I love Steemit, I write one post which engages some awesome authors on here and a discussion begins about said post and from there comes the inspiration to write another post. I have recently been added as an author to @tribesteemup, when I first discovered what this project was about I was very impressed. It was created by @kennyskitchen in order to help people who write about topics that are catalyst's for change, it started out as people he knew and now it has grown to over 200 authors. Being involved has allowed me to get to know some of these great authors and to interact with them, people that I can relate to on a lot of issues.

So after a discussion with the lovely and inspirational @brightstar (who is also part of TribeSteemUp)on my last post , I was inspired to write this post. To me that is what is so good about being part of a community, we help inspire one another, we lift one another up and therefore we grow together.

I have always had a problem with the whole them and us mentality. I believe there is too much segregation in life as it is. So many divides have been created, between us all, to do with class, sex, the colour of our skin, the way we choose to live our lives, leading to so many isms, so much disrespect, so much ignorance. We need to be looking at ways in which we bring people together.

But then I look at the way that some people view the destruction of the world as progress, how am I meant to connect with those people and do I even want to. Here in lies my dilemma. It really does upset me and at times I can get angry, but those emotions are strong emotions and they can be used in a proactive way in motivating me to do better in my own life and also in trying to get as much information out there as possible.

The way I see it, in order for us humans to really strive, the preservation of our home should be paramount.

Image Source:http://www.vdu.lt/lt/vdu-mokslininkai-tiria-svarbius-gamtos-procesus/
Yet we have reached a point where some believe that the world only consists of resources for humans to use how they see fit. There is no desire to see any sort of relationship between themselves and the other beings on this planet, that thought would never enter their minds, because to them they would never identify the trees, animals or plants as living beings, to them they are seen as a commodity.

I don't even understand how some can believe that humans will survive if we continue to pollute the planet and use up all the resources available to us. How can we continue to be healthy, if we are polluting the air we breathe and the water we drink. So much money is being pumped into the medical system, yet the fact, that what we use to clean our homes and ourselves are toxic to both us and the planet is being ignored How is this progress. How is the use of toxic materials to build our homes progress.

How is creating an economic system that is destroying the planet progress. But then, doing all of this things leads to control, and that is what those in power want to maintain at any cost it seems. But they must know that really what they are doing to the earth they are doing to themselves. Or maybe not. There has been a huge push for people to distance themselves from nature for a long time now.

This is when people where expected to become more civilized, to behave in a more civilized manner. To appear more dignified, to become successful in life. Where success is measured by the possessions you owned. So the ideas of wealth and success changed. Because now success for some is built at the expense of those they exploit. It is based on improving their materialistic lifestyle. This huge push to disconnect oneself from nature does seem to have worked. Because if we disconnect ourselves from the natural world, does it then make it easier not to care, when we destroy it? Does it deafen our ears to the suffering that is happening around us?

I can't answer that question because I have always felt at home in nature, I am happy to be part of nature and to acknowledge that my home is the planet. I have no desire to destroy what I am part of. But even that is unavoidable, we have become very dependant on materials that are damaging, plastic being one of them. I am trying to reduce my impact on the planet as best I can.

Image Source:https://permakultur.de/landkarte/?tx_news_pi1%5Bnews%5D=180&cHash=b51feb47317c7bef989c04b5e3a9d66a

Of course there is a lot of positive progress in the world too.
Sustainable living, the amount of people learning permaculture .
They are so many amazing projects happening around the world.
There are amazing communities of people coming together, we are witnessing that here on steemit.
To me Progress is when we achieve something that has no negative impact on the planet.
It can mean different things to all of us, so what do you consider to be progress?

1st Image Source:https://www.newdesigns.info/planet-in-danger-quotes.html

Big Big Thank You To @byn for designing my logo.