AN EERIE START, EVEN FOR A SCI FI BOOK
Kim Stanley Robinson’s 2021 book, The Ministry for the Future, starts off depicting a deadly heat wave in India that doesn’t show signs of letting up. Twenty million people die before a new type of chemical cloud seeding chills things out. This and other cascading events finally quell climate change doubts for the fictional humans aboard his earth. India starts to lead the way on climate change shifts that were needed for a long time.
It still takes a couple more decades and many more disasters and deaths before the turnaround is pulled off. Guerilla warfare / activism is also employed to convince the power brokers in the 1% that profit on earth’s demise will not be tolerated. So many ideas that are mind-opening here – I do recommend the book just to see a) how the turnaround – even after the tipping point – happens in this work of fiction. Since KSR is a very science-informed writer, it’s b) great to see some ideas and breakthroughs happen that are based in current tech and scientific reality.
The recent heat wave in the NW was reminiscent of KSR’s opening pages. Eerie. And then this last week, we hear the United Nations report that also verifies one of his book’s treatises – that even if we drop everything to change our fossil-gulping behaviors RIGHT NOW, we are still going to deal with extreme climate change disruptions for at least two decades. And if we don’t change? The current challenges may look pretty minimal.
In another recent report analyzing the NW heat wave, scientists determined – yes, this was human-caused climate change. They could not say for sure that the tipping point had been reached, but they did report that this kind of dire event was happening sooner than expected. The scientist were / are – nervous. That was a more chilling takeaway somehow. (See resources below for more detailed coverage of both reports.)
STAYING INFORMED AS A SENSITIVE – IS NO NEWS GOOD NEWS?
A lot of sensitives I work with have trouble knowing just how much news to ingest. I had taken a long break myself in recent years, but recently found a way to stay more abreast of relevant events. I’m grateful to my sister (thanks Lisa) for sharing a podcast, The Daily by the NY Times. This is a M-F well done and impeccably researched half hour-ish broadcast of current events from varied points of view. At the end there’s also the snippet – “Here’s what else you need to know today”. This has really helped me reenter news media.
Another recent source I’ve become aware of (thanks Rusty and Steve & Suzz) is historian Heather Cox Richardson. When the current events feel like the first time we’re going to hell in a hand basket, HCR’s historical context explains the longer context. This sad truth somehow helps. Past cycles and successes even, can instill hope and the long view of what it takes to progress and evolve.
WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT TODAY FOR YOU?
What does this trigger for you? In my mind, months after reading and digesting Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future, a few reminders come to mind. One – Death is possible and may tap us on the shoulder at any point. Get to the real stuff.
Be honest and kind to others. Connect with the earth and your source. One friends gets feet/hands into earth.
Live so that your Klingon cousins would be proud. “It’s a good day to die”, they say, as they leave the battlefield. In other words, you’ve done what could be done, you’ve dealt with what’s most important.
WHAT’S YOUR SOUL’S JAM?
As a soul, you chose to come in this pressure-cooker of a time. There was something you wanted to pull off amidst this shift. While you don’t want to be a soul workaholic, you don’t want to ignore the nudge, those intuitions that tell you – please get to that project. Maybe it won’t change the climate. But maybe that’s not the ticket for everyone.
Today there are so many issues that need attention. So many areas that need help. Follow your most relevant areas of interest, your biggest care zone streams. Don’t get overwhelmed into inaction. Small and steady wins… soul’s grace. Being centered may feel like a beginner level accomplishment – but in these times, it’s advanced practice. Daily is good. Okay, five days a week. Okay, minimum three. Okay, lol – whatever you can pull off.
Who knows, your daily practice of centering and heart connection may anchor others. You can’t avoid death, but when you get to what’s real, and have a fulfilling day, the world benefits. Let’s lean towards dying in peace and growing more fulfillment.
Comments
Have you read the book? What are your biggest concerns for the future generations and these climate changing times?
Resources
The Daily podcast covers the report about the heat wave in the Northwest this summer
The Daily – on the UN climate change report that reviewed 14,000 studies
Different helpful viewpoints to understanding complex issues
Talking to Corona Vaccine decliners
Hearing from those who aren’t going back to work (not about laziness)
Letters from an American – the free subscription to the huge mind of historian Heather Cox Richardson
She also has a paid subscription list.