A whisper from the woods

A Christmas message from our founder, Tenzin Ösel

Dec 21, 2021

Dear Universal Family,

Hello everyone!

As you know, December 25 is celebrated as Christmas. It is an honor to be able to send a Christmas greeting on this auspicious occasion.

It is my utmost pleasure to announce that, cooperatively, we have nearly reached 300,000 trees planted and still counting. This represents lots of shade, oxygen, carbon sequestration, general physical and psychological health benefits, and much more that will be appreciated for many generations to come. This is all due to our collective good heart and effort.

Let’s dedicate and pray that we can make a big, positive difference on this planet. May society, and people’s minds be open like an umbrella and a book which, if closed, cannot be used as intended. May all sentient beings feel the fulfillment of their objectives.

Historically, we have valued consumerism more than taking care of the environment. What we need to do is break this habit. As you know, without food, we can only survive three weeks. Without water, we can survive just three days but, without oxygen, we cannot survive more than three minutes. So, trees are of the essence.

We need more people taking care of the environment on behalf of our children, our children’s children and all the generations to come. We have borrowed this planet from the future. It is our duty to make sure that we can pass it on in a healthy state.

In theory, from my perspective, I have a fear that we will not act until we are on the verge of extinction and out of our comfort zone. So, this process that we are taking together with the Global Tree Initiative (GTI) really makes me joyful. I see that the human potential and the human heart are much larger than we ever expected.

With this GTI effort, we are doing our absolute best to help our children and those of the future survive so that they can enjoy what we have been able to enjoy: seeing animals, walking in the woods, being in touch with nature…. All of this helps us encounter ourselves.

It is such a privilege to be able to walk in a forest. Now, it seems normal to have the sun shining on our face, to see butterflies, to pick fruit from the trees, for it to rain normally and for the wind to blow. So many of these natural occurrences are dependent on the vast variety of species on the planet that are going extinct slowly but surely …

What about in times to come, when varied species including humans begin to become extinct; when we start to depend on oxygen tanks; when the cities have bubble spheres; when you must pay for the oxygen you need to breathe, and for the vitamin D from the sun?

If we do not act now, what we take for granted today will soon be a privilege with a price tag.

Let’s pray that, with our combined effort as One Universal Family, we may achieve a positive outcome. May the collective consciousness become more aware of the situation. May things start becoming greener. May we start stepping out of our comfort zone to make a small effort in changing our habits to avert the negative changes facing the future of the planet.

I am confident that this movement will be joined by many more people. In subsequent years, people will remember this time as a crucial juncture for the survival of all sentient beings on this planet.

I would like to thank you! Even though Christmas is just one day, it is every day that is special.

Not only would I like to celebrate Christmas by greeting you from the Christmas point of view, but I would also like to greet you from the everyday point of view. We are alive. We still have the advantage of being able to walk in nature and enjoy nature’s gifts. For this, we should be grateful.

Merry Christmas!
2021

Please share this. Thank you!

1 Comment

  1. Aida

    Thank you for these words. May everyone be able to see the impacts of our actions and be more aware of the situation as mentionned. May everyone be able to act in order to inverse these occurrencies.

    Reply

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