It was up in a meadow in Jasper, Alberta – just like the opening line of John Denver's “Rocky Mountain Suite” – where I came to terms with some big changes in my life. You see, I recently turned the Big 6-0 and have pretty much been in shock over the whole thing. What was the rest of my life going to look like? What would I do, where would I live, would I have a new or renewed sense of purpose?
But my biggest question had to do with climate change. Why bother with anything at all when it seemed like all of life on this planet was going downhill and fast?
To make sure I was clear on just how bad things really were out there, The Universe introduced me to a very capable and well-informed young man in his mid-to-late twenties who held down a responsible job in the field of fighting climate change. This young man explained to me how his generation carried a heavy weight on their shoulders, a weight caused by the implications of a future living with climate change. He even knew of a young man who had taken his life because of the future's bleak outlook. Sadly, the news of such tragedy came as no surprise to me; I was more than familiar with this way of thinking.
It turns out that climate depression is now being formally recognized in our society. Madeleine Thomas' article, “Climate depression is for real. Just ask a scientist” (published in “Grist,” October 28, 2014) explains it like this: “From depression to substance abuse to suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder, growing bodies of research in the relatively new field of psychology of global warming suggest that climate change will take a pretty heavy toll on the human psyche as storms become more destructive and droughts more prolonged. For your everyday environmentalist, the emotional stress suffered by a rapidly changing Earth can result in some pretty substantial anxieties.”
Welcome to my world of pretty substantial anxieties; it's a rather uncomfortable way to live. I was grateful, though, to learn that Naomi Klein, in her book “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate,” shared a key concept that most of us environmentalist types have to face every day. According to Klein, “...as Australian climate expert and author Clive Hamilton puts it, that in breaking the news of the depth of our collective climate failure, they [climate scientists] were ‘unwittingly destabilizing the political and social order.”
Can you say mountain-crushing pressure? Can you say elephant in the room?
If you're still reading this, and I wouldn't blame you if you weren't because I know how hard it can be to deal with all of this darkness, the good news is that there may be light at the end of the climate change tunnel. It's an elegant solution, and it goes like this...
We simply use “new eyes” to deeply see all that is good and beautiful in our world. We learn to embrace change, including climate change. Don't our trees show us how to embrace change each fall as their leaves turn colour and drop in preparation for winter's season of sleep? Perhaps our “winter” of climate change will help Canada develop a strong and healthy economy, by creating environmentally friendly and sustainable jobs to support the green rehabilitation of infrastructure and the rescue of people and assets in harm's way of fire storms and floods.
I discovered my new eyes while in Jasper National Park, having been taken there for a “weekday weekend” as a milestone birthday present by my dear friend of 37-some years, Linda Johnson, who, incidentally, was recently named a Woman of Vision by Global Edmonton TV. Our philosophical conversations, no doubt elevated by our mountain environs, led us to the conclusion that a person should only do what feels good no matter what their age. We're talking what feels good in both your heart and soul here—not just instant gratification, although it could. Our thinking went like this: if everyone only did what truly felt good, then the entire world couldn't help but become a better place. That's a revelation worth sharing, wouldn't you agree?
Using change, no matter what form it comes in, as a way to discover or look forward to better times ahead—now that's in our best interest.
For more in your best interest, follow Sheelagh on Twitter @sheesays.
