Heroes Not Zombies

Did the world leaders cop out at COP26? Did they make progress? Too little, too late? A step in the right direction?

I have very mixed feelings this morning as I read about the end of COP26. Frustration, anger, despair, optimism and hope.

Hey, that’s quite a list. And those feelings don’t seem at all compatible, do they?

What do you think? I should pick one and stick with it? Settle into despair, or embrace hope? Hold tight to the anger, or allow my optimism to grow?

Our emotional lives are complex. So is Life. So is this planet. We might like to simplify things and paint everything black and white but that reductionism isn’t real.

So, it seems the world leaders are still not doing enough. It seems they are pretty stuck at the blah blah blah stage, in thrall to, or held hostage by, those who get rich by plundering the Earth, ripping out coal, oil and gas, burning it and polluting the planet, those who destroy rainforests, rivers and oceans.

So that’s real. And it’s the source of my anger, frustration and despair.

But there’s a rising awareness too. There are other voices. Young voices, the voices of indigenous peoples, the voices of those already struggling with devastating climate change. There are different, more just, more caring and kinder visions.

That’s where my optimism and hope come from. More people are beginning to see the consequences of the way our species is living on Earth, and more are speaking up, working on new solutions, choosing different lives.

We need to change because we live in a complex interconnected web of relationships and consequences. What I do today has effects that ripple beyond the limits of my imagination. What you do today matters.

Maybe that’s where I, where we, have to start. Raising awareness and making choices based on care, based on love and based on kindness. And, yes, acting on those values and decisions.