Musings From Under a Rock#3 How do we hear Earth's groans?

The Earth is groaning in ways she never has before.  I think we are aware of this, although each of us has become aware in our own way and to a different extent.

Some watch the news and absorb stories from around the world of catastrophe and disaster. 

Some feel it deeply in the bones, grieving while watching the dry earth crack under the cloudless sky. 

Some hear it but struggle to face head-on the grief that threatens if they allow themselves to look at this crisis directly. 

Some are intellectually aware, but are unable to engage with the emotion and dissonance that this raises in themselves. 

I'm somewhere in that mix. Some days I grieve unseasonable weather. Some days I am gripped by fear of climate apocalypse (usually after reading a book or an article alone with no one to discuss it.) Some days I hear stories of hope and walk with joy - celebrating a nest of baby birds, a sunrise that stops me in my tracks, the lonely howl of the coyote in the hills. 


How do you hear the groans of Earth and what reaction does this bring on for you?


Small Steps.


Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 20, 2021 at 10:09 PM

    Yes, there are many feelings - fear, guilt, grief, responsibility, powerlessness, frustration, feeling overwhelmed and sometimes hope and trust. Most of these feelings aren't very motivating, unfortunately. I realizing that the way I (we) respond is rooted in deeply in life experience and goes beyond the issue of climate change.

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  2. Sandy PlettMarch 21, 2021 at 7:58 AM

    I think fear is the most prominent feeling for me. And maybe guilt. Not very motivating at all, you're right!

    I'd like to hear more about how our responses to climate change are rooted in our life experiences. I had not thought of that, but it makes sense. If we could understand why we respond the way we do, could we begin to re-route our thinking and reactions? And help others to do so too?

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  3. RochelleMarch 21, 2021 at 1:26 PM

    Hey Sandy, I (Rochelle) made the original comment here. I changed this now so that I think my name should show up. I do think that healing of the earth and healing of our selves is intricately connected. I think we are shacked by fear and guilt not only because of what we see happening in the world but it becomes debilitating because of how it connects with other emotional issues that are not made sense of in our lives or that we are not aware of. Then we are the ones preventing ourselves from moving forward (in a sense, though not in a blaming way.) So if this is the case for us (as I think it is for many) more facts and scary stories about climate change just make action harder and harder.

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  4. Sandy PlettMarch 22, 2021 at 7:01 AM

    That's so interesting. Usually more facts and scary stories make it very difficult (if not impossible) for me to take action. Especially if I'm feeling vulnerable or struggling in other areas of my life.

    Maybe by entering into good and hopeful (and ongoing) conversation about climate change we'll find balance and be able to take action with courage. Healing of self and planet may need to go hand in hand.

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