The greatest danger to our future is apathy.
Jane Goodall
I had a strange conversation with someone yesterday. A person who happens to be a spiritual leader, teacher and author – a person many look up to, and by whom many are guided. A person I consider a friend. (No, I’m not going to name them, and yes, she knows I am writing this!)
I live in Australia, my friend lives … elsewhere… we were chatting over skype, and talk turned to the bushfires in my neighbourhood right now. As I write this, there are bushfires raging through many parts of Queensland and New South Wales, including in the ancient, UNESCO-listed, Gondwana rainforests. Catch a glimpse of these forests in the short video below.
These are rainforests where I spent much of my childhood and early adulthood. They are hinterland wildernesses that used to remain damp and moist and cool, no matter what other weather events were happening along the coast – until recently, when everything began to change more rapidly.
A true ecological disaster is unfolding in front of us right now as these ancient rainforests burn – they may never grow back to be the way that they were pre-fire, and those precious habitats and ecosystems may be lost forever.
‘I’m devastated at this loss of habitat and biodiversity. We have to do something,’ I said to my friend. ‘We have to at least try.’
‘Nic,’ she said gently. ‘Why bother? It’s like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,’ she said. ‘This whole climate-change thing is a catastrophe. I’m glad I’ll be dead before most of it kicks in. It won’t be my problem. You should just live it up, and see it and enjoy it while you still can.’
It’s an argument I’ve heard a lot lately. Maybe you’ve heard it too. It sounds like this: It’s too late to change. We might as well keep drinking from plastic bottles, flying in planes, shopping the way we always have, living the way we always have. Why inconvenience ourselves? It won’t make a difference anyway. Let the next generation take care of it.
But that misses something important, beside the obvious points about moral obligation to future generations, being a caring citizen, and that change starts with us.
The friend I was talking with yesterday teaches about Past Lives, among other things. I asked her what kind of world she might want to reincarnate into, and suddenly she took in a big breath and said, ‘Shoot! I didn’t think of that!’
Do you believe in past lives? Have you ever thought about Soul Groups, reincarnation, lives between lives and the fact that your soul is eternal?
I’ve seen too much in my work as a psychic to dismiss past lives as a mere New Age fantasy. (Read here and here and here for examples.)
If you believe in past lives, it’s only logical to expect that this won’t be your last gig here on Earth.
And won’t your future self be pissed with you if you stood by and didn’t do anything while we still had a chance to create change? Won’t it be miserable if the Earth you come back to is barren, hostile, hot and desolate? Won’t it take all the fun out of it? Won’t it strip out our capacity to luxuriate in the pleasure of being a soul having a human experience if the world we come back to has been decimated?
That’s all I wanted to share this morning.
Now I’m going to go fill our birdbaths and bee waterers to help all the displaced critters fleeing these bushfires.
You might be wondering what I intend to do about climate change. I have a plan. It’s one you can help with, and I’ll be sharing more details soon.
Meanwhile, remember that this Earth is not a one-time event for you or any of us. It’s worth looking after for future visits!
