Friday 15 October 2010

The global movement to unity

This year, I discovered (yeah, tons of astonishing things, but this is one more!) the international campaign 350.org, dedicated to building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis.

350 is the number of parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere to get back to, to avoid runaway climate change. 350 is the number of writers, scholars, activists, leaders, and visionaries who support the cause and message.



Did you noticed the song whistled in background? Yeah! It's Home, from these guys that we love: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros! What a good match, don't you think?

As the video is showing, each individual can make a whale of a difference. This is why I decided to jump into action even if I remembered of all of this only on the night before and that it was too late to register to any established working group (there were many different ones in and around Montreal: conferences, help on farming, potlucks, and more). Thus, on the very morning of the 10/10/10, I didn't yet know what I would be doing to join my forces, but I knew one thing for sure: I would be contributing, no matter what!

And
as I expected, the day has been a source of joy and an opportunity for new connections. I knew I could trust the universe to guide me to great sources of inpiration, so I've just followed its flow, which has led my friend Rachel and I out of the town for a bit of hiking at the Mont Saint-Gregoire, in the village where I grew up as a teenager.

Since the village is well known for its orchards and its sugar houses, I naturally thought: "Hey, let's stop by and pick some apples, which we'll distribute on our hike!"
Well... I said that the idea of picking apples came naturally, which is absolutely true but so funny! Okay, I'll explain myself here: believe it or not, I was doing it for the very first time in my life!! Don't you think that it is very strange that the first fruits I've been picking and eating fresh in the next minute (from a tree I mean, not from bushes. That, I did it often, though!) were exotic fruits, as Liliko'i (passion fruits) and litchees, and NOT the famous fruits from my country? I think it's kind of weird... and sad, at some point! But I am lucky enough for it became a natural reflex since that trip to Kauai. Better late than never, as they say! Right?

Thus, this is what we did. We went to one of the many orchards, picked two types of apples and we filled our bag. Then we jumped back in the car and headed off to the mountain for a short hiking. By the time we arrived on the first top, we had given almost all of the apples: "Hello! Would you like a fresh picked apple?" and we were started, connecting with every person we were passing by, and telling them about the special day and the importance of preserving our environment. Wow! How fun it was and so cool cats we met! Everybody was more than happy for this "unsual" connection. Hummm...in what is it "unsual", are you wondering? Well in Quebec province (maybe it's similar in many other parts of the world, but I can't really say...), people like to connect with others, but they do not (probably just because living into our mind and not into our heart, and stopping ourselves in the fear to be judge?)... but if you make the first steps, they will be pleased and smiley. So this is what I try to do more and more, and that makes me happy!
Rachel and I had a quick pic-nic on the belvedere, finished to distribute the last apples, chatted for a while with two nice guys that we met, before to walk down back with them, while refilling our empty bag with all the trash we found on our way. Yaaayy!! Now I can say that we jumped in the special day of unity for a healthier globe!!
Once arrived at the foot of the mount, we lay down for a moment in the fallen leaves and filled our nostrils with their good smell. Then, we finally sorted the garbage to throw away and the recycling before leaving.
Ahhh! What a wonderful day! It felt so damn good to jump into that day of action! Thank you, Mother Nature, for giving me the chance, every single day, to see your beauty! Peace to you, beautiful blue globe!


Please feel free to share about that day! Have you done anything? Do you have any good ideas for the next worldwide action day?

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