A wave of studies released this month declare that we have polluted the air to the point where even rain has become poisonous.
Moreover, these studies “argue [that] the presence of forever chemicals in our hydrosphere [is] at values that exceed key guidelines [which] means we have entered an unsafe operating space from which there is practically no return.” “Based on the latest U.S. guidelines for [perfluorooctanoic acid] in drinking water,” concludes another study, “rainwater everywhere would be judged unsafe to drink.”
The oddity about it is that there is no justification for this. It is simply happening and humanity is doing nothing to stop it. But since the cause of these poisons is human activity, the disaster is our own doing.
We have come to this not because of the wrongdoing of one person in particular; it is a collective offense and we are all culprits, all of humanity. Our crime is unrestrained selfishness, and all of humanity commits it. Our reckless egoism throws all of nature off balance, and everything goes awry.
“We have come to this not because of the wrongdoing of one person in particular; it is a collective offense and we are all culprits, all of humanity. Our crime is unrestrained selfishness, and all of humanity commits it. Our reckless egoism throws all of nature off balance, and everything goes awry.”
Toxic rain is only one of countless misfortunes that we are inflicting on ourselves. Climate change, which alternates between relentless heat waves and subsequent floods, is also our doing. Monkeypox, Covid, the war in Ukraine, and skyrocketing food and gas prices are all our doing, expressions of our out-of-control narcissism.
We cannot solve each crisis separately. That would be like covering one sewer pit only to see the fetid water gushing out the next one even more forcefully. The solution lies in balancing the entire system of connections between us on all levels, from the personal to the international.
We are irrevocably connected, but we have come to this through our desire to exploit one another. As a result, the closer and more connected we become, the more miserable it makes us. Instead of benefiting from globalization, it only makes us realize how competitive, exploitative, and abusive we are. Ironically, our external connections increase our internal separation.
However, since we are already connected, and cannot disconnect, we have no choice but to correct our connections. Correct connections begin with the mind, not with the body.
“Only a bedrock of good connections between us will enable us to build a global society that is balanced, peaceful, and healthy to live in, both emotionally and physically. Only when we clean our hearts from the pollution of the “Me! Me! Me!” attitude that makes us feel entitled and superior, we will be able to clean the air of toxins and make raindrops what they should be: pure and fresh drinking water that gives life to all.”
First, we must understand that because we are all dependent on each other, all around the world, positive connections between us are mandatory. Once we accept that the basis of our relationships must be a positive one, based on good connections, we can begin to build physical ties and relationships, contingent upon maintaining a positive attitude toward each other.
Only a bedrock of good connections between us will enable us to build a global society that is balanced, peaceful, and healthy to live in, both emotionally and physically. Only when we clean our hearts from the pollution of the “Me! Me! Me!” attitude that makes us feel entitled and superior, we will be able to clean the air of toxins and make raindrops what they should be: pure and fresh drinking water that gives life to all.
