Focolare Movement

A task for each day to protect the environment

Jun 5, 2017

As World Environment Day is celebrated on June 5th, promoted by the United Nations, a simple game, the Earth Cube, goes viral. Assemble it, throw it, and experience it!

Earthcube_ENAt a time when many are panicking over Blue Whale that has gone viral, finally a different kind of equally contagious game…and a much more positive one! On the web or in a more traditional way, with paper and scissors, there is a game that helps to keep the planet healthy and liveable. First move: click here (a move to the web is required for traditionalists too!). At this point, the indisputable star, the “Dice” or Cube, will remind us every time we take a chance with the most famous game of chance ever made: six possibilities and a bit of luck. Whether you cast it online or you cut it out and build it with your own hands (good for smaller children), this new Cube offers much more. Each side is a small (but great) invitation to respect the environments of the earth on which we live – and its inhabitants. A small compendium of ecology and social relations good for any age, promoted by the EcoOne Ecological/Cultural Project that has spread to 180 countries and recently put experts, researchers and professionals online introducing Environmental topics. There’s only one difference: it’s no theory, but an immediate invitation act each and every day. For example? Well, one side of the dice says: “Discover unbelievable things!”. The world is full of incredible things, from the majestic heights of snow-capped mountains to the depths of the endless seas, from the countless variety of plants to every living thing, even the most tiny things that share the same planet. Every detail in nature fills us with astonishment and wonder, and inspires gratitude for the Creator. What can I do this day to see the world with such eyes? Earthcube-01Another toss, another side: “Smile at the world!” Nothing better than positive actions makes the world a better place to live in. Whether its recycling trash or reusing unused objects, not wasting water or turning off the lights, carpooling to reduce gas emissions or caring for  a small public garden – it’s enough to think that each and each action has a consequence. The next side: “We’re all connected!” Each thing on the planet is in relationship with all the rest: a factory that puffs smoke, a contaminated water flow, a plastic bottle forgotten on the shore. Every great or small action has a consequence, for good or for bad. How can I build positive connections? The game goes on and never ends: “Now is the moment”. How many times have we said, “I’ll do it tomorrow,” but then did nothing? The world can’t stand by and wait while we keep putting it off! I have to act now and begin again every time I fall. “Only what you need!” Just like a plant that draws from the ground only what it needs to grow, so must we learn to distinguish between needs and desires, reducing to the maximum the negative impact of our actions and amplifying the positive. And finally, “Everything is a gift”. How can I protect everything around me so that future generations can enjoy it? Fortunately die-hard players are many. “Only what you need” was the Earth Cube’s tip for today. And so my day began with a “timed” shower – getting out of the shower before the timer went off – then recycling and reusing paper at work, followed by a lighter lunch than usual. Okay, maybe they’re just small things, but at least I kept going at 100%!” (San Paolo, Brazil) “We’re all interconnected!” is what I read on the Cube today, after tossing it. I remembered that I had left the lights on in the house, so I went back and turned them of before going out for the night. I also turned off the computer. The little things I do really do have an impact on others!” (Nairobi, Kenya) The Time Is Now … Let’s roll the dice! Never has a game been so serious and fascinating at the same time.

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