To be lost and Found, Eye to Eye

I want to invite every one of you to look into an animal's eyes and realize: the survival of nature and every endangered habitat truly is at the mercy of our daily consumption choices.

My purpose is not to speak as a scientist or an expert. What I want to share with you are personal stories. I was lucky enough to live among native communities, interact with them as an equal and actively participate in their daily lives. My husband worked as a physician, I was a teacher and my every morsel of experience was deemed valuable. Crafts, cooking, dancing, English, they all were skills that were cherished and eagerly learned. I have never since or ever before felt so useful! I was just 20 years old, and yet, I had so much to offer to these grateful people.  I, in turn, fell in love with this magical, intensely demanding place, and learned so much from the natives. They might appear lacking in material possessions, but they were the happiest people I have ever met.

I am headed back to the Amazon with my teenagers and my husband this year, eager to report the changes we will observe and to learn more and share our experiences through my books, my stories and my art. What I cherished most about what I learned in my first adventure in the Amazon was an intensity of presence in the way the people I met there inhabited every single day, solving one problem at a time, enjoying one delight at a time. Part of my heart stayed behind, in the Amazon, and this is why I want to share my tales and show you the deceivingly simple way of life I witnessed, hoping to inspire you to share some of my passion and realize we all have a role to play in this unfolding challenge. I know that among you, many will be stirred to action so that together, we can save this place of wild creatures and limitless possibilities, still to be explored. If that exploration is coupled with care and compassion, I am convinced that the Rainforest can be saved, and the lessons learned in this effort will prove crucial when aiming to restore and save other sacred habitats.

The question that has been formulated as the topic for the 2012 World Environment day is: The Green Economy, how can you be part of it? To me, the real answer is: how on earth can we NOT feel summoned to be active parts of it, in every choice we make. I have chosen to be part of the solution by sharing my stories about the habitat I know and love best, the Amazon Rainforest. Stories are powerful tools that inspire and invite action, so listen and then use the resources that abound to seek ways to Green your life. Every little action we decide to develop into a habit has a direct impact on the well-being of our environment and contributes towards the odds of survival of humanity and our Mother Earth, especially if we share our passion with the young ones in our lives, since they hold the real keys to an evolution in our relationship to Nature.

Keep coming back to my blog to read more stories and meet more beautiful creatures, and I promise you will never be the same once we have creeped into your heart.

With love, 

Lina Cuartas.