Why do we do it?? What can we do to help?

[Guest guest]

" Barbara, why do people keep working in sick buildings? " I am asked this

frequently and have thought about it a lot - especially on the personal

level. It's a good question but a complex one. When I consider all the

lower level possible

answers - we need the money for our mortgage, and all the financial

considerations that often immobilize us, I think the answer goes a lot

deeper than that into the realm of our senses.

We have been educated, trained or brainwashed, if you choose, by our culture

NOT to

trust our own senses. Take a look at us in the evening in front of the t.v.

like a sponge so someone can tell us what to think. We all know the news is

a joke - especially since Connie Chung let it slip a few years back that

Washington decided what to report and the media reported it - of course, she

was

blackballed from reporting for years afterward for letting the truth slip

out. Through the media and public

relations campaigns, we are told over and over how " busy and hectic " our

lives are and

that there are " just not enough hours in the day " to do all the " important "

things we are doing until we come to believe this. We accept this as

reality because the alternative scares us to death. Who wants to confront

the truth that

they are wasting their existence on this planet with a lot of meaningless

busywork? It is easier to believe

the lie.

When that precious two weeks rolls around every year that should provide

time for us to relax and get realigned with our own senses, what do we do?

We cram our family into our van and drive clear across the state or the

country to stand in endless lines at Disney World or some other theme park

so we can provide our children with a few minutes thrill on a roller

coaster. Are we stupid or what? What scares most families more than

anything? It is the prospect of spending two weeks doing nothing but

relaxing - getting to know - really know - your children. It is the

prospect of taking a long, slow look around at what you do and finding out

that you are not doing one thing to make the world a better place - in fact,

your existence is harming the planet. It is

also the prospect that if you did let go and opened your mind to all the

possibilities, no one would ever be able to cram your expanded brain back

into the small cavity nature provided. I'm often reminded of the biblical

passage " be still and know that I am God " when I consider our aversion to

becoming still.

This " busy, active lives " theme plays out over and over in our daily life

with music lessons, dance,

team sports - we are constantly on the go or made to feel we are not being

good parents if we don't conform. Look at the covers of magazines who

target women and you will

see this theme played out over and over. The battle for " quality time " with

your offspring - doubts about working outside the home - hectic lives -

everyone on the go. And the result of this illusion of constant movement is

that our lives become blurs for the most part. Our children are rootless

and unable to

concentrate or think for themselves. Their hands have to be occupied with a

Game Boy or

some other electronic game or they become agitated. Look at your children -

take a good, long look - and

you will see that you are helping create a shallow parasite incapable to

thought or depth by buckling under to the status quo. And these children

are the ones we will be relying on to " save our

planet? " Yeah, right. They don't even see our planet anymore than we do or

understand their relationship with it enough to save themselves - let alone

a whole planet. No wonder people all over the world are working on

spacecraft in their workshops and garages.

When people ask me about the articles I post on our support group dealing

with environmental issues other than mold, I always tell them that the

larger issues - global warming, climate change, weather changes, greenhouse

emissions, pollution - are at the root of our problems with increased fungal

growth. Yes, there is a problem with shoddy building practices and

inspectors who let these things slide - a big problem. Yes, there is a

problem being caused by the changes in building technologies and materials -

a big problem. But folks, we don't live in a vacuum, as much as we'd like

to think we do. Everything on this planet is interconnected in ways our

puny brains can't even begin to comprehend. You don't have to be a rocket

scientist to understand that our activities are having a serious effect on

the planet - one it may never recover from.

When people write and want to know why I am " bashing Bush " I tell them the

same thing I told the people who wrote and asked me why I was bashing

Clinton - I am not attacking the person but the policies - or lack of

policies. The problem with Bush is that he gives us a much wider target

with his anti-environmental, pro oil and gas policies. Clinton - whatever

his desire to improve the environment - was totally hamstrung by Congress

from the get-go unlike Bush. He was berated for not doing more for the

environment but shot down every time he tried. Bush, on the other hand, is

not interested in assuming a leadership role in curbing greenhouse emissions

because it would cause financial harm to those whose donations helped put

him in power. If that weren't bad enough, he wants to force our continued

reliance on the products causing environmental problems by drastically

cutting research funding for alternative energy. Like I said, he gives us a

much wider target.

