The Pope, The Poor, and The Planet (Overcoming an Insularity via Internal Ecology: Pathways of Hope)

Summary

This lecture discusses four pathways to address the environmental crisis: viewing nature holistically, leading beyond personal communities, transforming mindsets through education, and rediscovering spirituality. It emphasizes interconnectedness, caring for the commons, and cultivating social love. The speaker highlights the importance of humility, repairing what is broken, reconnecting with children, and appreciating sacredness in everyday life. Concluding with 10 practical steps, the message calls for action to protect and cherish our world, using examples like a young boy’s donation after a typhoon as a symbol of hope and responsibility.

Takeaways

• 🌍 Embrace a holistic view: We must look at environmental and climate issues in an integrated way, recognizing the interdependence of ecosystems like forests, rivers, and reefs.
• 👥 Lead beyond the self: True leadership extends beyond personal communities, guiding collective efforts for the common good and protecting shared spaces, like natural environments.
• 🎓 Education transforms: Education should not only shape individual minds but also transform cultures, promoting critical thinking and a love for learning and the world.
• 🙏 Rediscover spirituality: Reconnecting with God and spirituality can help us understand our role in caring for the Earth, as both stewards and workers of creation.
• 🍽 Practice gratitude: Simple acts like saying grace before meals remind us of our dependence on others and the interconnectedness of life.
• 🏞 Gain perspective: Activities like climbing a mountain can evoke humility, giving us a sense of scale and our smallness in the larger context of the universe.
• 🔌 Unplug and find silence: Disconnect from technology to find peace, reflect, and reconnect with your inner self through quiet, prayer, or solitude.
• ⚒ Repair, don’t replace: Fixing broken objects teaches resilience, embracing imperfections and valuing the history of things rather than discarding them.
• 👫 Connect with the marginalized: Get to know those living in poverty and learn from them, recognizing selfishness as a cause of both social and environmental poverty.
• 📦 Value what matters: Create a physical or symbolic space for what you treasure, reflecting on what is truly important in life and what you wish to carry into the future.

Q & A

What are the four pathways suggested for addressing the environmental crisis?

The four pathways are: looking at things whole, leading the commons, transforming education and mindsets, and discovering spirituality and God again.

How does the speaker suggest we should 'look at things whole' in the context of the environmental crisis?

The speaker suggests that the environmental crisis requires us to see the interconnectedness of systems, such as understanding that planting mangroves by the sea is ineffective if forests in the mountains are neglected.

What does 'leading the commons' mean in this lecture?

'Leading the commons' refers to leadership that extends beyond individual or community interests, caring for shared resources like lakes, forests, and public spaces, and understanding the impact of collective actions on the environment.

Why is education seen as crucial in addressing environmental and social issues?

Education is seen as crucial because it transforms mindsets, fosters critical thinking, communication, and social love, and encourages a holistic development of individuals beyond just professional skills.

What role does spirituality play in addressing the environmental crisis according to the speaker?

Spirituality is important because it helps people reconnect with a deeper purpose, seeing the world as God's creation to be worked on and protected, encouraging responsibility toward nature and fostering a sense of stewardship.

What lesson can be learned from the speaker's reference to the Bible's 'cultivate and care for the garden' passage?

The lesson is that humans are tasked with both working on and protecting the Earth, balancing action with responsibility. This balance is seen as a divine mandate to actively nurture the world while safeguarding it.

Why does the speaker encourage people to 'climb a mountain' as one of the 10 steps for environmental awareness?

Climbing a mountain helps people gain a sense of scale and humility, realizing their smallness and dependence on the world. It evokes gratitude and an understanding of how fragile and precious the environment is.

What is the significance of 'repairing something broken' as mentioned in the lecture?

Repairing something broken, inspired by the Japanese art of kintsugi, teaches us to value and preserve objects, acknowledging their history and imperfections. It symbolizes care for what we have rather than replacing it.

What does the speaker mean by 'unplugging' in the context of environmental care?

'Unplugging' refers to disconnecting from technology and the distractions of modern life to find silence and inner peace. This helps individuals reconnect with nature, their spirituality, and their purpose in caring for the world.

