To light the candle, rather than curse the darkness

When we asked David what gives him hope, he said groups like Friends of the Earth and examples of good practice from around the world helps keep him going.

“It’s been so long that I can hardly remember when I first joined Friends of the Earth, perhaps I first became aware 20 years back, it always appealed to me.
I kind of identified with the name ‘Friends of the Earth’. I was particularly drawn to the campaigning aspect around climate issues and social justice. I appreciate also the role that Friends of the Earth takes in the media.
I would say I care for all aspects of our environment and our world. Animal welfare would be important to me as well.”

Friends of the Earth supporter, David, shares why he decided to include a gift in his Will to Friends of the Earth, and why our work is important to him.

David’s interest in the climate movement stems from the concept of integral ecology, a key concept within Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, which highlights the inseparability of “concern for nature, justice to the poor, commitment to society and inner peace”. Integral ecology espouses the view that everything is interconnected and that nature cannot be regarded in separate or siloed terms.

“That little phrase, integral ecology, best captures my basic stance towards the whole environmental cause. I don’t like how humans have been set apart, and the negative view of human beings role in it all. I prefer to approach it in a more integral way, where we don’t demonize it but allow human beings to be part of the solution, and not just part of the problem.”
Growing up on a farm, David has always felt a sense of connection to the natural world, “I loved the whole farming environment and still do.”

David shared his “experience of a lifetime”, when he reached the base of the Grand Canyon.

“It became a huge metaphor for me then because the old religious and faith aspect is a strong part of my interest as well. It takes you back something like two billion years… It was a wonderfully spiritual experience as well as a great lesson in the environment and the whole story of evolution and all of that.”

 

David spoke fondly of a mentor and dear friend of his, the late John Moriarty, who inspired him a lot too.

“God doesn't need to come down upon a mountain, for the mountain itself is the revelation. We only have to look at it and we will know how we should live.”
― John Moriarty

When we asked David about his hopes for the future, and what change he’d like to see in the wider climate movement over time, he shared that he is drawn to the more positive aspects of climate action.

“There's a lot of negativity, doom and gloom stuff, and in many cases very, very well justified. But that's not going to bring change, I think, putting people on guilt trips and negative kind of campaigning, name and shame kind of stuff doesn’t appeal to me personally.
I'm not saying that bad practice shouldn't be called out and challenged and opposed and all of that, but like I'd always be looking for positive steps that we can take to address issues.”

At Friends of the Earth, we believe that investing in a better future. Legacy gifts are an impactful way to act for change into the future.

In facing the climate crisis, we, as a climate campaigning organisation, need to be robust, resilient and capable to take on immense challenges, to be brave enough to push for bold action and change both today and long into the future.

To come back to what David shared about integral ecology, “where humans are seen as very much part of the whole environment, not over or against it”. At Friends of the Earth we recognise the intrinsic interconnectedness of all life, as well as humanity’s fight for human rights and justice across the globe, wherein social and ecological objectives are closely intertwined. We support people to come together to transform our world until social justice is the foundation of resilient and regenerative societies that flourish within the ecological limits of our one planet.

Having a strong and reliable financial base is indispensable in achieving this, to keep us going for as long as we are needed—and this financial base needs to be majorly people powered, free of corporate or government agendas. Our supporter income is the bedrock of our independence, and legacy gifts add so much power to this.

 

When we asked David what gives him hope, he shared that he tends to get depressed when he reads about the destruction to the earth, the Amazon for example. But groups like Friends of the Earth and hearing examples of good practice from around the world helps keep him going.

“It restores my hope and kind of motivation towards positive response rather than just thinking under it all.
You need something to help you come back up, it won't take away the horror of the scenes, but it motivates towards positive response. To light the candle, rather than curse the darkness kind of stuff.”

And finally, when we asked David if he’d thought about how he’d like to be remembered, he simply responded by saying: “I'm happy to leave that to others.”

*

The donor interviewed for this piece has chosen to remain anonymous, the name David is used in this article as a pseudonym.