Читать книгу Active Hope - Joanna Macy - Страница 45

Next time you see a tree or plant, take a moment to express thanks. With each breath you take in, experience gratitude for the oxygen that would simply not be there save for the magnificent work plants have done in transforming our atmosphere and making it breathable. As you look at all the greenery, bear in mind also that plants, by absorbing carbon dioxide and reducing the greenhouse effect, have saved our world from becoming dangerously overheated. Without plants and all they do for us, we would not be alive today. Consider how you would like to express your thanks.

The carbon dioxide released when we burn fossil fuels puts back into the atmosphere the gas that ancient plants removed hundreds of millions of years ago. By burning fossil fuels we are reversing one of the planet’s cooling mechanisms, and temperatures are rising. Present-day forests make their contribution to planetary cooling not just through absorbing carbon dioxide but also through helping clouds to form. When tropical forests are chopped down, the local climate becomes hotter and drier, making it more difficult for trees to grow again. Tropical forests like the Amazon are under threat not only from deforestation but also from drought related to climate change. They need our help, just as we need theirs.

Much of the oxygen we breathe comes from plants that died long ago. We can give thanks to these ancestors of our present-day foliage, but we can’t give back to them. We can, however, give forward. When we are unable to return a favor, we can pay it forward to someone or something else.²³ Using this approach, we can see ourselves as part of a larger flow of giving and receiving throughout time. Receiving from the past, we can give to the future. When tackling issues such as climate change, the stance of gratitude is a refreshing alternative to guilt or fear as a source of motivation.