“We are the stories we tell ourselves” – Joan Didion.

Dear Climate Healers,

It is through the common stories we tell and the games we play that we humans coordinate our actions among billions of us to become powerful enough to materially impact the life-support systems of the planet.

Since impacting the life-support systems of the planet has consequences for the well-being of all Life on Earth, it is important that we tell common stories that don’t wind up killing us all off. In that regard, perhaps the most consequential story that we tell is the story of human supremacism.

In the story of human supremacism, we tell ourselves that we are so much smarter than and therefore, superior to all the other life-forms on Earth. This is because we choose measures of intelligence in which our species does extremely well – for example, recognizing themselves in the mirror or remembering and recording all their past activities.

We then rank other species as less or more intelligent depending on how well they do in these biased mirror tests and memory tests.

Now, imagine if we ranked intelligence based on how easily we are able to forgive others so that we are not rendered mentally ill by past trauma. Cats, dogs, pigs, cows, goats and sheep would rank much higher than humans, since they seem to shrug off their past trauma within weeks of rescue at an animal sanctuary or a loving home.

Or if we ranked intelligence based on how accurately we respond to an incoming tsunami, human beings would be bringing up the rear in the Community of Life. While almost all non-human animals survived the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami by moving to high ground, countless members of our species just stood around gawking and got drowned.

By that measure, we don’t look too bright in comparison with mice and rats.

Therefore, on Planet B, I suggest that we embrace the common story that non-human animals are smarter than us in numerous respects, even if we can do a few things exceptionally well and therefore, have a role to play in the ecosystems of the planet.

A strong dose of humility is necessary in the common story we tell about ourselves as we rejoin the Community of Life to become a useful member.

Join us at V-COP23

Please join us in Toronto for the Vegan Convergence Of the Peoples #23 (V-COP23) on Nov 1-2 to help shape and implement our system design plan for Planet B. The theme for V-COP23 is offered by our co-host, Plant Based Treaty: Redirect, Relinquish, Restore::

Redirect our focus from fixing Planet A to building Planet B.
Relinquish the excess resources we have taken from the planet.
Restore the life-support systems of the planet with the relinquished resources.

Please be there and help make history.

With much love,