Resilience

 I am taking an online zoom course on resilience. The attendees are from multiple states and countries. Each week there is a lot of homework: videos and articles showing in many ways how our species on this planet is in big trouble. We have seen the projections for decades, warnings that if we keep our current strategies and lifestyle, our future looks increasingly bleak. It is a sobering experience, seeing each other in our zoom windows, acknowledging together the real situation of our culture, our lifestyles, our changing earth. Yet the purpose of this series of classes is not to make us scared and depressed. Instead, it is focusing on developing resilience. First we are nurturing resilience in ourselves. And then when we are grounded and strong, we are more able to reach out to the rest of our personal worlds in positive action. 

This focus has had an interesting effect on my feeling about the world. On the one hand, when I go out to my favorite park and sit at a high overlook, away from cities and vehicles and people, I feel close to the prairie and trees and wildlife all around me. I talk to the trees, at least in my head. I feel sorrow that they too will feel the eventual catastrophic effects of our changing climate. Natural settings are such a restorative environment for many of us, reminding us that we are part of something much bigger, that we are indeed part of that vast web of life here on this planet. It is not just us, but our whole world that is being affected by the changes on earth. And it would seem, from the trajectory we're on, that things will begin to get much worse soon. When I let myself feel this coming threat, I cry for all of us. 

On the other hand, I seem to be becoming more open minded. It is so easy to take sides these days, watching the political chaos, seeing our democracy sliding into a dictatorship. Things are happening at the national level that seem preposterous and appalling. How could people of good intelligence be supporting behavior and policies that hurt almost everyone but the billionaires? What happened to telling the truth, to being honest, to common decency and empathy? Because of these happenings, we're getting more and more polarized as a nation, and probably that is what the folks at the top are counting on: fanning the flames of discontent and hatred. However, this zoom course I'm in has made me step back a bit, pull myself away from the huge problems of our current situation and see us differently.

I remember the long history of this rock of a planet. Lately I've been fascinated by that history, the multiple phases of planet earth, each lasting millions or billions of years. We humans tend to see the world solely from our own point of view. We have transformed so much of it for our convenience and support that it feels like our planet, our possession, and in our minds we see just a continuing journey of progress. Indeed it is remarkable how much of the earth's surface has been converted into storehouses and arenas of human activity. It feels never-ending, this drive to make more, use more, build more. More is the definition of success now. 

Yet it is refreshing to step back and get some perspective, remembering the beginnings. It is exciting to learn yet again about how life first came to this barren rock of a planet, and then how it grew and changed and transformed the earth over billions of years to a lush landscape exploding with life. Five different times, this lush life was eradicated by extinctions caused by different things. Almost all life disappeared under various assaults, but over thousands of years life recovered. Again and again. 

Then, very very recently in the history of earth, our own species emerged. At first we didn't make a huge impact. We were simple animals finding our way in a vast web of life. But as the centuries went on, we grew more and more capable. Our opposable thumb and our large brain helped us manipulate our environment. We began to grow our own food. We invented the wheel which made traveling much easier. Very gradually our impact on the earth became more pervasive. But it wasn't until quite recently that human activity began to threaten the health of the earth as a whole, and our species in particular. And things are speeding up. 

Somehow, viewing the earth and our species from a distance has taken away the frustration and anger. I am letting go of the us-versus-them mode. Instead, I am seeing us all with more compassion. And I am letting go of blame. We emerged on the earth long ago, and we have done our best to survive, as any species does. We did not set out to destroy our home. We were doing what we thought best. And so today that is true too. As scientists and economists and historians and environmentalists have been warning us for decades, we have gotten off the safe track. We are not a perfect species, and some of our inclinations don't serve us well. Some are blatantly harmful, like what we're seeing in the governments of today. And perhaps as in most species, we tend to see the world from a very narrow point of view, aiming for things that serve us in the moment, with little thought of the future. We assume that "progress" will lead us to happier lives. 

Realizing that our definition of progress has now taken us on a path that threatens to destroy our earth-home has somehow made me feel more compassion toward all of us, without regard to politics or beliefs, or wrong turns and dishonest dealings. We are a new species in the history of the earth, and it looks like our own stay here will be relatively short compared to other epochs. We've been intrepid in our achievements, truly admirable in many ways. But because we lost sight of how we were eroding the planet as well as our future, we are in a very serious decline in terms of longevity. And sitting here in 2025, in the middle of this looming collapse of our civilization, becoming more and more aware of the dangers facing us, my heart goes out to all the folks who are suffering, who are doing their best and not succeeding in their lives. And I am ever more appreciative of the small acts of kindness that I witness. 

I like this new paradigm shift for myself. It doesn't change our trajectory. The danger is still there. The human world is faltering because of our shortsightedness. And it is sad. Yet I am starting to feel a part of the great collection of people all over the world who are together in this. We have so much more that connects us than that separates us. No one's aim was to destroy our earth-mother or each other. At heart, we are a kind species. We love those close to us. We want to do right. And now every generous act is like a light shining in the mist. I notice more and more how the people around me are well-meaning, loving, caring for others. They are doing their best in their own circumstances. And I feel gratitude to be part of this intrepid species, however imperfect. I will continue to do what I can to make my small contribution to the healing of the whole. But for now, I want to take one day at a time and treasure the beauty around me and the vast interactions happening through all of living things, including ourselves.