Thoughts out loud…

Reflections on climate change

Jan 6th 2020

I read a post the other day referring to the Australian bushfires which said something like "It's not the earth we should be worrying about. It's the humans and animals. The earth is wise and strong." This created a shift in me... from judgment of humanity to compassion.

 From looking at climate change and blaming humans as the "culprits" and earth as the "victim", to feeling deep compassion for human beings - one of earth's species, now heading towards its own extinction - self-inflicted and yet increasingly consciously watching its own species walking towards the car crash it created.... what a painful, painful tragedy.

And yet, can we blame humanity for not being at the required stage of evolution to care for the earth in the way she needs to be cared for? No... it's not our fault. We are where we are.

When I blame humanity I feel in a rush to fix it quickly, and I immediately fall into despair. I can feel it in my cells that this mindset is destined to fail. It is like trying to open a wall with my two hands.

And yet, when I look at humanity as one among the millions of earth's beautiful and imperfect creatures falling victim to this tragedy, and most tragically of all, falling victim to a it as a result of the tragic (mis)use of their own cognitive faculties, I soften into a deep sense compassion and camaraderie with all humankind.

It is no longer "who is doing more than who to combat this problem", "who is more at fault than who because you are not using a reusable cup to drink your takeaway coffee"...

It has become "wow... look what we are doing... look how overwhelming it is... look how far down the rabbit hole we have got ourselves... can we get ourselves out? Is it too late? Are we fated to become relics like dinosaurs?"

And like with any tragedy, I feel united in love and loss... together as one... no comparison, just love and compassion for myself and all our kind... and the pressure goes... and room is made for new strategies to arise... If mother earth is a wise and powerful, spiritual entity who has everything it takes to look after herself and her wellbeing, then who are we to blame ourselves for her sickness, and make ourselves responsible for saving her?

This mindset keeps us in the domination paradigm, where we humans are above nature and are either responsible for her demise or become her saviour. Where her fate is in our hands... No! If I regard mother earth with reverence and awe, I trust fully in her wisdom, power, and relationship, connection and collaboration with spirit, cosmos, and the greater powers that be. I trust that if humankind's extinction is what it takes for her to replenish, then this is what humankind's extinction will serve.

And then I feel much more in my rightful place, as just one of earth's tragic inhabitants... perhaps as her most tragic inhabitant, who created its own demise through the (mis)use of its supposed "superior" cognitive function. And I feel compassion. And I relax.

 And I remember those other humans who have been sidelined in the mainstream, the indigenous peoples, who have lived in reverence and respect of nature's bounty and power; in humility of earth's mystery and grace, and who for centuries and millennia have cultivated a reciprocal relationship with her. And my energy is drawn to them... to learn from them, to hear from them what is left of their wisdom, what has not yet been lost...

And with inspiration comes a tightness, a resistance, to the reality that this knowledge is holding on by a thread... that so much of it is already lost... what a waste... I blame the domination culture. And with blame comes powerlessness and resignation.

And then I connect to humanity... to the humanity of the "other side"... the "dominating" side who "misused" its power... and I feel myself in it. And I feel ourselves, humanity, as a whole. Flawed, imperfect, young, victims of our own faculties. And I feel compassion. And I relax.

And what is my role? And where is my choice? How do I wish to use my time here? How do i wish to be in relationship with earth? How do i choose to bring meaning to my own existence in the face of this tragedy?

I choose to live in integrity; to follow what excites me; to let go of the shackles of fear... to cultivate a relationship with the earth, to use my time here as fully as I can, and most of all, to know my place. In my humble place, outside of comparison, blame, judgment and fear, creativity can flow.