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100 Million Trees
That's a milestone! And it was reached in July 2020 by Ecosia.org, a German based organization that uses the profit they make from their search engine "to plant trees where they are needed most." More trees mean more removal of CO2 (carbon dioxide) from the air, more habitats for endangered animals, healthier rivers, biodiversity, fertile soil, productive farming... not to mention all the people and creatures that benefit from all that nature provides. By the way, at the time of this posting, more than 5 million more trees have been planted, and they are still going. What can you do? Consider using their search engine. It's free.
Source: https://blog.ecosia.org/100-million/
Image: ecosia.org
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Before you lock horns, consider this!
To help bridge the language divide, especially in political conversations, stop and consider their values. What is important to them beyond the fluff and political speak? Often, we argue/debate/discuss based on what is important to us. We push hard to get our point across while they push back, resulting in both of us—so focused on the push—feeling unheard or misunderstood. All this pushing keeps us stuck in the same place without ever reaching that rich middle ground—that place of understanding that opens the potential for positive action on both sides.
I have had actual conversations with those 'across the aisle' and found that, basically, we want the same thing like safe neighborhoods, opportunities, and fairness (to name a few) but we have to get beyond the rhetoric, beyond the words and phrases that provoke and perpetuate, to truly discover what's most important to each other. The rest is just smoke.
Read more in the The Greater Good article, "How to Speak Your Opponent’s Language in a Political Debate." The more conversation tools we have in our toolbox, the more likely we'll pick the best one for harmonious interaction.
Image source: Skeeze on Pixabay
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In case you missed it
Whitley Bay is on the northeast coast of England. Back in April during that COVID lockdown, beachgoers, mostly out for the exercise, had taken to creating dozens of pebble stacks along the beach. The above image comes from Pixabay but check out this very short BBC story for some of the actual images.
IMPORTANT NOTE: On trails and in national parks, stone piles can serve as trail markers or have cultural significance. Read this article in the Washington Post for more on why you should not touch existing markers and not build your own in public spaces.
On a SPIRITUAL NOTE:
Stacking stones is a meditative practice that brings a sense of presence and mindfulness. Setting one on top of the other requires balance and patience—a reminder to the builder—while each stone might represent a prayer or a thought of gratitude. Maybe that was the intention in Whitley Bay. It was something someone could do to bring hope, patience, balance, and beauty in a time when it felt like there was nothing we could do. Perhaps a stone was placed to say 'I was here, too. We're in this together.' And so it seems there is always something we can do to make a difference. =)
Image: Efraimstochter on Pixabay
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