Old Age, Oligarchy and Ecocide

Yet grateful for the gifts of being alive, conscious and able to care

I am becoming more and more aware that I am an impermanent Earth animal. My tiny male body grew inside of the body of a female human and then emerged into the wider world. Every day, I put bits of the living Earth in my mouth, chew with my teeth, digest and eliminate out of my body. I drink Earth water which is digested and eliminated. I breathe Earth air, in and out, during my entire life. I listen to my heart muscle beating without ceasing.

My animal body is full of organs, composed of tissues, made of cells, constituted by molecules, populated by atoms and filled with subatomic particles. The experience of being this body is full of many sensations of pain, pleasure and neutrality.

My animal mind is full of words and ideas that have originated from many people and cultures over tens of thousands of years up to this present moment. It is also filled with my own observations, feelings, interpretations and decisions in each present moment.

After 81 years and 7 months of being part of Earth and cosmos, my skin is wrinkled and splotched, and my white hair is thinning. I have trouble balancing, walking and remembering, am often tired, and have floaters in both eyes. I may live another 9 years or so, or I could die at any moment.

I am deeply grateful that I can still see, hear, taste, touch and smell. I am grateful that I can continue to think, walk, talk, dress and feed myself, write on the computer and publish online. Will there be a time in this life when some of these miracles are no longer possible?

When I die, my animal body will become still and quiet and disintegrate as part of the Earth. My mind will no longer work without a brain or sense organs. There will be no ego. My continuation as part of Earth and cosmos will be through the actions I have taken and the words I have spoken and written. What a mystery! May I embrace impermanence and interbeing in peace and happiness.

May my words and deeds help all beings everywhere. May they help relieve all suffering. May they help catalyze an ecological-compassionate civilization. May all beings be happy forever and ever!

I have written before about impermanence and interbeing but wanted to share with you today my current experience and awareness to remind each of us of the miracle and preciousness of being alive and conscious. May we each do all that we can to care for others, society, the living Earth and our body-mind.

Sometimes, I do not adequately care for my body-mind. Throughout my life, I have been taught to care for others and not be selfish or self-centered. But it is essential to care for our body-mind. I practice mindful breathing day and night, drink six glasses of water and tea each day, sleep eight hours each night, walk daily, go to PT weekly, eat nutritious meals avoiding sugar and fat, spend quality time with family and friends, write and publish each week, and more.

What about you? How do you care for your body-mind?

Often these days, I find myself depressed over many things, including my old age, our country’s oligarchic fascist federal admininistration, our world of violence and injustice, and our planet of climate disasters and ecocide. And yet, I am also deeply grateful for being alive and conscious, being with precious family members, living in our own home with caring neighbors, and having dear friends near and far.

Transformation is possible. Chaos gives birth to order, again and again. History shows that We the People can and do change history. Let’s do it with our voices, our votes, our writing, and our actions of care. Let’s care for each other and all beings everywhere.

May we each embody a compassionate-ecological civilization, moment by moment, person by person, community by community.

May it be so.