This week’s call for content is "The BP Oil Crisis and What We Can All Do." In the face of this crisis that seems to drag on day after day, I think it’s important to re-center ourselves on what we can do and what is completely out of our control. As individuals with no knowledge of oil rigs, we don’t have the power to cap the oil well. We don’t have the power to turn back the clock and somehow prevent the gushing oil’s impact on the land, marine life, and the livelihoods of so many people along the Gulf Coast.
Because we don’t have control over any of that, we’re doing nothing more than wasting our energy when we keep our thoughts and angry feelings focused on issues totally out of our control. Instead, we can channel all that energy into what we can control.
Here are some options for how we can pour our intense emotions into something positive during this crisis:
1. We can make a donation to organizations working on cleanup efforts. (See Animals Caught in Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: How You Can Help.)
2. We can find volunteer opportunities through BP’s volunteer hotline: 1.866.448.5816 or through the federal government’s United We Serve site for volunteers. (Also see Volunteers recruited to help in oil spill threat.)
3. We can learn how to talk to our children and/or grandchildren about the crisis. (See The Big Oil Spill: Ranger Rick answers your questions.)
4. With our vote and our voices as U.S. citizens, we can support governmental efforts to keep this from ever happening again. (See Tighter regulations to follow Gulf oil spill.)
5. We can look for ways to reduce our own personal oil use. (See Reducing your oil use.)
From a spiritual perspective, people are also uniting in meditation, organizing prayer chains, and inviting people to join together in prayer at Oil Spill Prayer. Some people are also releasing their anger through music, art, or dance to be able to think more clearly about what they can do to help.
Peace!
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