Don’t Give Up Your Leading

That’s what I always tell Friends when we are talking about Earthcare issues.

Don’t feel guilty. Don’t feel overwhelmed. If you choose just one area of Earthcare you care about (a list of possible topics is given below) and work on it with your local peace/eco-justice, interfaith or Transition group, you can begin, along with others who have similar leadings, to invest your energy in actions that can make a difference.

For instance, if peace is your main concern, a little thought will show you that peace without a planet is impossible, and vice versa. You might feel led to reflect on questions like, How can peace be built? What can we learn of conflict prevention, and reconciliation, from the Alternatives to Violence Project, and from the work of African Peace Teams? Exploring questions like these and inviting clarity for action will become extremely important in a world where severe shortages of energy, food, water, and other resources are becoming extremely likely.

If your interest is gardening or art, you might be drawn to helping improve conditions in your local city. You might explore how to develop local food sources, encourage urban agriculture, and share ideas about permaculture. Or, if quality of life is to replace quantity of goods in a mass consumer society, local celebrations and local artists will contribute joy to daily life, and this kind of local planning needs hands, hearts, and minds like yours

I have developed an open Google Docs resource called What Can We Do? (http://tinyurl.com/cylo5tl) that compiles a list of positive Earthcare goals and proposals, based on more than 100 NGO source documents, FWCC consultations, and faith-based declarations. Some objectives in the document might seem utopian, but they are a standard by which we can measure progress. If you are having a hard time finding others in

your area who share your concerns, send a query to QEW discussions. I bet at least three others in North America would connect with you and perhaps set up an online group around that interest. You could use What Can We Do? in your group and propose updates. Send changes to fdmillar@gmail.com and I will compile them and update the living document.