“The Earth has all the time in the world and we don’t.”

Three years ago next month I was sat in an office on Broadway in New York watching footage on my laptop of one of my heroes, Greta Thunberg, addressing up to 30,000 people in Bristol, the home of my university. It was the Youth Strike 4 Climate. I had flown across the Atlantic.

On my flight back – the last fight I made – I watched a film made by Leonardo DiCaprio called ‘The 11th Hour’. The trailer to the film includes some punchy messages: “Not only is it the 11th hour, its 11:59”, “The worst is yet to come”, “There are too many of us using too many resources too fast”. At 35,000 feet above the Atlantic it was compelling and harrowing to watch. It came out in 2007….16 years ago.

I had paid the carbon offset for the trip. But it didn’t feel like it meant much to do that – easing guilt rather than paying my dues to Mother Nature.

One of the commentators in the film is Oren Lyons. He is pictured below (image from https://lnkd.in/eP6N5ZQ4) – Faithkeeper, Turtle Clan, Six Nations, Iroquios Confederacy. It has stuck with me ever since and I’ve been prompted to raise it again now by a message from Paul May. It has stuck with me for three reasons: (i) he is my namesake; (ii) I am in awe of the sense of depth, wisdom and humility he exudes; and (iii) because of what he has to say. Here’s the key quote from him that hit me between the eyes during the film:

“What if we choose to eradicate ourselves from this Earth, by whatever means? The Earth goes nowhere. And in time, it will regenerate, and all the lakes will be pristine. The rivers, the waters, the mountains, everything will be green again. It’ll be peaceful. There may not be people, but the Earth will regenerate. And you know why? – Because the Earth has all the time in the world and we don’t. So I think that’s where we’re at, right now.”

How terribly indigeous people have been treated. How much wisdom they have to impart.

Make time to watch the film if you’re brave enough. If not, give yourself some time to stand and stare and absorb what Oren Lyons has to say in this seven minute story he tells – https://youtu.be/bSwmqZ272As. He is asked repeatedly by an elder when a younger man – ‘who are you?’. The answer eventually arrived at will ground you. The answer is fundamental to our futures.

#OrenLyons#motherearth#climatechange#indigenouspeoples