Monday, September 28, 2026

Who will save the trees? Butterfly will

Will anything I ever do make a difference? IDK
If only all of us had Butterfly-will like Julia Butterfly Hill who willed that Luna the Tree be saved from corporate logging.

The Buddha called "will" (cetanā, volition) "karma." (Most of the good things that happen to us in life are due to our karma, as are many but not all of the bad things).

The Legacy of Luna
But what can just one person do? One person can save the world, save a grove, a forest, nature, a species, a region. And more people coming together for a cause can do even more, taking their lead from that ONE person.

Sure, we say she's a "super heroine" now, but at the time, everyone said she was a "crazy hippie" for having uncapitalist ideals and principles. There is that scientific theory called the "butterfly effect," the idea that the smallest change can have a compounding effect, stacking, triggering a cascade much bigger than would ever seem possible by just one act, a kind of domino effect.

Julia, you did the impossible! How'd you do it?
Easy. I just did something. Nature did the rest.

What can just one pretty, little, dumb, colorful, flighty, teensy-weensy butterfly do?
  • No One Is Too Small...
    It isn't just the karmic (willful) action that has an immediate result. There is the inspiring of others, modeling change for them, blowing the whistle, speaking up for the unpopular but honest view of things. Greta Thunberg may not do much more than boycott school, hold a sign, garner attention, speak at rallies, or get herself in the media, and she still has done a great deal. She gets demonstrates, protests, investigates, sticks to her guns (e.g., against Israel), speaks out, gets arrested, talks to movers-and-shakers, addresses the U.N., and inspires millions to think and act. She does participate in direct actions herself, but more than that, she rallies demonstrators and attracts attention to important causes. What can I do? What can you do? What can we do?
I didn't begin with a book. I began a strike.
How, for example, could a single piece of flimsy straw (like a pretty girl in a tree) ever break a robust camel (like a greedy corporation out to hump everyone and steal water from an arid place for itself) with a strong back for carrying bales and bales of hay?
You don't have to be white, right, Barry? - No, but it sure helps, Mal (with Malia+Michael O.)
'Super heroine'? I'm just a regular person with no ability to anything about greedy corporations
    Reverend Dr. MLK Jr. was very popular until he spoke out against the U.S. War on Vietnam.
    A Jew for Palestine? I thought Jews hated them? - Many good people stand for truth and justice
    Devis live at the tops of trees, mostly unseen by ordinary human beings who do not meditate.

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