When Thing Are So Scary Why Not Give Up?
Yesterday (2/9/2020), our local Quaker Meeting set up a special
discussion of a question: Given how scary the events in the world now seem to
be, especially on issues like racism and climate change, why do we not just
give up and fall apart? More precisely they asked “Where are the seeds of resilience”
which keep us from falling apart in the
midst of all this?
Logic tells me that we cannot address this question rationally,
in a sane way, without connecting it to the larger question of meaning and
purpose in our lives in general. But for now, I will “get to the point” first,
and try to explain more later.
When it was my turn, I said: I do find it very discouraging to
see the huge gap between what our leaders, left and right, are doing, versus
what it would take to prevent extinction of the human species. (See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPccNVHRFIM&t=1230s,
for my explanation, in my half hour talk on climate, following on great
introductions by Ban Ki Moon, former secretary-general of the UN, and Jerry
Glenn, leader of www.themp.org.) I OFTEN
feel like giving up, even though our very lives are at stake, because of all
the many barriers and my own personal limitations. Two main things keep me
going:
(1) The
first – you might call “theological”. I do not believe that we are all just
isolated individuals, bobbing like corks on every passing wave. Yes, the
actions we can take just as individuals do not begin to add up to what we would
need to survive this challenge … but we
are not just individuals, and our minds are more than just brains. We possess “souls.”
We are all connected. We are all connected as part of a larger system, which
knows more than any of us do as individuals, a system which I like to call “the
noosphere.” Even when we do not see the way forward all the way, as
individuals, if we strengthen that connection and work to expand our COLLECTIVE
awareness through soul at the level of the noosphere, there is hope.
(2) But
even that would not be enough. I remember many days when it was not enough.
What keeps me going is a second ingredient. That ingredient was summarized
beautifully in a sentence I THOUGHT I heard Pope Francis say on TV in Hiroshima
after I returned from my own trip there two or three weeks later: “Those who
wish to preserve the life of the earth must first learn to FEEL their love of
that life, deeply and completely.” Well, that was not an exact quote. (See https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/12/pope-says-that-peace-comes-in-a-shade-of-green-or-not-at-all/
for the closest I can find on the web this morning.) It’s not that I believe
every word he or anyone else says anyway. His sentence reminded me of a promise
I made inside myself, at a spiritual level, many months before, when I tuned deeply
into the life in a place I visited in Brazil. Memory of THOSE feelings,
repeated in other places, and that commitment, keep me going.
===============================================
The discussion got deeper and
richer, but here and now, I need to go back to prerequisites and basics. Humans
screw up ever so often (e.g. in collective action on climate) because they do not
really remember basic things they should know but somehow forget.
Climate change is certainly NOT
the whole purpose I pursue in my life!!! It is not my one and only spiritual
mission, either. Lately it is on a list of about four global priorities, the
LEAST of the four, but great as a testbed to try to learn how to cope with
LARGER and even more urgent challenges. Yet it is a serious challenge to human
survival itself (like the others!!). It is ONE PART of how I cope with the
bigger, basic issue of meaning and purpose in life (yea even unto what we think
about afterlife).
BEFORE that discussion yesterday,
and before the weekly “Meeting for Worship” (a unique group meditation exercise)
which preceded it, we had a small “drop in” discussion. A guy who used to teach
math at George Mason University (GMU) leads discussion of readings from all
over the world; this week it was Matthew chapter 6, with special emphasis on ”The
Lilies of the Valley.” It raises the question: should we really focus all our
mental energy on large goals or rules which rule our lives, or should we just
say “hakuna matata, what me worry?”
That discussion, and the news of
the world this week, reminded me of my mother’s last year of life, in a
comfortable assisted living place in Brandywine New Jersey which my brother
worked so hard to find and evaluate. I remember her saying there: “WHY am I
staying on this earth now? It seems pointless
at this point. What is the purpose of what I am doing NOW?” She ate little, and…
bit by bit… she was not alone there, either, despite all the recreation and
food and group offerings.
When I saw the Republican
Senators in the Trump trial, and ALL the older candidates for the White House
(including Trump)… I could not help feeling that the White House has itself
become a lot like that place in Brandywine, a glorified assisted living
facility. Being over 70 myself, I can see the difficulties which ALL of these
folks are living with already, and no, I am not trying to act like a President
myself. There is a time when we are called to pass on the baton. As for Butti… I
have been urged not to say his name as Trump may do soon, but he reminds me of
kind but fatal orderlies in some of these hospitals, or of Macron of France,
folks who are great at smiling but not at the kind of tough thinking we need to
survive in such a challenging environment. (By the way, Klobuchar is tougher
than people usually think. Having worked for Senator Specter in 2009, I have
ways of knowing, and ways of seeing through smiling used car salesmen. No
matter what her odds in the primaries, ability to escape a disaster in the
White House is a top consideration. It is not rational to vote for the loser of
one’s choice. But then again, probability of winning is why I don’t think of
voting for Wang at this point.)
Lilies of the Valley: we at the
drop in did NOT go to extremes. We would
NOT say “hakuna matata,” but we accept Jesus’ point that there is at least a
need for balance here. That was my first “point of resilience,” feeling comfortable
relying on intelligence beyond our own brain for hope beyond what we can nail
down concretely ourselves for the entire big picture. It remindfs me of the
days when I managed NSF panels, and asked about three big questions for
EVERYONE asking for money and support: “What IS your target now, exactly? (By the
way, it did not have to be a fully specified POINT.) HOW do you plan to get
there? WHY would it be valuable in the bigger picture of things if you do get
there?” All three were essential, yet we did not expect the “WHY” to be as
complete as the “HOW” in mapping out possible paths to the greater future. We
as individuals rely on others more for the “WHY” part … but that does not make
it one whit less important. And we are all called always to listen hard, think
hard, and work hard to convey what we can of positive value, building on our
strengths and on connections to others with complementary strengths. Speaking
of NSF and research… I especially like the words in Matthew chapter 5 about
what happens to people who overuse the word “fool.”
Why do I believe in the
noosphere, and how does it make hard scientific sense? See https://www.facebook.com/paul.werbos/posts/2892447790785619
for my explanation, an expansion of the vision of Teilhard de Charding,
upgraded to be more consistent with science and with a visibly larger universe.
My entire month in Japan last
year, following Ludmila, was mainly an exercise in strengthening point (2)
above. I posted about a third of that as part of:
Perhaps someday I might post a
pruned version of my photo albums and explanations for other important places
and experiences in Japan… and other places.
BEFORE that discussion came the usual silent “Meeting for
Worship” (a kind of special group meditation), and before that we had our “drop
in meeting” where a guy who taught math at George Mason University leads a
discussion of various readings. This week, it was Matthew book 6, including the
line about “consider the lilies of the valley.”
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