"It pains me to see so many people paralyzed by guilt and shame and fear and grief over climate change. It saddens me to see us wall ourselves off from a deeper sense of belonging on Earth, from spiritual connection to our planet, because we see ourselves as fundamentally destructive, as perpetrators, as unworthy. We don’t have to tell the story that way. It is not helpful to view climate change as a problem to be solved."
Thank you for saying this Mark. I am really enjoying reading your thoughtful, balanced essays. My thoughts have been converging on this for a long time and you put to words beautifully some ideas that I've not been able to articulate.
I came away from an environmental philosophy course in my third year of college believing that voluntary human extinction was really the best thing we could do for the planet earth along with being a vegan and riding my bike instead of driving.
I've since come to believe that there is no earth without humanity. What a gift to the world to lift our thoughts out of the idea of "humans are bad and destroying the earth" to something like, humans are a part of the evolution of this earth that "we are the earth herself." We are her. Haven't each and every one of us had moments of self destructiveness? Seems its a part of the process of awakening to greater things within ourselves. Maybe Earth is just going through her messy process. We're too little to understand that. Mama is complex and she doesnt need us the "save" her. So we take it personally, think its our fault. We're growing up with her. Growing up into a truer understanding and trusting of the wonderful processes of Life.
Thank you, Sophie, for this beautiful perspective! I too increasingly feel this way. That at the scale of all of humanity and the planet and the climate, we need to trust that we are not the only actors, the only conscious ones. Trust that we are part of a greater whole, part of a larger unfolding. The alternative - the mainstream perspective - seems only to lead to self-judgment and a desire to control the actions of our fellow humans, neither of which is great if our goal is to awaken, to grow, to explore new and more harmonious ways of being.
Thanks Mark….as you reframed both stories, releasing emotional guilt and grief to free us to become collaborative creators with and within our conscious living Earth, and to choose to transform the false dream of unlimited wealth at other’s expense, I can feel the movement, perhaps even some momentum, in the potentials already being sensed and known, informing our collective awareness and the tapestry of our interwoven interconnectedness, all sharing life here together.
Wow. Fascinating first half, and energizing second. I am grateful for your ability to convey so clearly and powerfully. Understanding I have held deep in me that I have been unable to speak with words, you have spoken. Thank you. You found the root, the point of turning, THIS IS IT.
I first explored the story of economics back in 2020 (https://www.luterra.com/blog/?p=978). I always cringe a little at how "in the mind" my older writings are, but it is also helpful to see continuity within myself over time.
More recently, I see the economy as a purely imbalanced-masculine construct, and it is strange to me that the deeper story has largely remained unquestionable, across the political spectrum and even among activists seeking equality. That feminism has focused almost entirely on giving women equal representation within this system rather than on re-creating the economy with feminine or balanced values of relationship and reciprocity, envisioning ways of coordinating exchange and collectively meeting our needs that are not based on fear, scarcity, extraction, sacrifice, competition.
I really hope this can shift soon, or at least that we can begin to build thriving alternative economies on a smaller scale.
I don't think I could tire of hearing/reading you speak your perspective on earth-changes and the climate. It is so refreshing for me. I feel like a child hearing a lovely story at bed-time when you write about cyanobacteria and the broader scope of the earth's evolution. It just feels good - and this is my signal that there is whole body agreement. Soul and personality together on this one.
Thank you Emma, and I'm glad to hear you feel in alignment!
I read your Subtle Self today and I found it a little challenging. Though as I was reading I had the experience of the western sky turning an amazing shade of pink (see my Instagram story), and directing my focus there from a bunch of tedious administrative things I was working on, and feeling my emotional body respond with joy :-).
I was going to post a comment on yours but it didn't quite feel right. There are ways, I think, that we use the same words to mean different things, or different words to mean the same thing, and rather than try to explore that in writing I wish I could sit down with you some time and learn where each of us are coming from. In any case I look forward to Part 2!
I just looked at your photos of the beautiful skies - so lovely. These days I am getting the special treat of alpenglow as my primary "sunset." I never thought not seeing the sunset would be satisfying, but alpenglow is truly magnificent.
It would be fun to meet in person some time. I gather you live in the Willamette Valley? We had been spending our summers in that vicinity, but I think this year we will take up a new pattern. Nonetheless, we always seem to return to that area, as we have family in Eugene. I'll look forward to an opportunity.
I live in Corvallis, and Eugene is a short drive. I have family in Minnesota and make it that direction once or twice a year, but otherwise I tend to be rather "rooted". If you're in the area it would be fun to connect.
