Cleaning up inner pollution

A recent program on ABC 1, The Feral Peril, examined the evidence that foxes have got loose in Tasmania and are destroying native species. Every bit as stealthy and cunning as portrayed in the story books, foxes in Tassie continue to avoid detection leading sceptics to argue that they don't even exist.

Over and above eye-witness accounts of fox sightings and laboratories returning positive results on fox skats, what impressed me most were the words of one of the interviewees. I don't recall whether he's a landowners, scientist or conservationist, but to paraphrase what he said: Human beings are the most widespread feral animals and we have had the most destructive effect on the planet. He's right of course.

Reading Eckhart Tolle's The Power Of Now (which, by the way, I recommend to anyone keen on exploring a less ego-driven life and one with less mental chatter and distraction), he asks the reader, "Are you polluting the world or cleaning up the mess?" Because it's not just our relentless consumerism and plundering of the earth's resources that are damaging the planet and all forms of life above and below sea. Our negative thought patterns and behaviour are adding to the toxic load. Observe yourself on an average day and notice how much you complain, judge, criticise or experience feelings of anger, guilt, blame, fear or resentment. The scary thing is that we don't even know we're doing it.

We need to be mindful not just of our carbon footprint but also our emotional and energetic footprint. As Tolle says, "You are responsible for your inner space; nobody else is, just as you are responsible for the planet. As within, so without. if humans clear inner pollution, then they will also cease to create other pollution."