Nothing crystallizes your resolve to make the world a better place quite like cradling a newborn.

Holding my niece for the first time made me think of how different the world is now compared to when I was born. So much beautiful land has been lost. Including land right here in Ottawa, that I fought to protect, which has been destroyed for short-term profit. My niece will not be able to play in the forests her Dad and I loved so much. At the global level, hundreds of species have been lost since I was the size of my niece. There is so much inequity, injustice and suffering for humans and other sentient beings. And underlying so much of this loss of biodiversity and beauty is Climate Change.

Then I sang the lullaby I wrote for her, "All Your Relations Love You". The song is about interconnectedness and being a beloved part of a the biotic community, of the more-than-human world.

My niece is one example of someone who helps remind me of my purpose. For you, perhaps it helps to hold in mind the image of someone you love, a place you love, a community you love. And when you feel yourself straying in this world of information-overload and distraction, go back to that image. Better yet, ground yourself in the presence of that which you love. Then expand that sphere of love ever outwards to encompass this whole precious blue and green Earth.

It is love that fuels our fight against climate change. It is love for my niece, for All My Relations, that moves me to care beyond my own brief existence on this planet, to care about more than my own immediate wants and needs. Love fuels our Action. It is opportunities like PowerShift that help us learn how to make our Actions effective.

That's why I'm going to PowerShift. How about you?

Keep Shining,
Julie.
(Full-length version of this post with links at http://juliecomber.com)