"It pains me to see so many people paralyzed by guilt and shame and fear and grief over climate change. It saddens me to see us wall ourselves off from a deeper sense of belonging on Earth, from spiritual connection to our planet, because we see ourselves as fundamentally destructive, as perpetrators, as unworthy. We don’t have to tell the story that way. It is not helpful to view climate change as a problem to be solved."
Thank you for saying this Mark. I am really enjoying reading your thoughtful, balanced essays. My thoughts have been converging on this for a long time and you put to words beautifully some ideas that I've not been able to articulate.
I came away from an environmental philosophy course in my third year of college believing that voluntary human extinction was really the best thing we could do for the planet earth along with being a vegan and riding my bike instead of driving.
I've since come to believe that there is no earth without humanity. What a gift to the world to lift our thoughts out of the idea of "humans are bad and destroying the earth" to something like, humans are a part of the evolution of this earth that "we are the earth herself." We are her. Haven't each and every one of us had moments of self destructiveness? Seems its a part of the process of awakening to greater things within ourselves. Maybe Earth is just going through her messy process. We're too little to understand that. Mama is complex and she doesnt need us the "save" her. So we take it personally, think its our fault. We're growing up with her. Growing up into a truer understanding and trusting of the wonderful processes of Life.
Thank you, Sophie, for this beautiful perspective! I too increasingly feel this way. That at the scale of all of humanity and the planet and the climate, we need to trust that we are not the only actors, the only conscious ones. Trust that we are part of a greater whole, part of a larger unfolding. The alternative - the mainstream perspective - seems only to lead to self-judgment and a desire to control the actions of our fellow humans, neither of which is great if our goal is to awaken, to grow, to explore new and more harmonious ways of being.
Thanks Mark….as you reframed both stories, releasing emotional guilt and grief to free us to become collaborative creators with and within our conscious living Earth, and to choose to transform the false dream of unlimited wealth at other’s expense, I can feel the movement, perhaps even some momentum, in the potentials already being sensed and known, informing our collective awareness and the tapestry of our interwoven interconnectedness, all sharing life here together.
Wow. Fascinating first half, and energizing second. I am grateful for your ability to convey so clearly and powerfully. Understanding I have held deep in me that I have been unable to speak with words, you have spoken. Thank you. You found the root, the point of turning, THIS IS IT.
Thank you Hannah!
I first explored the story of economics back in 2020 (https://www.luterra.com/blog/?p=978). I always cringe a little at how "in the mind" my older writings are, but it is also helpful to see continuity within myself over time.
More recently, I see the economy as a purely imbalanced-masculine construct, and it is strange to me that the deeper story has largely remained unquestionable, across the political spectrum and even among activists seeking equality. That feminism has focused almost entirely on giving women equal representation within this system rather than on re-creating the economy with feminine or balanced values of relationship and reciprocity, envisioning ways of coordinating exchange and collectively meeting our needs that are not based on fear, scarcity, extraction, sacrifice, competition.
I really hope this can shift soon, or at least that we can begin to build thriving alternative economies on a smaller scale.
I don't think I could tire of hearing/reading you speak your perspective on earth-changes and the climate. It is so refreshing for me. I feel like a child hearing a lovely story at bed-time when you write about cyanobacteria and the broader scope of the earth's evolution. It just feels good - and this is my signal that there is whole body agreement. Soul and personality together on this one.
Thank you Emma, and I'm glad to hear you feel in alignment!
I read your Subtle Self today and I found it a little challenging. Though as I was reading I had the experience of the western sky turning an amazing shade of pink (see my Instagram story), and directing my focus there from a bunch of tedious administrative things I was working on, and feeling my emotional body respond with joy :-).
I was going to post a comment on yours but it didn't quite feel right. There are ways, I think, that we use the same words to mean different things, or different words to mean the same thing, and rather than try to explore that in writing I wish I could sit down with you some time and learn where each of us are coming from. In any case I look forward to Part 2!
I just looked at your photos of the beautiful skies - so lovely. These days I am getting the special treat of alpenglow as my primary "sunset." I never thought not seeing the sunset would be satisfying, but alpenglow is truly magnificent.
It would be fun to meet in person some time. I gather you live in the Willamette Valley? We had been spending our summers in that vicinity, but I think this year we will take up a new pattern. Nonetheless, we always seem to return to that area, as we have family in Eugene. I'll look forward to an opportunity.
I live in Corvallis, and Eugene is a short drive. I have family in Minnesota and make it that direction once or twice a year, but otherwise I tend to be rather "rooted". If you're in the area it would be fun to connect.