Why is fasting suggested as one of the 10 steps, and what can it symbolize beyond physical discipline?

Fasting is suggested as a way to practice self-control and mindfulness, symbolizing a break from the consumption-driven habits of modern life. It can apply to reducing materialism, shopping less, or resisting unnecessary indulgences.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 Holistic Approaches to Addressing Environmental Crises

This section introduces four pathways to addressing the climate crisis: viewing the environment holistically, leading communities beyond personal interests, educating to transform mindsets and cultures, and reconnecting with spirituality. The speaker emphasizes the importance of seeing the environment as interconnected systems, using the example of planting mangroves while considering the health of upstream forests. Effective leadership should transcend personal or community gain, focusing on the collective good. Education must nurture critical thinking and communication, aiming to transform mindsets and foster a sense of responsibility towards creation.

05:02

📚 Education for a Greater Purpose

In this paragraph, the speaker emphasizes a comprehensive educational approach that goes beyond professional development. Liberal arts education should cultivate critical thinking and communication, encouraging students to think holistically about their responsibilities beyond their careers. Education also plays a vital role in fostering love for something greater than oneself, such as country, community, and creation. Pope Francis calls this 'social love' — a love for the larger human community, which is crucial in forming individuals who contribute positively to society.

10:02

🙏 Rediscovering Spirituality and Stewardship

The speaker discusses the spiritual mandate to care for the Earth, contrasting it with the misinterpretation of humanity’s dominion over nature. The true mandate is to both work and protect the environment, drawing on Biblical teachings from Genesis. Spirituality involves recognizing the divine in the world and working to sustain it. The speaker encourages a deeper spiritual connection that aligns with environmental stewardship, reminding us that spirituality is found not just in remote places but in everyday life, even in the midst of noise and complexity.

15:05

💡 Simple Steps for Caring for Our Shared Environment

This section lists 10 practical steps for environmental care and spiritual reflection. These steps include expressing gratitude before meals, climbing mountains to appreciate nature's scale, unplugging from technology to find silence, and repairing broken items as an act of renewal. The speaker also advocates for connecting with the poor, fasting from consumer habits, reading to children to rediscover what truly matters, and caring for shared spaces. Communion and creating a box for personal treasures are also suggested as ways to cultivate spiritual mindfulness and responsibility towards the world. The example of a Japanese child donating his savings during a typhoon is highlighted as a symbol of hope and shared humanity.

Keywords

💡Whole

The concept of 'Whole' refers to seeing the entirety of a system, especially in the context of the environmental crisis. In the video, it emphasizes the importance of looking at nature and life holistically, as opposed to a narrow, segmented view. The speaker highlights this with the example of the 'ridge to river to reef' project, showing that environmental solutions must address interconnected ecosystems, not isolated problems.

💡Commons

The 'Commons' refers to shared resources that communities rely on, such as air, water, and public spaces. The speaker uses the term to describe the responsibility of leaders not just to their immediate groups but to the larger society, particularly in managing common goods. For example, the reference to Lake Palak Pakis illustrates how local fishermen must consider the health of the entire lake, not just their fish pens, to ensure sustainability.

💡Education

Education is presented as a transformative tool to change mindsets and cultures, not just individual knowledge. The video stresses that education should go beyond professional training to foster critical thinking, communication, and a love of learning. This holistic view of education aligns with the broader message of cultivating awareness and responsibility toward the environment and society.

💡Spirituality

Spirituality is about reconnecting with a deeper sense of purpose and understanding, particularly in relation to the natural world. The speaker discusses the spiritual mandate from religious texts to both work and protect the Earth, highlighting how spirituality can guide us to care for the environment. The idea of finding God 'in the heat and noise of the marketplace' reinforces that spirituality is present in everyday life.

💡Environmental Crisis

The 'Environmental Crisis' refers to the current state of degradation of the planet due to human actions like deforestation, pollution, and unsustainable practices. The speaker frames this crisis as a result of humanity's narrow, fragmented view of nature, advocating for a return to seeing the Earth as a whole system. This crisis compels people to change their ways, leading to the video's suggestions for action.

