If you choose loyalty, bypass being merely patriotic. Patriotism is a political tool used mostly by propagandists to stir emotions and further an oppositional agenda – an ideology.
Loyalty is a keystone quality or virtue of moral character – empathy, honesty, courage, perseverance, and loyalty. Character shows up in patterns across the variables of situations. Moral character is existential. When tested it becomes defining. Through moral character (the Eye of the Heart) a person evaluates the consequences of their action.
Be loyal To the Earth. Apply the Gandhian directive to think globally while acting locally. Local is where you are. It is your home turf. It is where you nest.
From your spot, Earth goes out and on in all directions. And everywhere where Earth is, there is life. Life happens. Because Earth is a life place.
Choose life. As much as you can, do so with the strength and wealth of moral character. Choose loyalty to the Earth. The Earth is foundational. It is where life makes life happen. We are of the event. Behind the event is the process. We are part of the process.
David Sparenberg is an international essayist, eco-poet, and storyteller, David Sparenberg is author of four books including: BEING HERE & BELONGING, EARTH KEEPER POEMS and CONFRONTING the CRISIS: Essays & Meditations on Eco Spirituality. Through his writing, he teaches a hybrid discipline of Existential-Ecosophy, combining basic tenets of existentialism with eco-spirituality, eco-psychology, and eco-poetry. David lives in Seattle, WA in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.
