Recently I had conversations with a few dear dharma friends, who nowadays are putting much of their time, energy and comfort into trying to slow down the rate in which we are creating an ecological disaster. And I wondered about the fact that I don't feel the same urge that they do. My feeling has been and still is one of distance, even disconnect, from the burning facts. It's as if I watch them on a movie screen or read them in a fantasy book, not realizing that they are happening in reality.
The best place to start from, I discovered, is always where I'm at. So I'm looking at my feeling of disconnect from the ecological situation (in contrast to my wholehearted interest in other issues) and try to understand it. With very little progress so far.
Is it because there is actually no real disaster? Is it because there is one and I cannot deal with its complexity and magnitude? Because I don't want to give up the relative comfort of my life? Is it because my heart pulls me in other directions, which have very little to do with the state of the world? Is it because my purpose in this life is not to care about the "outer" but only about the "inner" world? Can I change where my heart is pulling me or just be aware of it?
I have nothing substantial to contribute to this exploration at the moment other than describe it here. Maybe it's a first step. Maybe it's not a step at all.