No time left to say goodbye.
“You know that the antidote to exhaustion is not necessarily rest? … The antidote to exhaustion is wholeheartedness.”
― David Whyte, Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity
In David Whyte’s book, ‘Crossing the Unknown Sea’, the author and poet describes a moment of solitude in the Galápagos Islands after witnessing a wave shooting up from the rocks, a wave which could have taken him. As a sailing and nature guide, he had been pondering what comes next in life and the wave was a reminder of our seemingly momentary existence.
Whyte described a moment, where everything had shifted - he had crossed the unknown sea - and he knew what to do. In his case it was to change careers, to write; to use his talent, training and step onto his new shore. He wrote, “There was no time left to say goodbye”.
He hadn’t written or published a single book at the time.
Are some of us now, at this moment-in-time with our relationship to our planet and our lives, waking up to a new reality? A hard reality, which provokes a desire to change?
This past week I have been absorbing the data provided by Bill Gates in his book, “How to avoid a climate disaster”. I’m finding this work to be a challenging and heart-wrenching book… not least because it highlights how unprepared we are, to deal with the climactic and practical challenges we face (and will continue to face) as a result of our warming planet, but also because the challenge of finding solutions will be very hard and will take decades.
We will have to change… and with change can come grief, joy as well. Grief is normal, after vexing choices may leave behind a thing, a person, a career, a period of life - and be better for it - but it is also an act of self-care to also anticipate and embrace that change often involves some tender and sensitive feelings. As we embrace these feelings, there here can be a certain weight and heaviness to knowing that - we can’t go back.
Are we at the tipping point yet, where fires, floods, mass-migration of people, heat and storms are difficult enough that we find acceptance? Maybe not everyone, but perhaps we are close, and there are early-adopters, change agents amount us - who will lead from the front.
Add Covid 19 to this and our entire planet and lives are changing. Already we do things we never thought we’d do; lock-down, masks, working in our PJ’s, not going to offices, losing jobs and businesses, starting new ones, beginning new hobbies or going back to outdoor recreation for the first time in years. As a societies, we have changed already and more will come.
Trailblazer Tuesday is about doing two things each Tuesday which will make an individual and collective contribution to arresting climate change. What if today’s two things are not active additions or actions - but decisions - decisions to leave something behind?
Haven’t we all experienced situations in life; sometimes accompanied by great pain, fear or joy… when we knew in our heart, we knew intuitively that things would not be the same going forwards?
In Gates’ book, the author highlights the complexity of the problems of getting to zero-emissions of CO2 and Methane - the gases which are cooking our planet and us. The data also highlights certain steps we need to take; reducing our dependence on certain types of agriculture; beef and corn are two big ones. We will also need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels as well as learn how to produce clean and affordable electricity. These are two big ones.
~ What if for today (just for today and we can review tomorrow and the next days) we could decide to go without ‘carbon or methane intensive’ foods (farmed meat is one)?
~ What if I decide to not buy any more fossil-fueled automobiles in the future?
~ What if I decide to organise a hike this weekend and invite some non-hiker friends, possibly make a list of what to bring and show them how to get ready? We were all non-hikers once.
Big, small, dramatic, easy… there are so many things we can do?
What will you decide today?
If you sit with those decisions… how does it feel?
1. Personally, I’m going with the no more ‘dinosaur’ cars, in five years time electric cars will be similar in cost and cheaper to run, they are already quieter and faster. IDK what I’ll get next, and not sure I can afford the expense of the one I want immediately. I don’t need to know this today, but I can decide today and that will get me looking and learning? Do Aston Martin do an electric car yet?
2. I’m going to find an alternative to the craving for a cheeseburger I want for lunch…. Just because I want it doesn’t mean I won’t be happier with something else. In fact I know I will be. Just have to be creative.
Do you feel a shift in relationship to the world today?
Thank you for reading. If you find this newsletter thought provoking and interesting, please consider sharing with friends.
“Whatever other resources you may have, you can always use your voice and your vote to effect change”
― Bill Gates, How To Avoid A Climate Disaster.
#trailblazertuesday