We are like lobsters in a big pot and the water is getting warmer and

warmer. Without serious and drastic change in the way we live and consume,

the problem of fungal contamination and disease will pale beside the

emergence of tropical diseases Americans have never even thought of.

Already the warning bells are being sounded - look at the cases of

meningitis around the world - as well as the catastrophe of hoof and mouth

disease affecting Europe. We will be so busy running and running putting

out these fires, that we will further lose sight of the bigger picture. As

Carol Browner said in her Earth Day address at Eastern Kentucky University,

climate change and global warming threaten to leave us with " a permanently

changed planet.'' Is this what you want? I happen to love the planet we

have - just the way it was before our consumption and greed put it's

survival in jeopardy. All I need is for leadership to arise and help direct

me in changing my ways. Many of us would gladly change the way we live and

adapt to different ways if someone would show us how. Perhaps what we need

is an " environmental messiah " to lead us out of the wilderness we are in.

For those of you who are not aware - Sunday is Earth Day. It is the one day

of the year that we give thanks to this wonderful planet for all that it

provides us with. Join me in making Earth Day a day of prayer for this

planet and all the life that depends on it for survival. Pray that there

will be a Great Awakening and that our senses will come alive like never

before to the world in which we live. Pray that every single soul will be

filled with a deep reverence and awe for the incredible cosmos we stupidly

take for granted. Our ancestors lived by their wits, depending on the

acuteness of their senses to protect them but we have become so numbed by

the way we live that our senses are rapidly drying up. Sunday, from the

moment we wake up, let's send our prayers of concern and caring up into the

heavens. Together we will pray for our planet to be healed and for our

leaders hearts to be changed in such a deep and profound way that they will

not only have their eyes opened - they will guide us in healing the earth.

We will pray for each other - so many of our members are seriously ill and

live with pain, despair and disease because their immune systems have been

crushed by toxins. For those of you who are atheist or who doubt there is a

creator - prayer is not about God or any religion - but about tapping into

the unconscious but vibrant life force that connects everyone and

everything. My mother's favorite passage in the bible is the passage in

that says, " Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth,

if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain,

`Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for

you. " Please, join me in prayer this Sunday and together let's move a few

" mountains. "

Barbara

[Guest guest]

----- Original Message -----

From: " Ien van Houten " <ienvan@...>

" bherk " <bherk@...>

Sent: Friday, April 20, 2001 1:29 PM

Subject: Re: Why do we do it?? What can we do to help?

: Barbara,

: You are my kind of person!!!

: You are obviously AWAKE and AWARE!!!!

:

: Time for all of us to get out of victim mode and start to take

: charge. What am I doing as my contribution? Trying to save a patch of

: the rainforest, educating people about the dangerous chemicals in

: personal care products, and strengthening people so their bodies

: can better cope with the onslaught of chemicals in the here and now.

: Also: educate people about a way of doing business that empowers

: ordinary people, rather than corporations.

:

: You can find out about my vision and my mission by visiting me

: at the link at the bottom of this page.

: A friend had been educating me about the dangers of certain common

: chemicals in personal care products for a while, but I kept thinking that

: " they " would certainly not let us be exposed to such risk?

: Well, that was before I saw Trade Secrets. Who ever " they " are, they

: are not going to protect us from being exposed and exploited.

:

:

: " In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. "

: - Orwell

: Come join the revolution: www.ineways.com/ien

:

: Wild healing power from Nature's most ancient pharmacy.

: Gifts from the Source, treated with reverence from harvest to bottle.

: We sing to our plants!

: www.rainforestbio.com/ien

:

: Visit me here:http://greatestnetworker.com/comunity/myface.tcl?is=6528

:

[Guest guest]

Barbara, I just got to read your commentary on Earth Day and felt the

emotion that helped you to embellish those words.

I commend you for the job you're doing on this list. I appreciate each

and every eye-opening post. My prayer is not only for Earth Day

matters, but for you and more like you.

--

Pat

SBS: MY STORY: www.presenting.net/sbs/sbs.html