Can one be environmentally conscious, or simply put, a good person, out of guilt?

February 2, 2021 The question posed in the title was motivated by the observation that I see many people around me, with good intentions, watching environmental documentaries, such as the recently released David Attenborough film, and being shocked by the state of the Earth. They recognize that they themselves have contributed to this condition, and perhaps still contribute, yet they have not given up or would not be able to willingly give up their potentially overly comfortable, consumer-driven lifestyles. This creates tension within them, guilt. At some point, this guilt may become strong enough to motivate the individual to take action, but how good of a motivation is this? In my opinion, not much. It might have some superficial effect in the short term, but it’s easy to relapse into the condemned habits. So, what can we do in such cases to achieve success in the long run? From experience, I write that we should not act out of guilt. We should recognize and release the guilt. Instead, we should act out of a profound love for ourselves, for humanity, and for God, by recognizing the wonders of ourselves and our world. This love, the light and radiance within us, can be the foundation of any meaningful and lasting change in our lives. Now someone might ask, what love am I talking about, and what wonder? The wonder that is in a little bird’s song, the whisper of the wind, the reflection of water in a pond, and in the light of our eyes. The love that surrounds us even when we don’t want to notice it. This love doesn’t shout or blare, it’s simply there around us, and we only hear its voice when we quiet down, and our mind is not shouting inside. Perhaps the darkness within us does everything it can to obscure this, but it only takes a tiny bit of light from the outside for that light to reflect within us and show the way out.