finding the peaceful energy & inspiration to cope with the challenges of being human these days

Sometimes the challenges confronting the human world these days can be absolutely overwhelming to say the least, that is, unless you are simply choosing not to pay attention to what is going on (which maybe is the best way to be sometimes. . . I am still not really sure. . . )

Earlier today, I felt overwhelmed. Earlier this week I listened to an interview with Australian author and scientist Tim Flannery who was discussing his view that we have about 15 years at the most to turn the current human way of being/ operating on the world in order to possibly avoid catastrophic climate change. He stated that beyond that timeframe, what will happen with the climate & Earth's weather patterns will become absolutely unpredictable & out of our control if we do not act to significantly reduce carbon emissions before then. Meanwhile, I am driving around in my vehicle for work feeling like something of an environmental sabateur & hypocrite which puts quite a toll on my conscience -- is this the right way to be spending my time these days? Then, I get an email from biologist Alexandra Morton on the west coast (her blog listed as one of my favourites under my profile) that only 71 fish (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) were counted in the Nechako River System this year when the forecast was for 374,000. . . many creeks, zero were counted. I checked the Prince George Citizen blogsite and read the article about local conservation officers seizing seven illegally-harvested moose over the weekend, hunted by people without hunting licenses. . . what else? Oh yeah, Enbridge is wining and dining the Chamber of Commerce in Vanderhoof, selling them on this oil pipeline thing . . . throwing money around at northerners to buy us & our communities over. . . and the strange kind of surreal & disturbing disconnect with what this oil pipeline really is & what it means for the future direction of Canada & this area. . . I listened to the radio news, the same old status quo stuff day in and day out, dictating to us what is important and omittting into silence that which is not considered important. . .


but then there were the bright spots in the day too. . . having my health, spending time with family, enjoying basic rights and freedoms, receiving a link to a very inspiring movie trailer about northern BC swimmer Ali Howard who swam the full length of the Skeena River to try to protect it from harsh industrial developments that would threaten it http://doublehaulproductions.com/awakening.php. I went for a walk in the forest and sat quietly beside a marsh. When I arrived, my mood was frenetic and upset by too much bad news and too many fears - when I left, I was much calmer. On the walk out all of a sudden, the forest around me became vibrantly alive. A sudden wind rustled audibly through the forest, birds near and far sang, and a squirrel came down to a low branch nearby and chattered at me holding tightly to its pine cone it was taking to its shelter somewhere to store away for the winter. It may sound flaky but I felt the energy of the place - it is a powerful energy that we cannot fully understand amidst the general ratrace of human life these days.

It is an energy that we need to connect with, become part of - the energy that tells us we cannot understand the reason for everything that happens. There is a bigger picture at play beyond one's comprehension. . . we have to believe in that bigger picture & the enduring power of goodness and hope, even in the darkest hours. It is an energy found in these silent reflective moments spent in a forest or other calming space.

And on a personal level, we can only do our best. When all is said and done at the end of the day, that is a legacy we will leave.