I don’t know if being the head of the United Nations would be an awesome job or an intensely frustrating one. Being in the position would give you information about major happenings all across the globe and it would provide insights from many different perspectives. However, far too often, wise council from UN leadership is ignored by its member nations.
Not long ago, the current UN Secretary-General António Guterres, delivered a very sober and direct warning as part of his report on the Work of the Organization. He noted that the nations of the world are, “[G]ridlocked in colossal global dysfunction. The international community is not ready or willing to tackle the big dramatic challenges of our age. These crises threaten the very future of humanity and the fate of our planet.”
Here is a smattering of some his comments that most stood out to me:
· Noting that geopolitical gridlock is preventing useful cooperation he said, “But the reality is that we live in a world where the logic of cooperation and dialogue is the only path forward.”
· “No major global challenge can be solved by a coalition of the willing. We need a coalition of the world.”
· He noted we must end “our suicidal war against nature.”
· “But the poorest and most vulnerable – those who contributed least to this crisis – are bearing its most brutal impacts. Meanwhile, the fossil fuel industry is feasting on hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies and windfall profits while household budgets shrink and our planet burns.”
· “Fossil fuel interests need to spend less time averting a PR disaster – and more time averting a planetary one.”
· “Of course, fossil fuels cannot be shut down overnight. A just transition means leaving no person or country behind. But it is high time to put fossil fuel producers, investors and enablers on notice: Polluters must pay.”
· “[W]e don’t have the beginning of a global architecture to deal with any of this.”
Here is a man who probably knows about the current brokenness in our world, in human civilization, than anyone, and instead of giving up he is speaking up. I think about the sense of burden, that must come with his knowledge. I respect and appreciate him for continuing to speak truth to power.
Importantly, and impressively, instead of stopping with the relatively easy task of outlining problems, Sec. Guterres also laid out action steps that could be taken:
· Have all developed economies tax the windfall profits of fossil fuel companies and use those funds to provide support to poorer countries suffering loss and damage caused by the climate crisis and to help people struggling with rising food and energy prices.
· Ensure the centrality of women’s leadership.
· Account for the environment in economic models.
· Recognize human rights as central to the prevention of conflict.
· Listen to and work with youth.
Details can be found in his landmark 2021 report, Our Common Agenda. Rather than succumbing to sadness, Guterres is offering a vision and roadmap for creating a world that works better for all beings.
I think I’ve always sensed myself as more of a global citizen than a national one even though I was just a little farm kid raised by parents who had never been outside the United States. I became intrigued with the United Nations when I first learned of it in my early-twenties. It seemed like an Earth-based version of the Start Trek Federation of Planets, and I was a mild Trekkie. Then, just as I was really becoming aware of, and passionate about, environmental issues, the UN brokered the Montreal Protocol, committing the majority of the world’s nations to rapidly phasing out the chemicals that were destroying Earth’s vital ozone layer. This became the first global, collective, successful planetary-scale environmental restoration project. My sense of hope for what a United Nations type approach could create rose to new heights when I attended a few UN events. I loved the multitude of languages coming together through translators, and headsets that dialed into each of the languages as needed for participants.
The economic, ecological and political world crisis we find ourselves in is a call to action and it requires action at a scale that no one nation can meet. I find hope in Guterres’ leadership, boldness, toughness, and vision. I also find hope in the fact that his recent powerful address was covered by multiple media outlets way beyond internal UN platforms.
I know the UN gets criticized by some for being ineffectual and doing a lot of meeting and talking rather than substantive doing. It gets criticized by other factions as the face of some conspiratorial one world order BS. I realize the UN has flaws – what human institution doesn’t? We need a collaborative, collective approach to the globally interconnected challenges we face. At least we have a structure already in place with potential to deliver.
In honor of and gratitude for these precious and precarious times.
Cylvia
Upcoming Speaking Engagements
Spiritual Action – transforming your life and our world. This Sunday, Oct. 23rd. Event starts at 10amPT, Cylvia will speak appr. 10:30am, at Unity Spiritual Community Central Oregon – In-person and livestreamed. Here is an intro video clip.
Spiritual Economics -- creating a world that better for all beings. Spirit Café podcast Oct. 26th, 9am PT. We’ll send a link for viewing shortly.
Life with Livvy and Lotta Dog
I took the girls for a road trip to the Oregon coast. I’ve always loved the ocean, and it’s especially appreciated now that I live in mountainous high desert. Being on and near the ocean has a primal feel, a deep sensing of the life force of Creation.
There are few things I find more entertaining that dogs, off-leash, in complete abandon on sand. Olive had only been to the ocean once before and had a blast. To be perfectly honest, I almost didn’t bring Freya because she is such a handful and I was to be staying with a friend who is a bit fragile – I didn’t want Freya knocking her around. However, Freya’s top five favorites list includes car trips, sniffing around new places, and being with me, so, when it came to time to go, I couldn’t leave her home.
