What Is Our Responsibility? And What Has Joy Got To Do With It?

“It’s hard to even process what’s happening. I’m close to evac zone. Know quite a few people who lost everything. Most of the beautiful nature near me is gone and now toxic. Will take many years to rebuild.”

The message above came from my nephew in Santa Monica. Even though I live 5.000+ miles away, I felt the sadness of it as if it was happening right around the corner. Because we’re family.

Isn’t it like that for most of us? We tend to react strongest to events that we can relate to emotionally. We tend to disregard events that feel distant, one way or another. Not because we don’t care but because it’s humanly impossible to respond to everything that happens in the world.

Responding to Climate Change

There are many places on Earth now where there is extreme drought and fires, floods and hunger, lives are being lost every day. We haven’t been hearing all that much about it, and we haven't been responding as much as was needed because it wasn’t happening in our neighborhood, cultural or geographical. But now it does. Perhaps this is what it takes for us to change our ways?

Did you know, by the way, that the word 'responsibility' wasn’t originally referring to accountability? Rather, it meant: being capable of responding to something.

So perhaps what we should consider, when it comes to climate changes too, is simply responding to the degree we’re able to...

How Did We Lose Our Way?

Responsible ways have been available to us for thousands of years. Indigenous cultures knew how to live a full life in balanced, sustainable ways. But for some reason, the Western culture that developed the modern lifestyle, was not able to listen to their wisdom, nor to our own human nature.

As I read my nephew’s words again: “Most of the beautiful nature near me is gone and now toxic,” I ask myself:

Some say it is our greed that made us deaf. Some say it is because our desire to make life easier for ourselves, no matter the cost, is stronger than anything else.

But why is greed there in the first place? I believe it’s the result of the sense of emptiness that is part of our culture. Or let me say it in a different way:

This is what we long for

There is a huge longing in our culture and it is the longing for joy. Not for the fleeting, materially and externally based happy states that our culture provides so abundantly. What we really long for is a deep sense of existential, ever-present joy. We long for it because it is our nature.

Experience shows, that when we respond to that longing and make joy the focus of our life, greed dissipates and disappears. What emerges instead is compassion, a sense of connection and unity with the entire world. And that inspires choices that are for the good of all, not just for the privileged 1%. 

It's not complicated

It takes a different consciousness, a different light, to live in a way that responds to the needs of the entire planet, and not just our own personal needs. However, as it’s often the case with higher consciousness, while it requires dedication, it is not complicated. Here’s what it takes:

1. Choose joy. It may seem like a strange or even naïve first priority, but it is actually wise. Because people who choose joy become more compassionate and more creative. People who choose joy seek wisdom, not only knowledge. People who choose joy feel connected with all life. They prefer to make choices that are best for all, not just for themselves. And they know how joy makes the impossible possible.

2. Decrease your personal impact on climate changes and thus on extreme climate events. Do it in the way you live your daily life. Vote for people who understand this and accept their responsibility, on all levels. Be open to opportunities for change that show up in your life.

It doesn’t have to be perfect! Just make the choices above when you can and where you are. And here's how joy will help you along the way:

(VIDEO) Migration: Birds and Navigating Life's Changes with Joy

There are plenty of ways in which you can reunite with your joyful, responsible nature!