My Winding Path to Environmental Activism: Introduction (Part 1/10)

This weekend, I’m planning on being arrested as part of an environmental action at a petroleum refinery on Lake Michigan near where I live.

Two years ago, I didn’t even recycle.

Obviously, a lot has happened in the last couple of years.  I’ve become passionate about responding to climate change, specifically about crafting a religious response to climate change.

And sometimes my passion causes me to forget how I got here.

A wise friend recently wrote to me:

“Just don’t forget what it took to get yourself to where your worldview is now. Not only did it make you the person you are now, but it helps to remember when you cross paths with someone who holds a view that seems totally foreign to you. My past self wouldn’t understand my self now. Bridging that gap was key to helping ourselves find a direction in tune with our ecosystem and will be key to helping others find that too. So I try to think of how to explain things to my former self that would help, and then use what I’d say in my words to others who shared similar views to my past self. Bridges are being built.”

I agree with my friend.  I think that mentally bridging the gap to my own past can help me communicate better with others.

As it so happens, I recently had to write an essay as part of my application to Cherry Hill Seminary’s environmental leadership program.  So I decided to write about my own winding path to environmental activism.

To be continued …