Author Archives: hardena2

Final Reflections Upon the Class and Action Groups A Follow Up to a “Budding Believer to an Engaged Activist”

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As a summary of my final paper I would like to summarize my thoughts with the phrase that caring and taking affirmative action are two completely different things. For as long as I can remember I have been an advocate for the environment and have tried to do my part through eating vegan and taking part in charities that clean up the waste we leave behind. Although I have learned extensively about what our damage has been to the Earth and the system that we rely on this class I felt like I was visually and physically exposed to the work that truly needs to be done to make a change for the better.

My action group focused upon banning fur farming from Washington, and hopefully Oregon, which was a refreshing change from just reposting stories during Covid when it felt like nothing could be done. Yet during our action project I was able to appreciate the positive impact that social media can actually have on spreading a message for a good cause. Social media is often a very negative and surface level space, so it was incredibly refreshing to use it for the right purpose. I felt like although I wish I could have done more we as a group were able to enact the actions that we hoped to, and also some of us committed to taking further actions in the coming months as well as further into the future.

In relation to the class I felt extremely appreciative about the action group that I chose, as I felt like it touched upon so many of the subjects that we had covered over the quarter. From manifesting political ecology, to confirming that change begins with emotion, to learning about the gruesome topic of animal farming both from animals farmed for their skins as well as their bodies. I was even able to gain knowledge pertaining to how these practices that are hidden from the general public contributed to the spread of Covid.

Overall I feel extremely blessed to have been part of a class that encouraged conscientiousness and connection as well as understanding when difficult situations in our personal lives beseech us unexpectedly. I have been reinspired to stop shielding myself from the death and sadness in the world and instead take what I have learned to counteract the negativity in the world.

The Value of Giving Yourself a Moment to Absorb and Reflect

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To be completely frank, this blog post has been the most difficult for me to wrap my mind around. I rarely take notes on what is said and thus I have little content to reference, but I can reference my emotions and impact the contemplative practices have had upon my learning. Facing the Anthropocene can often be extremely draining when hearing of the heartbreaking damage caused upon the planet, seen in the Albatross documentary where fledgling birds lose their lives to our pollution, as well as quite possible collapse of life as we have come to know it. When speaking, reading, and writing about such grim and guilt-causing topics the heart and mind can quickly become overwhelmed. This is why I believe in the crucial nature of the contemplative practices which allow one to truly reflect upon what we have absorbed from class and quell the anxiety that causes the denial that plagues the human race. Being in tune with the room and each other grounds the material and reminds you that everyone present is likely experiencing similar emotions. The contemplative practices prevent me personally from checking out when the material reaches depressing topics. As someone who struggles with anxiety every day the contemplative moments allow my racing thoughts to slow so I may truly grasp class concepts. Again my apologies for the lack of references, but I believe that the point of the practices is not to take notes but instead feel the forces that connect all of us and allow yourself to embrace them.

These images all portray how meditation, mindfulness, and contemplation affect the brain and its reception of information as well as health.

https://www.lionsroar.com/this-is-your-brain-on-mindfulness/https://www.realsimple.com/health/mind-mood/mindfulness-improves-brain-health-neuroplasticityhttps://mashable.com/article/adhd-mindfulness-meditation

Ponderings About My Perspective on Death

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The human race seems determined to remain in denial about the limits to our existence; we set up both psychological and physical walls to preserve our mental state.

The first example of this is our collective ignorance to the dependence society has on death. This in itself is not a bad thing, animals have consumed other life forms since the beginning, the true issue is that we are largely unaware of the life that was sacrificed to feed humanity. In “Death and the Ecological Crisis” by Steven Peck this is addressed by taking a magnifying glass to how the food industry has wrapped up all of the death into neat little packages that do not nearly resemble the living beasts they came from. Another author, Avi Solomon, interviews the political scientist Timothy Pachirat in “Working Undercover in a Slaughterhouse” about how the factory itself is organized to hide and ignore the thousands of deaths. Walls, a miniature hierarchy of workers, and technical terms draw the life out of the animals sentenced to die. These two pieces of reading really opened my mind to how spoiled and separated we are from what we eat and made me question my vegetarian beliefs. Am I feeding into the ignorance of society by thinking I can avoid being involved with death by avoiding eating meat?

Another example is our dependence on religion and the hope that we may leave a mark upon the world before we go. It seems we are unsatisfied just being and have an innate desire to be remembered. While reading “The Worm at the Core” I truly realized how deeply death, and the flee from it, drives many of the institutions we depend on for a more meaningful life. I myself have always been religious as when I am feeling at my lowest it is a comfort to know that my mistakes will be forgiven and that I will be ever beloved. I will not be changing my beliefs or losing my faith, but it was interesting to consider that foundationally religion is terror management. Am I avoiding thoughts about death by convincing myself that I will live on in Heaven?

Heaven by Zac Kinkade

https://zackinkadeart.com/product/heaven-limited-edition-canvas/

The Worm at the Core

Steven Peck, “Death and the Ecological Crisis”  Download “Death and the Ecological Crisis” (pp. 105-109)

Avi Solomon, “Working Undercover in a Slaughterhouse: an interview with Timothy Pachirat”