Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet

Author of this article: Marla Lise

Opinions expressed within the content are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of RegenSpiral or any listed websites, their affiliates, or any entity — physical or otherwise — anything, anyone, or any other form of matter that isn’t completely and uniquely by the author.

If you are not a Medium subscriber, read the full article here

I recently held The Eco Chapter’s last in-person edition of our eco book club for 2025. We discussed Thich Nhat Hanh’s Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet and how deep mindfulness and compassionate presence might transform not only our relationship with the Earth, but also the systems of consumption and disconnection that threaten it.

Marla and participants of the eco book club (Photo Credit: Author)

Buddhist teachings say that the cause of all suffering in life can be attributed to two things — aversion and craving. We either want something or we don’t want it. We suffer in longing until the coveted ‘thing’ appears, and then become depressed when it is no longer there. We suffer because we look at our present moment as a hell, and allow ourselves to be caught up in the presumed fact that this is not good and we don’t like it. We suffer because we are elated in a moment, and then once the source of that celebration is gone — we’re back in our hellhole, waiting for that happy high again.

Thus, we go through life suffering. Wanting. Not wanting. Hating. Loving. Despising. Expecting. Disappointing. Planning. Regretting.

Our lives — roller coaster rides between being happy and unhappy.

Human beings are stuck in an illusion. We all tell ourselves stories. Our monkey mind goes off on wild goose chases, it starts conjuring things that are not true, it identifies with an ego — namely our ‘self’.

We put this ‘self’ on a pedestal and do everything in our power to make sure that this self is taken care of. Self-preservation above all. This is why we feel entitled to exploit anything and anyone around us. We build walls, we armour ourselves in suits, we fight battles to win treasure — all to make sure this self is happy. Supposedly happy.

Material happiness is fleeting.

And the self — well, it doesn’t actually exist. We are atoms, vibrating molecules. All the cells in our bodies change every seven years. So then, how can this ‘self’ exist? It only exists because we’ve made it up in our minds. And now, we do anything and everything we can do make sure this ‘self’ is well taken care of — at the expense of anyone and anything else. We are stuck in this identity. I am my job. I am my paycheck. I am my belongings. I am ‘I’.

So we work. We earn. We conform. We adapt. We sacrifice. We say we’re happy because we have these things that make the self happy. Material things. Fancy cars, luxurious holidays, prestigious job titles. All things that inflate the self. All things that boost our egos.

And we complain constantly. We fight. We gossip. We’re never satisfied.

It’s the ones who are the most miserable who usually have the most to say. Everything is wrong, everyone is wrong, everyone has wronged them. “The empty vessel makes the loudest sound.” Critical. Rude. Judgemental.

They say misery loves company. Misery’s company is one’s inflated ego. Knowing that everyone else is miserable makes being miserable tolerable. We find friends that build conversations around misery, our closest companions — allies in conflict and drama.

We say this is the human condition. We say, this is life. So we continue this vicious cycle of wanting, and getting, but not having enough, and wanting more. And complaining about everything in the meantime.

But when does it stop?

So many who have earned so much have admitted to wasting their time — caught in the rat race of chasing paper — until one day they realised their bank accounts were full but their lives were still empty. So they gave up material wealth to live lives of servitude — finding so much more fulfilment through the joy of serving others than they ever found in a 9–5 job.

Why do we continue to fight our dreams and the calling of our hearts and slog away at jobs that give very little joy other than a paycheck at the end of the month? A paycheck that we probably spend on experiences to numb ourselves from the mundane — drinks with friends to gossip and complain, expensive gym memberships to post photos of our sweaty non-functional muscles, designer clothes to impress everyone else in the office (because we don’t have time to go anywhere else).

Jobs that contribute to us going through our very short lives here on Earth being slaves to a system that does not have our well-being in mind. A system that tells you to work 44 hours a week until you’re 64 years old (minimum). A system that distracts you with the fears of scarcity so that you’re blind to the bigger problems plaguing our entire species.

Who cares about climate change, refugees, land and water rights, animal abuse, poverty, the 6th mass extinction … when we’ve got bills to pay, cars and condominiums to save for, retirements to plan for, and student debts to clear? Who cares about the real tangible problems happening all around us when our socially constructed problems are far more imminent? Who cares about the others? Because that’s what they are — others. Not me and mine. Who cares about them? I worked hard for my money and this lifestyle of luxury.

Because we’re completely distracted.

