Bring the Balance Back

As I write this, just having finished teaching my 6 a.m. class on the subject of equanimity, balance, and the middle path, I have heard the news of a large earthquake  that has just hit off the coast of northern Japan. Perhaps 6.8,  tsunami watches are up. Almost exactly one year to the date of the devastating quake that previously hit Japan and put the Earth off balance on its axis. Wow!  I  can't help but to find it ironic of the timing.  I feel for the people of Japan and can imagine how fearful they must be as they await aftershocks. But standing back and observing, looking at the timing it seems like no coincidence that Ma Gaia is giving us a wake up call. All around  extremes in climate are becoming ever more obvious. Storms are becoming more violent, there are more earthquakes of greater magnitude where you wouldn't expect them. There are famines induced by drought. Severe flooding. Summers are longer, winters shorter. Here on the East Coast of the US, mosquitoes have been out since February, and spring is in bloom way ahead of the Vernal Equinox. Something is very off balance here, ya think? We really need to stop and think about every action that we do has a consequence on the planet. From the big corporate polluter, to those that strip mine minerals and erode the precious soil, oil companies, the politicians who, in the name of the almighty dollar tell us that there is no global warming, down to the person that threw their trash out the car window....(do I sense red faces out there...?) WE NEED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY! We need desperately to bring awareness to sustainability, environmental awareness, and a conscious respect for the planet. Bottom line, we are at the tipping point of not being able to swing the scale back to balance. We all need to live more simply. Without a healthy planet, we are in for a rude awakening. We need to teach the younger generation respect for our natural resources and love for the Earth. We need to stand against those that pillage and rape what Gaia has to give without regard for their very own grandchildrens future. As custodians of this beautiful blue planet,  we need to bring the balance back.