How We Think & What It Means for the Future, Part 5

The First Step To Change -

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." - Miyamoto Musashi

The imbalance that humans have created in the Earth's ecosphere is the most serious problem we face. However, we cannot solve our problems if we are arguing about the solutions. Even worse is denial that a problem exists.

• “To ignore the evidence, and hope that it cannot be true, is more an evidence of mental illness” - William Blase

• "The worst lies are the lies we tell ourselves. We live in denial of what we do, even what we think. We do this because we're afraid." - Richard Bach

• "Denial is a common tactic that substitutes deliberate ignorance for thoughtful planning." - Charles Tremper

• “What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.” - Oscar Wilde

• “Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.” - James Arthur Baldwin

There has been a climate of negative thinking in our society, but we have seen where that thinking has taken us.

• “There is a lie that acts like a virus within the mind of humanity. And that lie is, There’s not enough good to go around. There’s lack and there’s limitation and there’s just not enough. And that lie has people living in fear, greed, stinginess. And those thoughts of fear, greed, stinginess and lack become their experience. So the world has taken a nightmare pill. The truth is that there’s more than enough good to go around…” - Michael Bernard Beckwith

• “I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition." - Martha Washington

What exists before us - who we are as individuals, communities, nations, as a World - are the result of choices. If we choose a new direction, we can achieve whatever we set out to accomplish.

• "Some of you may be thinking, 'Well, that's very nice but I can't do that.' Or, 'She wont let me do that!' Or, 'He'll never let me do that.' Or, 'I haven't got enough money to do that!' Or, 'I'm not strong enough to do that.' Or, 'I'm not rich enough to do that.' 'I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not!'. Every single 'I'm not' is a creation." - Dr. Fred Alan Wolf

• "All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him" - Buddha

• “If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.” - Peace Pilgrim

So where do we go from here? Even if you are unsure of how to proceed...

• "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

• “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” - Mahatma Ghandi

• "With your entire 'focus' on your goal, you will reach levels of achievement that you never thought possible." - Catherine Pulsifer

• "The future depends entirely on what each of us does every day." - Gloria Steinem

• "The future is not some place we are going, but one we are creating. The paths to it are not found but made, and the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination." - John Schaar

• "For in the final analysis, our most basic common link, is that we all inhabit this small planet, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children's futures, and we are all mortal." - John F. Kennedy

"Climate change is a global problem and needs a global response. Involvement by the public - you and me and everybody - is crucial if we are to meet the reductions in greenhouse gasses we are facing. The message is clear: (1) it is urgent, and (2) everyone can make a difference."

--A message to CoolPlanet readers from Connie Hedegaard, Danish Minister of Climate and Energy and President of the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit

Get involved!

http://www.coolplanet2009.org/

http://www.wecansolveit.org/

http://www.theclimateproject.org/

Official site of 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference:

http://en.cop15.dk/

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