We don’t even have time to see the truth — that we are one species, meant to be living in harmony within our means and the planet’s. We don’t have time to see that we’re miserable and suffering. We don’t see ourselves as earthlings belonging to this planet. We don’t see ourselves as nature.

But we are.

And our bodies and minds are still evolving as slowly — as nature does — but we’re expected to keep up with the rapid evolution of technology, constant stimulation, unrealistic demands on a natural human body.

And our minds? They can’t keep up either. We’re just getting more and more jaded by a system that we know doesn’t work. No matter how much we progress, poverty, malnutrition, war, famine, disease still exist. No matter how much we build, there seems to be an endless need to keep constructing. No matter how much we sacrifice, we still need to give up some more. It’s a never ending cycle of wanting, of never being enough, of never having enough — and we thus perpetuate our suffering.

Craving. Aversion. Craving. Aversion.

And what if we did have time to think? Most of us don’t ever allow it. Because if we did, we’d realise — there’s something very wrong here.

Thich Nhat Hanh’s book reminds us that we are part of Mother Earth. That the sun, the moon, the stars, the ocean, the mountains — are in us. We are made of stardust. We are not our ‘self’. We are not an identity we’ve created. We are not our egos. We are just a continuation of the planet. We are the orange juice we had for breakfast. We are the farmers’ blood, sweat, and tears that put food on our plate. We are our ancestors’ pain and laughter. We are fuelled by the ferns and creatures that once roamed this very planet long, long ago.

We are. Because they were.

We are. Because we are.

We are. Because they will be.

We spend so much time distracting ourselves with our mindless tasks, while the planet burns, species go extinct, and our species pushes the limits to its own demise. We’re all so busy worrying about a future — but we’re worrying about our pensions, rather than our very existence.

It’s time to wake up. Snap out of this deceit. Stop numbing ourselves with never-ending to-do lists, mind-altering substances, doom scrolling, constant distraction. It’s time to accept — Yes! There’s something very wrong here and things need to change. It’s time to accept that we are human, we are nature, we are so much more than this system we’ve made up and are now are slaves to.

Break the shackles.

Come back home to yourself.

Come back home to each other. To our species. To our planet.

We are nature.

We need to come back to that fact.

That tangible, real, evidential fact.

We’re causing our suffering because we’re suppressing our true nature of being nature. We’re causing our misery from trying so hard to be human doings, not human beings.

We have enough.

We are enough.

We were put here to just be.

And that’s enough.

“Go inward and inquire, and you will see that all your miseries exist because you support them. Without your support nothing can exist. Because you give it energy, it exists; if you don’t give it energy it cannot exist.” — Osho

Think about your energy, your time, your life, your purpose. Don’t you think we are called to bigger things than running on a never-ending treadmill in the search for wealth, prosperity, fame, and fortune?

The only thing permanent is change. Everything else is impermanent — even our bodies and our ‘selves’. So isn’t it time we change the system? Isn’t time we change our lives?

We’re missing all the beauty the planet has to offer. We’re blinding ourselves from its majesty so that we can say it’s not important and therefore we can exploit it. But if we just stopped running on that hamster wheel, if we just stopped and smelled the roses, if we just stopped and took a look around — we’d realise — we’re wasting our lives chasing fleeting moments of joy found in material things. We’d realise — true joy comes from acceptance. True joy comes from being in quiet contentment. True joy comes from nature.

Because we are nature.

And nature says it’s okay to just be.

“We might think we know how Nature should work, and we certainly gain insight into Nature by using our logical powers (endowed by Nature) to predict how Nature might work, but ultimately, we have to understand the way Nature does work. Nature, in all its glorious complexity, is completely impassive. It cares not a whit what we may or may not believe. Nature just is.” — John Yewdell

This article was originally published at https://marlalise.substack.com/p/zen-and-the-art-of-saving-the-planet

If you relate to this story, we would appreciate it if you could click on the clap button. You can hold it down for up to 50 claps, and this will help the story reach more Medium subscribers. Do also leave a comment, share, or follow.

About the Writer

Marla Lise (SubStack: Marla’s Musings as an Earthling)

Marla Lise is a global educator, eco-literary advocate, and good faith communicator. She helps changemakers find the right voice, message, and audience to tell stories that matter through her companies The English Curve and The Eco Chapter. With a deep love for language and the planet, she guides creators to script purposeful impact campaigns and step into their responsibility with intention.