Much love, Nicole xx
ps. a couple of informative links:
https://globalclimatestrike.net/how-to-stand-with-young-climate-strikers/
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-09/gold-coast-hinterland-bushfire-why-rainforests-burn/11491364
https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/emergency-leaders-climate-action/ Greg Mullins used to be NSW Head Fire Chief and now he and other head fire chiefs from around the world are also calling for emergency action
Hi Nic, and Satisha – yes I’ll be at the September 20 Global Strike in support of the kids, too. Yes, I have also been crying through the smoke here in Nimbin, at the thought of those ancient rainforests burning, and the sheer size and numbers of the other fires in our region and around the world. I remember weeping and despairing about climate change over 20 years ago. It was at a Despair and Empowerment (Joanna Macey) workshop where I confronted my fears very personally, as I was in early pregnancy and trying to decide whether to keep my child or not, given the world I could see ahead if things didn’t change drastically. I did decide to keep him, he’s now 20 and I’m still pretty despairing but have lived a life mostly of pretty low consumption by most western standards and have inculcated strong Earth love and respect in this lovely young man, who has very little interest in consumption himself, and just wants a simple life. I studied International Public Health at Masters level for a while and there’s all this official awareness that what most desperately needs to happen is for the affluent West to de-consumptify (I know that’s not a word!). We have to, as Gandhi said, live simply, so that others may simply live. We don’t know how to stop consuming or living lives based on material stuff, money, keeping up with the Jones’s … it’s a massive addiction. But addictions can be broken, collectively and as individuals. It is possible to just STOP 🙂
Yes yes yes, I so liked this post
Thanks for opening your friends’ eyes. I still can’t grasp that people are happy to take no responsibility for future generations regardless of believing in reincarnation. “it’s not going to affect me… I’m alright, mate” – WT???!!!! Indigenous peoples who have been the custodians of the land for thousands of year are continually ignored by governments as to how to take care of the land. They understand it and know. Why people aren’t listening to the science – that has been banging on about this for decades… – We need to be the change we want to see. It mightn’t be our fault – but it’s our responsibility. We are a part of this world. When did everyone become so self and short sighted? We need to save it. It’ll be interesting to see how the people who refuse to do anything how well they can drink, breathe and eat the money they’re saving… Devastating. Thank you for shining a light. I’m continuing to rainbow. Sending love your way. xoxoxo
Thank you for raising this issue, it is very difficult to follow a spiritual path based on love, connection and unity whilst looking away. I am an involuntary childless woman and my work supports women who are coming to terms with this devastating loss and resulting grief. In my spare time I plant trees. Lots of them. Over the last few decades, 1000’s of them. Yes, alone this may not make the slightest difference to the outcome, but if we were all doing our bit, our collective power is awesome. I’m not the only childless woman doing this and we don’t do it for our own kids, but we do it for yours. Our collective future generations for humans and all life. Please, please, please don’t use your spirituality to dissociate, tune out, remain passive or actively hostile, this issue is real and massively important. This is do-able – here’s the scientific fact based proof… https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/massive-forest-restoration-could-greatly-slow-global-warming
Dear Nicole, yes past lives do exist. I’ve had too many experiences (weird) for it not to be true. I’m sure my mother has been reincarnated in my cat.
That apart. I am doing something, albeit in a tiny way.
I have decided to boycott products from certain countries, not only because of the climate situation (I fear we are beyond the tipping point and well on the way to a mass extinction), but because of a country’s policies. At the forefront is China as most of our plastic packaging comes from there, they are behaving very badly towards the Uighur people, their militaristic activities in the South China Sea and the attempts to suppress Hong Kong. And that is just what I know apart from the general repressive nature of the place. I am trying to avoid most overseas things since that does not contribute towards the climate positively and has probably been made by slave labour.
I put it out there on my FB page about China and asked who would join me. I am horrified to say that only one friend commented and no-one else has joined. It has been suggested that it is because people don’t want to sound racist, but boycotting due to policy cannot be said to be racist surely?
So now I am a bit sad about the state of our democracy as well as the state of the world.
That’s all. I will keep boycotting, I will keep collecting certain plastics for upcycling and I’d like to trust that the other soft plastics we put back in the bins at the supermarket are actually recycled. I am also about to build a straw bale house with materials that are largely recycled and sustainable (budget willing of course).
Stay well and in peace.
As I stand on my verandah/deck I look out to Springbrook, Lamington National Park & the Border Ranges. The thought of seeing this dense forest burn makes my heart deeply ache. The other side of these ranges, the forests are burning. I also grew up very close to these ares that have just been burnt. I have never forgotten my first school camp up at O’Reillys exploring the ancient forests. Thank you for your timely post. Friday, 20th September is the ‘Global Climate Strike/Rally’ day. I’ll be there with my placard, praying that the powers that be take ‘us’ seriously. We want ACTION…and we want it NOW!