Pax-salon Mailing List: Pax-Salon

[patty guerrero (pattypax]

Hi,  This Tuesday, Nov 10 we will have the author of the book, Be a Hobbit Save 
the Earth , Steve Divans with us to discuss the book and what he means by being 
a Hobbit and saving the earth.   You don’t have to have read the book, The 
Hobbit , by J R  Tolkien to take  part in this evening.  Sounds good to me.  
Below is an overview of the book.

Thanks,     c

Patty

> 
> Overview
> 
> Do the crises in our world worry you? The pollution, the violence, the 
> corruption, the apathy? Have you ever wished you could escape? Step through a 
> mirror directly into Middle Earth?
> 
> Steve Bivans, in his book, Be a Hobbit, Save the Earth, argues that we are 
> already there. He examines the problems facing mankind and our planet today 
> through the lens of Tolkien's world and the War of the Ring. The similarities 
> are all around you, and the struggle is indeed very real. Middle Earth faced 
> destruction at the hands of Sauron and Saruman; our world is under attack 
> from the metaphorical Two Towers: Ignorance & Fear, and Poverty & Greed. 
> Saruman-ic, Corporate Capitalism threatens to control and poison our 
> agriculture, education systems, governments, and our common property-both 
> real and cultural. Worst of all, our sense of humanity and hospitality is 
> being sapped and despoiled. If left to continue unabated, the modern Saurons 
> and Sarumans will devour the basic resources essential to our survival: the 
> water, soil, and the very air we breathe.
> 
> Our world has lost its 'Shireness.' Be a Hobbit, Save the Earth is a guide to 
> bringing our 'Shireness' back, from the bottom up: one Hobbit, one home, and 
> one Shire at a time.
> 
> Steve Bivans draws positive lessons from Tolkien's works as a metaphorical 
> map, a guide for reconnecting communities, and rebuilding them into 
> sustainable, modern Shires. While our modern challenges seem complicated, 
> nearly impossible, the solutions are really quite simple. The first step on 
> that journey is a change of mind, a transformation from Modern Humans into 
> Modern Hobbits. Only with this new way of thinking can we begin to clean up 
> our scoured Shires: the damage done to our food supply, to our environment, 
> to our communities, and to our political systems. Will that be easy? No, it 
> will not. After all, realizing that the One Ring must be destroyed, was a 
> simple concept, one that even a rustic Hobbit like Frodo Baggins could 
> understand. Carrying it all the way to Mordor to accomplish the mission was 
> another matter, so was cleaning up the Shire when he and his companions 
> returned home.
> 
> Such it is for us. The situation for our planet is dire; Mordor is at the 
> door and the Black Riders are burning our Shires. What will YOU do? Will you 
> destroy the Ring? Or will you hang on to your 'precioussss'?
> 
> Do you have to move 'to the country' and live in a hole in the ground?
> 
> Absolutely not. Moving isn't necessary. Instead, we need to bring Nature into 
> our minds, and into those spaces we call home. We must change our story. We 
> need to remember that we are PART of Nature, not Nature's masters. We need to 
> return to harmony with Nature and with each other, to become what humans were 
> destined to be, builders of gardens and Shires, as Hobbits, not Masters over 
> creatures great and small. You can be a Hobbit, anywhere. Even in a condo in 
> the middle of a city! So buy the book, read it, tell everyone you know about 
> it, then Be a Hobbit, and Save the Earth!
>