Tom Ellis
1 min readFeb 23, 2024

--

An astute analysis of our current predicament. However, I often like to remind people of a useful bit of Chinese wisdom I once stumbled upon, while browsing through commentary on the I Ching many years ago in my Hippie days. I’ll paraphrase it as best I can:
The best way to overcome evil is not necessarily to resist it directly [unless you have no other options] since hatred is a form of subjective involvement with the hated object [i.e. we often end up becoming little different from what we hate]. Rather, the best way to overcome evil is to make ENERGETIC PROGRESS IN THE GOOD.

For me, the best way to make energetic progress in the good is to grow gardens, grow community, and grow awareness—in that order. And, in the process, gradually emancipate ourselves from slavery to the money game (the Cancer of the Earth) and instead cultivate “gift economies” by an ethos of learning, teaching, healing, and creating. Or as Permaculture teaches us, caring for the Earth, caring for people, and fair share ( that is, reinvesting the surplus back into Earth Care and People Care—so that we sow the seeds of a Gaian future in the smoking ruins of Glomart (I.e. the toxic, zero-sum Global Market Economy).

--

--

Tom Ellis
Tom Ellis

Written by Tom Ellis

I am a retired English professor now living in Oregon, and a life-long environmental activist, Buddhist, and holistic philosopher.

Responses (1)