Do you believe that the safety of Life on Earth may be in danger? How important is it to take responsibility for protecting the future?
Imagine making the commitment to protect the future of Life on Earth, and to place this as your first priority in all that you do. Not only would this be a turning point of your moral life, imagine the effects of making this commitment:
- It helps the future. The probability that the future will be better off will increase if more and more of us that dedicate our lives to the future of Life on Earth. If we don't, then we are likely to succumb to diffusion of responsibility.
- It averts "bikeshedding," the tendency to talk about easy things (such as what colour to paint a bike shed) instead of talking about the things that actually matter.
- It creates perspective in our lives. When the commitment to Life is our first priority, all of our other activities can be seen in terms of how the help or hurt our ability to care for the future. If it's not our first priority, then it's easy to think that our current activities don't really matter, and that we'll get around to being more efficient or responsible or caring at some later date.
- It helps us. It gives us cause to leave behind the small things that limit us, and to improve our capabilities. Our lives will be richer by committing to changing ourselves to become as beneficial to Life as we can be.
Here is an example oath you might make: "
I shall sincerely do all I can to protect the future of Life on Earth." After you take the oath, set aside fifteen minutes every morning to review your behaviour and attitudes. Over time, adjust your life to bring it into accord with your oath to protect the future of Life on Earth.