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

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Further quotes from the book Interconnected:

• The imagination to see the other as free and happy
• The interdependence between us and the world
• Touching the core of our equality
• Freedom
• Opening up to the view of interconnectedness
• Inner freedom is key
• The deeper common ground all living being share
• A Vast and Complex Web of Causality
• Cultivating a spirit of generosity
• Bringing about real change in the world
• Thinking about the consequences of our collective actions
• The power of our senses
• The opportunity to love
• You exist in connection with others
• Focusing on our inner interdependence
• The air we breathe
• Limitless aspirations
• Webs of interdependence
• The best way to love oneself