In a few days I’ll be seventy.
Given the bum heart I was born with and the wondrous talents of our species, I was gifted a young man’s heart close to six years ago.
You could say I’m living life in overtime. Why? Why me? To what end? To what purpose?
I’ve long believed that Reality is Selected Fantasy.
That each of us has his or her own illusion of what Reality is. Of what the purpose of life is.
When I boil it all down, I keep coming back to the same conclusion.
The only real purpose I can see is to rally behind the reverence to life. To try to leave this place a little better than we found it. For those to follow.
And if you’ll indulge me, part of my fantasy has me believing we all share that hope, that purpose in life.
Yet when I look at the world around me, I often think we are failing miserably.
The saddest part is when I look into the eyes of the young.
The happiest part is when I look into the eyes of the young.
My mind is heavy at the thought of what I see as a rather dark and bleak future.
My heart on the other hand beats on at the realization of the beauty and the awe of all that this planet has to offer.
My soul demands that I do my share to help today’s youth as they chase their dreams and hopes of the better world that could be. That should be.
They deserve the chance to live, love and be better stewards than we have thus far been of this planet that we all call home.
All that to say my fantasy tells me that all of us must be willing to put our shoulder to the wheel. To contribute what each of us can to leaving them the better that is possible.
And that in my illusory view of reality is only possible through the reverence of life, of all life.
The words “eco-logy” and “eco-nomy” go together. And always have.
At their root “ecology” refers to our home and “economy” refers to the housekeeping required to keep our home a healthy, sustainable and love-to-be nourishing place. A safe and comforting place to live and and teach our children well.
The short and sweet of my message is that a cement plant in our backyard, in our community is not life sustaining. We have a chance to stop it if we act as one. If we demand same from our politicians at all levels. If we put our shoulder to the wheel and support Action Champlain in their bid (your bid?!?) to keep our community, this corner of the world as pristine a home as we can influence it to be.
We are facing an “existential crisis” and the chance to do something about it rests with each of us.
As Obama said ours is the last generation with a chance to do something about it.
The person in the mirror has a role to play.
The choice is ours, yours and mine.
The time is now.
Gary Champagne
Ottawa