I was born with an innate tendency toward impatience and I was taught as a child that a hot temper was a display of strength. It didn’t take too many adult years before I realized a temper and the violence that can stem from it is a far cry from actual strength and it wasn’t really my true nature. The impatience piece however, was far more ingrained.
Freya has tried my patience more than any dog I have ever lived with. She has made big progress unlearning and relearning and yet, there are certain behaviors that are likely lifelong, like being physically pushy for attention and having enthusiasm spasms at inopportune times. Ergo, the nickname “Lotta Dog”, sometimes said with amusement and sometimes through gritted teeth.
The truth is Frey is a challenging combination of being big and very powerful and inwardly insecure and extremely sensitive. Bigger dogs’ sensitivity often gets underserved just because they are large. What I am learning from living and loving Freya and the whip smart, reactive Olive, is that the energy, the vibration we are sitting in and emanating really matters. Just doing fun dog things isn’t enough; it’s how I am being in the process that really counts.
If I meet Freya’s enthusiasm spasms with harsh-toned corrections and irritation she just gets more amped because she’s anxious. A calm, “No bite, no jump,” and keeping my back to her until she settles is by far the fastest way to get to a pleasant greeting. Somewhat to my surprise when I got very consistent with that approach, she took up a habit of racing down the hallway and jumping on the bed when I get home. I now greet her there and she wiggles and gyrates, but doesn’t jump or mouth. She figured out a way to regulate her emotions, bless her big soul.
Living with Frey has taught me not to take little annoyances so seriously. If I drop a glass and break it and say an irritated “Well shit!”, Freya gets nervous. You can tell she’s assessing whether or not she’s safe. So, I now have a tendency to say in a light, airy tone, “Oh poop! Isn’t this a silly mess?” and just go about doing what needs to get done. And you know what? That less-charged approach feels better to me as well.
Another factor is that mistakes with Freya have long-lasting repercussions. Shortly after I adopted her, I was cooking, and in usual form, started burning something and set the smoke alarm off. She had a full-blown panic attack before I could get the battery yanked. To this day, several years later, the moment I start any cooking other than boiling water, she goes and hides in the closet in my bedroom. The moment all sizzling sounds stop she emerges, bright-eyed, nose-twitching looking opportunistically for morsels and pans to lick. I wish she didn’t suffer any anxiety but universe does have a sense of humor. I have a long-standing, well-earned reputation as a piss-poor cook and now I have a dog who literally goes and hides the moment I make an attempt.
Shortly after I adopted Freya, while dealing her “Lotta Dog-ness” I remember saying, “You are going to be a great senior dog”, jokingly referring to age slowing her down. That is happening now. Her face is turning whiter and her stamina is way down. And, she is still learning and still overcoming her rough start.
What she has been teaching me about patience and monitoring my inner state of emotion when communicating is proving invaluable in the new phase I find myself in with my mother. Mom is elderly and living in a difficult situation half a country away in a very remote, difficult place to get to. She refuses to move because she is providing a home to her granddaughter and her two young children. My mom also has significant hearing loss and it is really difficult to communicate via phone.
Recently she was having some health issues and I was helping her navigate her prescriptions, and insurance, etc. She was very agitated and I had spent hours dealing with it all and trying to get her to understand what was happening. I was frustrated with the situation and her unwillingness to make changes to the living situation. My frustration was palpable. Suddenly I realized that while I was doing the necessary duties to help her, in allowing my frustration and irritation to shine through in my tone, I was being an unloving jerk in how I was going about it. That immediately shifted my toward compassion which really feels a lot better.
Thank you, Freya, for helping me learn that just going through the motions of getting to the beach isn’t enough. The real trick is cleaning up our energy, lifting up our attitude, opening our hearts and being fully wildly enthusiastic about all the rich scents, sounds, sights, and relationships this life delivers. Dogs are such extraordinary examples.
Here’s a clip of them ripping around, wrestling on the beach.
Inspirations and Resources
I previously wrote about the growing momentum around a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. Since then, the tiny island nation of Vanuatu stated their commitment to the treaty. That’s not too surprising given that they are one of those regions of the world that haven’t contributed much to climate change emissions but are at high risk from warming, sea level rise, and the resulting intensifying storms.
In a more surprising development, last week, the European Parliament, which is the governing body for the European Union, also called for all countries to work on developing a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty with the aim of stopping all new development of oil and gas, phasing out existing fossil fuel production, and ensuring workers are transitioned to a green economy in a fair way. It has already been backed by the World Health Organization, the Vatican, 70 cities and subnational governments, and a large group of faith organizations.
#economicsystemchange #environment #climatechange #dogsareawesome #TRANSCEND
Watch "World Citizenship Movement: The Garry Davis Story." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDuBTfgpD48 There's some desire to turn this into a limited TV series. It's so appropriate for now and it would be great if that could happen.