Presence: the mystery of being here now.

Fourth in a series of meditations on the Benefits of Collapse Acceptance.

We are so distracted that we are barely alive.

We have been cheated and misled. We are taught to treat the world as a thing rather than as a being. We are taught that satisfaction comes from what we have and what we can do. We are taught that ever-expanding consumption, movement, and activity are virtuous evidence of human excellence.

And so we spend our precious lives chasing products, purchases, places, experiences, and ideas. We look outward instead of inward. We become so involved with the pageantry of Global Industrial Civilization that we lose our connection to the animating spirit that fills every moment and every place.

This is crushing our souls, and as our souls collapse so too does the world around us. As we vanish down the vortex of our narcissistic self-obsession, we are taking the community of life with us. This is criminal. This is unacceptable.

Collapse saves us. Collapse takes away from us all the questionable gifts of civilization. No more shall we stride the globe as masters. No more shall we be dragged through a fantasy of permanence and possession. No more shall we transmute the soil, water, and air into playthings for our vanity. Everything will be taken from us, and we will finally stand naked before the power of the Earth.

If we can know and accept this, we can rediscover our true selves before it is too late. We can voluntarily relinquish — renounce! — the poisoned trophies that we have wrested from the ruined Earth. We can turn inward, to the profound and glorious moment which is Now; which is all we ever have.

We find here the outpouring of the spirit which fills our every breath and supports our every step. How can we not see? What evil hypnotism has blinded us to the miracle that rushes into existence at all times and in all places?

Become what always is. Let go of the future, let go of the past. Let go of your history and your prospects, your ideas and your accomplishments. Acknowledge the majesty of the Earth and the endless flow of time that creates Her.

Be here now.

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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.

Photo by Louis Maniquet on Unsplash.