The importance of developing an ecological conscience

Ecological Conscience

Mother of Life: Developing an Ecological Conscience

The greatest assignment and commitment for the world in the 21st century is to ensure that we re-discover the lost connection we have with nature. We have to see ourselves as biological beings and as part of the intricate web of life .we also have to understand more fully compared to any generation before us how we came about along with other living creators out of the universe fabric and to know that we are supposed to remain woven into that same fabric as long as we are here on earth in a bond which is inseparable since it is who we are.in short this implies that we have to nurture in all the diverse cultures that exist in our world a shift of consciousness is held in one eternal and fundamental reality which is that humanity and nature can never be separated. When we destroy or damage any part of the ecosystem that exists in the natural world, we are essentially damaging or hurting ourselves in one way or another. This shift of consciousness that is required of us is far from the notions held by many that wealth for humans which is extracted from nature is the main human objective when it comes to understanding and appreciating that the well being of humans is enjoyed in a participatory relationship when nature is at its best therefore this paper will highlight on the importance of developing an ecological conscience.it will first give a definition of the term ecological consciousness and consequently built on this definition to expound on the importance of its development (Sage, 2005).

We are all being challenged to develop an ecological consciousness, so many great authors have written about this .however we have to ask ourselves what does this really mean to look at the world in this particular way; through an ecological lens that will requires us to the conscious. Every one of us where we live is brought up to view reality through the lens of their own culture in order for us to value our cultural values. This never changes as human beings are social creatures that absorb the values and norms of the society which they are born. This richness and diversity is what we have to treasure but at the same time appreciate our cultures that have developed and endured only due to the conditions that are present on our planet enabling them to do so. When our cultures get so extensive and active that they end up working against the life supporting conditions then we definitely know that we have lost our ways.

According to (Worldpress. Com, 2013), in the 21st century we have reached a conflict with the life supporting systems around found in the planets such that we are facing potential breakdown in our industrial way of life. We are now being challenged to create new and different ways of existing on the planet it requires transformation of our lifestyles and values that are as great as anything that human beings have ever experienced in their history. This shift grows out of changes in our minds since they are embracing ecological consciousness which refers to a way of looking at the world in such a way that we design everything we do in harmony with the nature rhythms from the way we build our homes to how we grow food, how we communicate and travel and above all how we make use of energy that assists us in doing all we do.it is important to note tat it is one thing to be bale to understand what has to be done but yet another thing to know how exactly to do it.

From (Shola ministries, 2010), Aldo Leopold is considered as the father of wildlife management, and he was a very influential advocate of nature. He defends his position of coming up with this ethical development of ecological consciousness, one that concentrates on the necessity of humans relation to the land. He defines this relation as land ethic a central; component of the ecological consciousness concept. Ecological consciousness is therefore not a vague idea but one which is not recognized widely in the society today. This concept reflects on the certainty of the responsibility an individual has for the health and preservation on the land they live in and all it contains. According to him a thing is only right if it tends to preserve the integrity, beauty and stability of a community as well as the people. The doctrines by Aldo were quite precise and coherent though applying his ideas literally what challenges many people. We have to know what is ethically and esthetically right for the environment since it is how we develop the sense of ecological conscience (Sage, 2005).

When we ask ourselves what is required for one to become ecologically conscious and environmentally literate and the answers that come to mind are; first to wonder and awe of the living earth, second being dreadful beating that we inflict on earth and on each other and third our individual collective capacity to reverse the existing trends and create a world that is life sustaining. This implies that ecological conscious ness is important since it sustains us in the web of life

Secondly ecological consciousness is important since the earth is our home. We have to take good care of our home and this can only be realized through ecological consciousness. If we are not conscious then it means that we Weill not take care of the earth and at the end of the day we will have no place to call home if the earth is destroyed by our carelessness. The earth is indeed our home and home of many plants and animals. We are quite aware of this but we do not appreciate that the Earth is alive in its own right. We have to be conscious of the earth's metabolism as the plants take in sunlight which at the end of the day nourishes all life since animals take in plant material for the nourishment of their bodies. We therefore feel ourselves as being part of this self-sustaining process, conscious of the numerous cycles of which we are part of. We therefore have to awaken to this interconnected, unfragmented nature of the life of earth so that we never feel as though we are separate but one with this dynamic and ongoing life symphony.