From Footprint to Wings

The mystical poet Rumi has said:

Start walking to zero carbon.*
You get heavier.
Then comes a moment
of feeling the wings you’ve grown,
Lifting.

*In the original, he says “Start walking toward Shams.”  Shams is the name of The Friend. It also means “sun” and “faith”.

“A moment of feeling the wings you’ve grown”

When we talk about “reducing our ecological footprint” or eliminating it altogether, it can seem like we’re trying to get rid of ourselves. Erase ourselves. This is a defeating, depressing thought. If this is what is happening, it might make you want to stomp your feet in solidarity with your own existence.

But this isn’t what is happening.

We are in transition. We are making a shift from one mode of being to another. We are gaining attributes, not losing them.

Rumi’s poem captures the transition well. Before we can let go of one mode of being, we have to set up the infrastructure (the “wings”) of the next mode. At first, we feel a growing burden.

Until it tips.

The shift comes. The work pays off. You take off.

And there you are. Gliding above what once was such trouble. Wiggling your feet around in the air and delighting in your new found wings.

Start walking.

To zero carbon.

You’re not losing your foothold.

You’re gaining wings.

Notes & Related:

More sustainability poetry by Rumi:  You saw a fire.