💡Social Love

'Social Love' is a term derived from Pope Francis, referring to love that extends beyond individual relationships to care for society and the planet. This concept emphasizes that love should drive collective responsibility for the environment and for one another. The speaker links this to the need for educational efforts that teach people to love and protect not only their communities but the world at large.

💡Sacrament

A 'Sacrament' in the video symbolizes the sacredness of ordinary things, particularly in nature and matter. The speaker highlights that even simple acts like receiving communion can help recover a sense of the sacred in the physical world, encouraging viewers to see matter and creation as divine. This is part of the broader message that spirituality and environmental care are intertwined.

💡Fasting

Fasting is introduced as a practice of self-restraint that can go beyond food. The speaker encourages fasting from modern life’s compulsions, like consumerism, to cultivate mindfulness and appreciation for the world. This act of intentional deprivation is meant to heighten awareness of what truly matters and to resist material excess, which contributes to environmental degradation.

💡Unplug

The idea of 'Unplugging' is about disconnecting from technology and finding inner quiet. The speaker suggests that stepping away from the constant noise of modern life allows for reflection, prayer, and a deeper connection with the self and nature. This concept is presented as a step toward gaining perspective and understanding our place in the world, which is essential for both spiritual and environmental renewal.

💡Repair

The act of 'Repair' symbolizes both the literal and metaphorical process of fixing what is broken. The speaker refers to the Japanese art of Kintsugi, where broken items are repaired with gold, as a metaphor for valuing imperfections and history. This concept encourages individuals to mend rather than discard, promoting sustainability and a more respectful relationship with objects and the environment.

Highlights

Introduction of four ways to address the climate and environmental crisis: holistic view, leading the commons, education, and rediscovering spirituality.

Holistic perspective: Looking at things whole, understanding the interconnectedness of different parts of nature like forests, rivers, and seas.

Leading the commons: Emphasizing the importance of leaders caring for shared resources beyond their personal communities.

Example of fishermen in Lake Palak Pakis learning to consider the health of the entire lake rather than focusing only on their individual fish pens.

Education to transform mindsets and cultures, not just individuals, encouraging people to love learning and critical thinking.

Social love: Pope Francis emphasizes cultivating a love that extends beyond personal connections to society and the world.

Rediscovering spirituality: Finding God in everyday life, not just in abstract or remote places, and embracing the responsibility to care for creation.

Reflection on Genesis: Humanity's responsibility to both work and protect the Earth, balancing cultivation and preservation.

Importance of recognizing the sacredness of the world: Acknowledging God's presence in the physical world and its material elements.

10 simple steps for caring for the environment, starting with saying grace before meals as an act of gratitude and humility.

Climbing a mountain to gain a sense of scale and recognize human smallness and dependence on nature.

Unplugging from technology to savor silence, visit meaningful places, and reflect.

Repairing broken objects to appreciate imperfections and value the history of items, drawing from the Japanese art of Kintsugi.

Engaging with the marginalized: Getting to know a poor person and recognizing the connection between social and environmental poverty.

The story of Shuichi Kodo, a six-year-old Japanese boy who donated his savings to the Philippines after a typhoon, illustrating the power of small, selfless acts.

Transcripts

[Music]

