Recognizing our intimate dependence on the natural environment allows us to see its true value and treasure it. One reason that people living in cities nowadays need to be told so much about the importance of caring for the earth is because they did not grow up feeling direct, unmediated connections to it. For them, nature is something that one visits in city parks or on excursions out into the countryside. When we are raised in urban environments, our sense for the natural environment is more remote because we rarely witness our fundamental reliance upon it. Nature seems like a pretty backdrop to our lives, something that adds to the scenery but is basically optional. We are obstructed from seeing how the natural environment is the very stage on which our lives play out. Without the conditions that arise from our environment, nothing whatsoever can take place.

17th Karmapa

from the book Interconnected: Embracing Life in Our Global Society

Read a random quote or see all quotes by the 17th Karmapa.

Further quotes from the book Interconnected:

• Individualism or interdependence
• You exist in connection with others
• Extend yourself and connect
• The deeper common ground all living being share
• Viewing others through the lens of interdependence
• The air we breathe
• Gratitude
• Cultivating a spirit of generosity
• The imagination to see the other as free and happy
• Interdependence always works both ways
• Extending gratitude in all directions
• Thinking about the consequences of our collective actions
• A greater sense of possibility
• Acting against self-serving impulses
• The opportunity to love
• Knowing more is not a substitute for feeling more
• Time to act
• Everything and everyone is benefiting you
• Outer and inner world