Discuss: Anticipating Our Future

Thank you Jared Duval for your thoughtful comments which I found even more profound than your original article. And the “Global Mourning” link is quite sobering.  I pray for a global shift in consciousness that will save us before it is too late. Thank you for your good words and your good work.

Jared,

While I have great respect for both your dedication and your thoughtfulness, I believe you’re still somewhat mired in old paradigm thinking (when it is our cultural atmosphere, we don’t even notice it).

You say you moved to DC and flew around the world in order to make a big difference. Our fixation on “bigger is better” is, in fact, what got us into this mess. Small, local, personal and neighborhood change is no less important - perhaps much more important - than sweeping policy change or institutional reform. Ultimately, the only change that will really make a difference is change of heart.

And if we are to be agents of authentic social or cultural evolution, then we must learn to differentiate between what is urgent and what is important - and not let the apparently urgent distract us from the long-term commitment to what is truly important.

Yes, global climate change is a looming crisis that we yet don’t sufficiently understand enough to predict. But every age believed that armageddon was close at hand, and that belief - or its consequent fear - often led us to foolish or counterproductive responses.

Redemption is actually a rather new human cultural ideal, popularized by Christian religion and its foundational notion of original (and ongoing) sin. If we are to redeem ecological balance (Garden of Eden), we must return to the ageless human belief in original harmony. And that requires deep connection to people and place, and an abiding desire to change one’s self - for that is the only thing we have any power to do or any need to do.

Echoes of my own lingering looks at the stars and drawing in the cool air when it comes. Can’t quite name it either. The future seems to be casting a shadow that is some how benumbing and makes you want to hold the moment, the breath as long as possible. As long as we can draw strength from these precious moments their is some hope.

Don’t think that bigger is better, however understanding connections, impacts and problems at the appropriate scale is important. Vermont is beautiful, but those living in cities have a much smaller footprint.  Travel well Jared.

Thank you Jared and commenters for beginning to name and describe something I’ve been suffering with more intensely each day. Distraction no longer works. It comforts me to know I’m not alone. But it underscores the reality of that which we sense. The metaphor of the future casting a shadow is terrifying and potent.