welcome to the second part

of our lecture in this part i will

share with you some possible pathways

and end it with 10 simple steps that we

can

reflect on so for these for these

pathways i suggest four ways of

addressing the climate or even the

environmental crisis

the first is to to look at things whole

again

to learn to look at things whole an

integral way of looking

second is to help or at least to begin

to learn how to lead others

not just our own communities but to lead

the commons

the third is education

which is what we're trying to do these

days

it's to transform mindsets

but not just individual minds

hopefully we can transform cultures

fourth and last is to discover god again

spirituality so on the first well

i hope that since

since uh this crisis was has been

spawned by

our myopic or narrow views

on on nature our partitioning

of life i hope that we can begin again

to look at things whole this picture

is an example these are people who are

planting

mangroves this is uh mangroves are

forests actual forests

along the seashore but they know and

this is

in mindanao actually they are they're

planting forests

here by the seashore but

understanding also that this effort

is useless if the forest in the

mountains

is not taken care of so

this ridge to river to reef project

actually acknowledges for example that

we need to look at

creation whole i cannot just

clean the ateneo campus if i

if i'm not cleaning also c5

or i cannot just clean c5 i have to look

at things whole

so the environmental crisis has actually

forced us

is compelling us to look at things whole

second to lead the commons a leader

does not just lead his own tribe

uh his own uh his or her own fraternity

or sorority a leader looks beyond

beyond the boundaries and these days

i think what we've been seeing is that

someone has to take care of what is

called the commons

the commons is anything we share it can

be

a cr it can be a corridor a street

lights street lights etc

a forest this picture

of our own professors working in lake

palak pakis

is really just an example of fishermen

not just worrying about their little

fish pens

but being asked to look at the whole

lake

you know this is an example for instance

where they were wondering how come the

fish were dying

well it was because they were over

feeding but they did not realize that

someone had to tell them someone from

outside telling him look look at the

whole lake

we are sometimes just trained to look

within a small circle well if it's an

entire league

then yes we need leaders and leaders are

those people

who worry not just about their own but

worry about the welfare of others

because worrying about others will also

affect your own

third well here in the ateneo at least

and in many liberal arts universities we

are trying to form

not just the professional side of you

yes you will be a good psychologist or

economist or manager someday

we want you to learn more than just your

own profession

we don't want you partitioned we want

you to

love learning we need to cultivate these

habits of critical thinking

of this this facility to communicate

now these are so-called liberal arts

skills

that are very much in demand actually

today

and so we need to look at the entire

person which is something that is

you would say the ateneo way

part of this is really educating persons

and cultures i see this picture and i

ask myself

how did she learn this how do you learn

to love

something bigger than yourself

family school friends

perhaps we need to educate

persons and cultures as well love of

country does not just come

automatically love of creation love of

the world

they're not automatic they have to be

worked at

and and education is key

is key to that cultivation of this love

pope francis calls this social love

so it's not just personal love it's it's

love of a bigger group

fourth and last well can we discover god

again

now there is a part in the bible that

has been misinterpreted

in genesis this command to go forth and

multiply and to subdue everything

and again that's a misplaced sense of

our centrality

right that you know it's it's this view

that

i am here i'm special and therefore i am

supposed to

you know i'm supposed to use you

for for my own benefit well

if we recover again the divine mandate

if you go back to genesis

if you look at this part of the story

where the lord tells adam

the man tells him puts him in a guard

and tells him

you are there to cultivate and to care

for this garden

two verbs about shamar to cultivate to

work to work at it to work the earth

these two verbs are two can be two polar

opposites

first you're asking me god you're asking

me to to work on the garden and then at

the same time you're telling me

not to touch it to protect it

we're not just to you know protect

but we're actually there our mandate is

also

to to work to work at it because if i

don't do anything

the garden will also die so it's also

important for us to be part

of the growing of this garden and i

think that's a powerful

it's a powerful mandate from from the

lord that i'm not just here to enjoy

to enjoy the garden i'm also here to

work on it

but at the same time protect this garden

saint ignatius loyola also

has a contribution you know when when

when he

came into the world he actually told us

that you know it's also important to be

immersed in this world

because this world is good this world is

god's creation

and therefore we need to find god moving

in this world as well

and so with this kind of spirituality

i hope i hope that we can deepen our

spiritual connections

spirituality is not just some abstract

thing that you go

to some remote place to find god

no you can find god even

in the heat and noise of the marketplace

and and this revolutionary idea i think

is something very difficult for us to

practice even in

in daily life but that is that is that

is because of an abiding faith

that god is not just a god of the spirit

or a god of souls he's also a god of

human bodies

a god of matter a god of the universe

