Earth Hour 2009
"There is a time for the evening under starlight
A time for the evening under lamplight"
- T.S. Eliot, East Coker
Well that was enjoyable! I did Earth Hour last night. I came home from work a little early on Friday as I felt unwell. Saturday I picked up, but I was just in the mood for a quiet hour Saturday evening. Combine that with a glorious sunset prelude, and switching off the lights for an hour and sitting in candle light was just what I needed.
It got me thinking that I'd like to do this more often. One reason being the ridiculous attitude the power companies have here. We're in a recession and my power company recently sent us a letter advising us of their latest unnecessary price hike. Fine - I'll buy less power. But the bigger reason is that I really enjoyed reflecting in the candle light. As if everything stopped for an hour and the street was at rest.
We are biologically hardwired to need rest. Sleep deprivation makes us act weird. So does over-exertion. Spiritually we're the same - since everything about us is connected. We need to stop, give pause, slow down, and reflect. I have my times of reflection, but there was something about turning off the lights last night that reinforced it for me. I was making a special appointment.
Not everyone will be reflecting at 8.30 pm of course. It could be fun. Eat something together, talk, tell stories. That sounds so obvious, but the reality is we don't always make the time to just be with each other. Without distractions, without tv, internet, ipod, radio, or whatever else. It wasn't the absence of electricity that made Earth Hour enjoyable, it was the peace. The opportunity to focus on one thing at a time. The sense that just for an hour the street, probably a large part of the city, was still.
We keep trying to beat the law of diminishing returns. The shops open for trade seven days a week to try and make more money, but make less. Spiritually we can be the same. Earth Hour was promoted as a response to climate change. In my hour I thought about the climate within, and how rest can effect a change for the better too.
More on Earth Hour in NZ here. We were the first country to take part. And check out this panoramic photo by Ben Myall of Sydney's Earth Hour. Awesome.
A time for the evening under lamplight"
- T.S. Eliot, East Coker
Well that was enjoyable! I did Earth Hour last night. I came home from work a little early on Friday as I felt unwell. Saturday I picked up, but I was just in the mood for a quiet hour Saturday evening. Combine that with a glorious sunset prelude, and switching off the lights for an hour and sitting in candle light was just what I needed.
It got me thinking that I'd like to do this more often. One reason being the ridiculous attitude the power companies have here. We're in a recession and my power company recently sent us a letter advising us of their latest unnecessary price hike. Fine - I'll buy less power. But the bigger reason is that I really enjoyed reflecting in the candle light. As if everything stopped for an hour and the street was at rest.
We are biologically hardwired to need rest. Sleep deprivation makes us act weird. So does over-exertion. Spiritually we're the same - since everything about us is connected. We need to stop, give pause, slow down, and reflect. I have my times of reflection, but there was something about turning off the lights last night that reinforced it for me. I was making a special appointment.
Not everyone will be reflecting at 8.30 pm of course. It could be fun. Eat something together, talk, tell stories. That sounds so obvious, but the reality is we don't always make the time to just be with each other. Without distractions, without tv, internet, ipod, radio, or whatever else. It wasn't the absence of electricity that made Earth Hour enjoyable, it was the peace. The opportunity to focus on one thing at a time. The sense that just for an hour the street, probably a large part of the city, was still.
We keep trying to beat the law of diminishing returns. The shops open for trade seven days a week to try and make more money, but make less. Spiritually we can be the same. Earth Hour was promoted as a response to climate change. In my hour I thought about the climate within, and how rest can effect a change for the better too.
More on Earth Hour in NZ here. We were the first country to take part. And check out this panoramic photo by Ben Myall of Sydney's Earth Hour. Awesome.
Labels: Earth Hour, New Zealand, Society and World
posted by Catez at 3/28/2009
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