Gratitude: Thanks for the mixed blessing
Fifth in a series of meditations on the Benefits of Collapse Acceptance.
In some ways, now is the best time ever to be alive—for some people, in some places. I am one of those people in one of those places, and I admit that right at the start. (We call this “privilege,” and it colors everything I am about to say.)
For a privileged person like me, life is the best it’s ever been for humans.
I have medicines to protect me against the swarm of organisms that would otherwise quickly end my life,
I eat food from all over the world regardless of the season,
I live inside, with water and warmth provided,
I can travel anywhere without regard for the limitations of space and time,
I have a worldwide network of information and entertainment in my pocket.
What’s not to like?
But it’s a mixed blessing! We need to ask: “What does it cost?” Not only “Can I afford to pay for it in the currency of the place where I live?” but “What damage to the Earth and Her creatures is required to provide me with my supernaturally excellent lifestyle?”
One advantage of collapse is that we are finally forced to answer this question in starkly practical terms. We humans have a bizarre blindness that prevents us from acknowledging the consequences of what we do. We prefer to evade reality and to pretend that we can go on this way forever. But now, with collapse upon us, we can no longer evade, pretend, and deny.
We now know that providing me with my little bubble of heaven-on-earth ultimately leads to the destruction of everything, which is happening now. Trying to make everyone’s life as pleasant as mine kills the Earth. To accept this reality is the foundation of Collapse Acceptance.
So, am I grateful?
Yes and no. And yes.
Yes: As an individual person, I am grateful that I have been given a life that is generally safe, comfortable, and entertaining. In my little house on my little street in my little city, I live like an emperor: All the deliciousness of the world is mine to command! And I have indulgences that no emperor ever dreamed of, like fantastic, entrancing stories beamed in on magic rays of light. Who could imagine such brilliant power?
And no: My residual consciousness as a creature of Earth understands that all of this is a tragedy and a crime. I hear the screams from the dungeons and abattoirs. My grief explodes when I witness the destruction of nature—the trees cut down, the wildlife murdered, the delicate living systems polluted by demonic poisons. I know that we are wrong. I know that we are evil. And I know that the Earth will wreak justice upon us.
And yes: I am grateful for the justice of the Earth. I am grateful for the balance that will be restored. I am content to surrender to the great living world which flows in powerful currents beyond my comprehension. There is purpose in the majesty of Being, and there is love. I submit myself to that love, and I offer my spirit to that Being.
Karen Perry’s Fifteen Benefits of Collapse Acceptance give us a vocabulary to talk about something that’s difficult to put into words. This series explores the Benefits, in intermittent dispatches.
Your writing is profound David. Thank you for sharing it! Just as Aleta said, your words perfectly describe how I've been feeling for a long (long long) time. I just haven't been able to put the right words to it. I too am grateful for the justice of the Earth. This is where I too find my hope.
"I am grateful for the justice of the Earth."
"I am grateful for the balance that will be restored."
These are words that describe how I have been feeling for some time now. They are words that are full of hope for the future, and of love and gratitude. Thank you for this meditation.