so i hope we can we can recover these

treasures in our spirituality

let me end by well

telling you or sharing with you these 10

steps

these are 10 steps that i've sort of

generated and i encourage you i

encourage you to please

list your own 10 simple steps

that will help us well care

and protect this garden the first is

this

this picture of pope francis actually in

tacloban

and he tells us he has

so many messages for us but he says let

us i hope

have this habit of saying grace before

and after meals

this moment of blessing he says

however brief reminds us that we

are not independent that we depend

on others we depend on god we depend on

the farmer

we depend on the fishermen who

who provide us what we need and so this

act

of saying thank you is actually an act

of humility

it is not an act of entitlement

when you say thank you you

realize that you are not self-contained

you can never be self-made second

or number nine i'll go ten to one

allah david letterman if you still

remember david letterman

number nine

climb a mountain i've done this i hope

you

you will someday but the point really

here is

to get a sense of scale a sense of

size when you climb a mountain

you realize how small you are and the

point is to evoke a sense of radical

dependence

and contingency that things are not

really needed

we are not needed but we're here that's

one of the greatest mysteries of all

things are difficult to control i am

small

so this sense of size this sense of

scale will hopefully

lead us to a sense of gift and gratuity

that's number nine number eight

unplug unplug let's savor the silence

let go of the wires let go

of the wireless even go to a place

where you can find inner quiet

visit the grave of someone dear to you

go to a chapel learn to pray again and

when alone are quiet try not to wallow

or mope

don't yield to a lot of rewinding and

regretting just relish

and rest and breathe

number eight of seven nepal

repair something broken

can be a bicycle can be a coffee mug

anything of value to you learn the

japanese art of

kitsugi this art

is the art of repairing something broken

and and lacing or dusting the the cracks

with

precious metal like gold or silver or

platinum

it flows from the philosophy of

wabi-sabi where which values the whole

history of the object

places them with these things and

but that's the whole that's the whole

you that's the whole me

we're not perfect we have all these

dents and imperfections

resist something resist the temptation

to buy something just because it is

broken

number six get to know a poor person you

have you have them everywhere

you can go to a hospital a waste dump

any place that is

on the margins peripheral to wealth and

power there will be poor people there

poor people become poor when they are

marginalized and they're shunting

to the physical environmental and social

margins

share something with them yes learn to

receive from them

there are many causes of social and

environmental poverty selfishness

is the biggest cause of them all

number five try fasting try fasting not

just to lose the calories

you might wish to fast on shopping

as well or any of those subtle

compulsions of modern life

or if fasting is difficult for you

try gluttony try to

eat a lot and feel the empty

number four go read a book to children

reconnect with children

you know children have a way of

reminding us of the things that are

important

in life that's why when you become a

parent

someday you will discover you will

discover the things that

should and truly matter

children remember help us remember that

life is a gift

life is delicate is vulnerable and that

we are responsible for each other

a child has a way of awake awakening us

only to not only to the future or the

things that matter but

also to the things that need to be made

whole

care for some space that belongs to

everyone

no you don't need to guard the whole

forest

or become a street sweeper

you can join groups that strengthen

social love

through the various ways they protect

and beautify some space that belongs to

everyone

that space can be vast as vast as the

climate

or it can be as small as a corner of a

park or a piece of public art

it would be better if it were shared if

this space

were something that was shared a shared

space

that matters not just to you but to the

poor

or to children or to old people

and number two

for all your sophistication if you're

catholic please

try to receive communion

you might wish because you are educated

you might

say that wafer that white

circular piece of bread is just carbon

hydrogen oxygen a piece of carbohydrate

just remember even the scientists of the

world they still do not know what

matter is all about what is it

composed of we do not know

the point of the bread actually is to

recover our sense of sacrament

our sense of the sacred in matter

in ordinary things the hope is that we

will be fed by our host

and brought hopefully closer to holiness

and number one make a box make a box

for your valuables not as big as those

balikbayan boxes

a thin box used for candy

will do place your most treasured in

that box

money if it's important to you

mementos you keep remembrances not just

of what you have gotten but what you

have given

since persons are too big to put in this

box maybe a picture of them

will do the point is to keep knowing

what you treasure

what is important to you and what you

wish to bring with you

to eternity

let me end with this picture

in november 2013

the strongest typhoon in the world

made landfall here

in the philippines when that happened

massive amounts of relief aid

came to us

among the smallest donors was a

six-year-old

japanese boy shuichi kodo

he broke his piggy bank took out all his

savings

and gave his savings to us

seeing this picture i say

if children from far away can know what

needs to be broken

i think we're not far from redemption

we can be trusted to take care

and protect this wonderful gift

of a garden thank you

[Music]

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