I heard this story some weeks back. As a spiritual ecologist, it lingers in my thoughts.

A motivational speaker stood in front of a room full of people holding a half-full glass of water at the end of her outstretched arm. She asked the group, “how heavy is this glass?” There were many guesses. Eventually she stopped the estimates and snowballing theories by saying, “The actual number of ounces or pounds doesn’t matter; what is important to my question is the length of time I am holding the container. If I hold the glass for a few moments, it is light. If I hold it for an hour, the glass grows heavy and painful to my muscles. If I hold it for days, it is torture.” Her point: it is important to let go of our burdens at regular intervals because the longer we carry them, the more we suffer.

The time I spent sailing and exploring the Atlantic and Caribbean was a great gift; it let me pause in my work and put down the weight of saving and restoring ecosystems in urban landscapes. I didn’t realize until about a year after I shoved off just how battle-weary I was until one day I found myself sobbing over the fact that the environment was still unraveling, that I hadn’t done enough. I felt consumed by sorrow, believed my efforts–years and years of dedicated work–didn’t amount to anything of substance.

It was then that the magnitude of our Earth-healing cause brought me to my knees. I forced myself to let go of long-held attachments to outcomes and accept the truth of reality in all its complexity. I forgave myself for the limitation of my influence and realized the belief I could transform the world was rooted in an inflated ego.

Coming home after six years, I see some good news in a changed world. Yes, problems grew thornier and disasters increased. But, projects handed off when I departed matured. New faces stepped forward to make a difference. More organizations came into being. Also, the tone of conversation changed; individuals and society as a whole is waking to the storm of climate change and people now ask me, “What can I do about global warming?”

Sadly, I notice too that many of my colleagues look older, their spirits exhausted. I sense–caught in their passion for mission–they haven’t rested. Each day, they absorb more environmental losses than nurturing moments of rejuvenation so they continue to live their lives out of balance. They have yet to accept their inability to fix Earth’s problems and believe instead that one more meeting or a sharper sales pitch will make the critical difference. Maybe it will, but perhaps it wont. They pay an awfully high price when it is impossible to know for sure.

One more thing gnaws at my awareness: returning to land I stand at a crossroads and must decide again what burdens to pick up and carry. Further, I intentionally consider how long I should carry the burdens and at what intervals I rest. I am in a position to choose, but–in truth–each of us stands at this crossroads every moment of our lives. Part of the wonder and mystery of being a conscious human is we can–at any instant–take note of what is happening around us and change course. Sometimes it is skillful to lift and sometimes it is skillful to hand off or set down. By looking deeply it is possible to know what to do when. The facts are no one can carry the entire load and we don’t have to always stay the course. Each of us is responsible for a part of Earth’s healing and as they say, “many hands make light work.” Our work needn’t be so heavy.

The invitation here is to take care of ourselves. The road ahead is long, the work is difficult, but it is possible to lighten our spirits by making many joyful stops as we go. Sustainability is not the end; sustainability is the way.

Peace–H