor a way to get employment and provide for their families without having to work for multinational corporations at slave wages while farms and forests are converted to virtual factories for the industries. We need a new model for a market-based economy that is sustainable and in harmony with nature.
These thoughts gave me a new sense of purpose and peace of mind. The feeling of helplessness and a vague restlessness that had been gnawing at the back of my mind gave way to excitement and a newfound joy for life. It was further reinforced by our trip to the Shenandoah Mountains during the Memorial Day weekend that just ended.
Nicole and I drove in a Zipcar Prius to the Skyland resort on Skyline drive on Friday night and went for a short hike on the Appalachian Trail on Saturday morning. I woke up just before sunrise and took some pictures. I will post them soon on my Flickr page. It was great to be up when everything was quiet and enjoy the views of the valleys and the ridges in the distance. Later that day we visited Luray caverns. Nicole had never seen it so she was very excited to be there. I have already posted some pictures on Facebook but plan to post more on Flickr.
On Sunday night we attended meditation with the Washington Mindfulness Community. Jindra talked about her experiences at the Blue Cliff Monastery retreat with Thay (Thich Nhat Hanh). Meditating helped me to clear all the noise in my mind. Once again I was able to center myself in the deepest part of me, where there is no ego, ambition, planning, fear, anger or anxiety.

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