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Whether we know it or
not, we are all global citizens, but the wonder of nature is such that the
phrase will mean something different to each and everyone of us.
I can’t say what it will mean for you, but this is my story.
At heart I am a theosophist. If
you want to know what that means there are lots of musty old books and a
few modern ones. Put simply,
it means that I believe in harmony and unity: between individuals; between
communities; between humankind and nature; and between humankind and God,
or the universe.
Responsibility
That’s quite a claim, but a lot of people can make grand statements
about their beliefs which are not reflected in their lifestyles.
How do I back it up? There’s
nothing new in theosophy, it’s as old as the hills (well, older,
actually): respect, compassion, love; all the elements of the great
religions, and one that isn’t preached so much: responsibility.
You can’t lay the blame on fate or divine intervention.
It’s karma, not kop-out. Each
human being is responsible for his or her actions, and to practice
respect, love and compassion you need to be aware of the likely
consequences of everything you do. If
you want to avoid the road to Hell, add awareness to your good intentions.
On a mundane level, that means being kind and considerate in all your
daily exchanges, being constructive and supportive, not destructive or
hurtful. Does it mean turning
the other cheek? Not
necessarily. Sometimes you
need to defend yourself, to stand up for what you believe.
It’s a question of whether condoning or rejecting inappropriate
behaviour will lead to more or less harmony.
Just be aware of the consequences.
Awareness
This is where I get to the boring bit.
We all want to be kind to a stray dog or a lame duck; it even makes
us feel good. But awareness
when you go shopping? That
seems to be too much to ask of some people.
Still, it’s part of theosophy.
Our consumption of ‘stuff’ costs the planet.
‘Stuff’ has to be grown, harvested, manufactured, assembled,
freighted, whatever. It costs
energy, at the very least. And,
to the extent that powerful individuals and organisations exploit
disadvantaged individuals and less powerful countries, my consumption can
cost a stranger his happiness, his livelihood, or even his life.
It doesn’t stop there. I
invest for my old age. I used
to go for the investments that promised the best returns.
Not any more. I don’t
invest in companies that make weapons or cigarettes; I don’t invest in
companies with a bad record on pollution or local employment.
It means I missed out on the boom in oil stocks, but it has its
compensations. In recent years
I have been looking at renewable energy.
Before we get to the last barrel of oil
The world needs energy. Over
the last 100 years or so it has come from fossil fuels, which, as we all
know, will run out one day. Not
that we will be around on the last day; it will be dog-eat-dog long before
we get to the last barrel of oil. And,
of course, burning fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases and changes the
climate. And who suffers from
climate change? Oh, it’s
those disadvantaged people again. We
saw who suffered when Katrina hit
New Orleans
: the people who didn’t have cars to escape, and second homes offering
refuge. There are 100 million
people living within one meter of sea level, and they are all at risk from
climate change. What can you
do about it, as a global citizen? I
buy my electricity on a green tariff.
And I have solar thermal collectors on my roof.
And I drive a hybrid car. And
I try to reduce my consumption of luxury air-freighted food.
Energy4All
But I was talking about investments. A
few years ago I invested in a small wind farm community co-operative in
the north of
England
, and it’s paid a nice return ever since.
Not long after I invested, the co-op asked for volunteer directors
from its 1300 members. I am an
accountant with a lot of business experience, approaching a time of life
when I don’t need to maximise my earnings potential, so I volunteered.
What I found was an operation that wasn’t quite big enough to be
self-sufficient, so I set about trying to gain some critical mass.
Seems there’s quite a demand for this kind of thing.
We set up a separate company to handle all the enquiries and called
it Energy4All. Now we are
working with communities all over the
UK
who want to set up their own little wind farm co-operative.
We do all the hard work; they get to own their own wind turbines.
And to make it really fair, the co-ops get to own Energy4All as
well.
It’s not a bad investment. We
sell our electricity on the open market.
As prices rise, so do our profits, which we pay out to the members,
so financial benefits stay in the community.
The co-ops have a loose affiliation with each other, some investors
own shares in more than one co-op, and we are creating one big happy
family. Most companies go in
for a bit of empire building, but what we are creating is more of a
commonwealth of communities. And
by our actions, in our own backyards in the
UK
, we are helping to combat the effects of climate change, which in turn
helps poor communities throughout the world.
Wow, humankind working in harmony with nature.
Forget the musty old books, this is what theosophy is all about.
And this is what it’s like to be a global citizen.
What are you waiting for? Start
harmonising!
© Harvey Tordoff
November 2005
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