Great Remembering Wisdom From Peter

¶ … Great Remembering

Wisdom from Peter Forbes's the Great Remembering

According to Peter Forbes' book the Great Remembering, the human species has lost its natural, vital connection to the land and to local communities. By and large, people see the land as a resource to be exploited, rather than seeing humans as part of the environment. We isolate ourselves from connections with nature and our local resources. Our lives are plotted around cars, around getting away from where we live rather than walking. We shop rather than strive to pursue what Forbes calls the 'ethics of enough.' Our fast-paced lives disconnect us from the rhythms of the seasons, the demands of our own biology and the environment. This results in a lack of respect for nature as well as damage to our own sense of environmental equilibrium.

People in America stay up 24/7, eat food without knowing where it came from, and avoid subjecting themselves to cold, heat, dirt, and natural beauty, and simply other people. However, no matter how well heated and well air-conditioned our lives may be, nature intrudes with global warming, with scares about the health of our food supply, and simply the depression and lack of meaning that results when our lives are placeless, and we feel frustrated because of a lack of meaningful experience. But by restoring our connection to the land around us, to other species, and to our fellow human beings, we can restore ourselves.

As an individual, going outside, refusing to harm the environment, buying locally, building a garden, connecting to animals (both wild and tame), walking rather than being isolated from the environment in a car all can be a profound alternative to the disconnect from the environment and the community so common in modernity. So can questioning if you need 'the next new thing' and going outside instead of to the mall. Recycling, reusing, cleaning up litter, making contributions to preservation organizations, and appreciating natural beauty by memorializing it through photography, art, and simply in our memory are all ways to integrate Forbes' philosophy into our own daily lives.

On a community level, getting to know one's neighbors, focusing on the local, even if one commutes to somewhere far away (and questioning the value of a job with a long community, if that job is not 'worth it,' in terms of time and personal sacrifice) is another building-block of creating a viable local community. Creating community parks, acting as a local advocate to preserve community open spaces, organizing neighborhood 'clean ups' and tree and flower beautification days, and encouraging teachers to incorporate the outdoors into school lesson plans help to foster a 'great remembering' of the natural world on a local basis.