This is not the time to get depressed and give up!

I read this, this morning and couldn't actually read it right through (and I"m not recommending you attempt it either.  You can the gist by looking at it very quickly.  The unashamed stupidity of the world amazed, me ... in a bad way.

The trouble is that increasingly I'm aware that all this scary information doesn't change things. .. on its own, that is. Also,  pretty much anyone reading this blog is likely to be aware of the environmental issues facing us and  this post and this post, outline something of how the social structures that we live in help keep it that way.

Sometimes when I look at all this, I'm sad.  I've had quite a few conversations with other people who are also sad and scared about what they see happening.  I find that many of us are feeling lost and little, and paralysed by the enormity of the issues, and it's a heavy burden to carry.  But at the same time, our environmental crisis is NOT and never will be a spectator sport, as this interesting website puts it and our unpleasant feelings actually won't go away if we just do nothing. In short, they are not a reason to avoid engaging with the issues as they unfold or avoiding doing something to   It is not going to help anyone (even ourselves) to keep burying our head in the sand and hoping that the crisis will pass if we stop looking at it. It won't! 

For me at the moment there is hope at the end of this talk by Jared Diamond and in this talk by Johan Rockstom.  As Diamond puts it, just about ANYTHING that we take action on could make a difference in the long term and might help 'bend the lines' as Rockstrom puts it.

It's is also good to recognise that sadness arises because the world is actually also a source of joy and love, as well as worry and fear.  Recognising the joy and love, and the goodness in people is a good reason for looking the issues directly in the eye and to keep trying to make a difference.

These things can give meaning to the actions that we choose to take whether that is leaving the car at home wherever possible, minimising our consumption, learning how to garden,  helping out a neighbour, finding ways to build and join collective actions working to improve the cohesion and resilience of our communities or helping people understand the power of collective action - whatever that action might be, life is not a spectator sport, and right now, this is life in the early 21st century.  Go for it and learn how to enjoy the action.