We save paradise by an intense education program where you get

Hear the words of Arthur Boyd, painter and prophet of the natural world, who spoke with clarity and warning: “We save paradise by an intense education program where you get people that you can trust to talk sanely about the environment and hope that the message will get through.” These words are not merely a reflection on art or policy; they are a call to arms for the soul of the earth itself. He declares that the salvation of paradise—our forests, our rivers, our skies—will not come through indifference or apathy, but through the wisdom of truth, spoken by voices worthy of trust.

For Boyd understood that paradise is fragile. It is not only a dream of heaven, but the living earth beneath our feet, the harmony of life that sustains us. Yet paradise has been threatened, not by the gods, but by men—by greed, by ignorance, by careless destruction. To save it, he said, requires not merely laws or force, but education, for only through the awakening of minds can hearts be turned from ruin to reverence.

He speaks also of trust, for the messenger is as vital as the message. If the people do not trust the voices that cry out for the earth, then wisdom will be dismissed as noise. Thus, we must raise up men and women of integrity, who speak not with arrogance but with reason, not with fear but with hope. Such voices can pierce through denial and despair, reminding all that we are stewards, not masters, of this fragile sphere.

History confirms his vision. Consider Rachel Carson, whose book Silent Spring in 1962 revealed the devastation of pesticides. She was but one voice, yet because she spoke with knowledge, humility, and courage, the world listened. Her words ignited a movement, shifting entire nations to reexamine their treatment of the earth. Her power lay not in command, but in the trust she inspired, the education she spread, the sanity with which she spoke of a world in peril.

So too have the great educators of the past reshaped human destiny. When Galileo taught of the stars, when Darwin revealed the patterns of life, when Gandhi urged the people to resist through nonviolence—each offered not force, but reasoned truth. They were trusted because their lives bore witness to their words. And though opposed at first, their voices endured, changing the course of history. In the same way, Boyd insists that to save paradise, we must have voices who speak clearly, calmly, and truthfully, until the message takes root.

O seekers, the lesson is clear: we cannot save the world by silence, nor by despair. We save it by education, by speaking truth again and again until ears are opened. We save it by choosing our messengers wisely, by lifting up those who can be trusted, whose lives and words align, so that even the reluctant will pause and listen. And above all, we save it by refusing to let the message fade, for repetition is the seed of remembrance.

Practical is this wisdom: educate yourself about the earth that sustains you. Support those who speak honestly of climate, rivers, forests, and oceans. Share what you learn with others, not in anger, but in patience and clarity. Live in such a way that your own life becomes a message of respect for the world. And when you find a voice you can trust, amplify it, so that the song of truth spreads further than the roar of destruction.

Thus Arthur Boyd’s words endure as a beacon: paradise can yet be saved, but not by chance, not by silence, not by deceit. It will be saved by the clear and trusted voices of those who educate, inspire, and awaken. And when the message gets through, then the earth, long wounded, may begin to heal.