Since early 2022, I have posted several times about the disturbing matter of the likely collapse of the world order in which we now live. Many of you are probably tired of hearing/thinking about that. So, here I am focusing on enjoying the present as well as extending the future of our civilization.
We humans are prone to embrace extremes. There are
many people who focus so much on the present that there is but scant consideration
given to future perils. Of course, many such people are so busy with work and
family there is little time to think beyond the press of daily affairs.
On the other hand, others think/worry so much about the
future in light of the current ecological predicament, their present happiness
is stifled. This is especially true for those who realize that TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it) may
soon become a reality.
Eco-anxiety is a current psychological problem for many, and
especially for many younger people—and I encourage you to read this
Sept. 16 article posted in the New York Times, which Thinking Friend Anton
Jacobs sent me last week.
Is it possible, though, to be keenly aware of the likelihood
of TEOTWAWKI in the near future and still
live with joy in the present? I think so.
As in many other situations, we must seek to be firmly
established in a position between the poles—in a radiant center, if you will. At
the very least, we need to learn how to “toggle” between the opposites.
How can we live with enjoyment of the present while
being aware of the collapse that lies ahead in the not-too-distant future?
I asked Bard (Google’s AI chatbot) for suggestions about how
to live joyfully in light of the current ecological predicament.
I fully agreed with the beginning of their response: “The
ecological predicament is a serious one, and it is important to be honest about
the challenges we face. However, it is also important to find ways to live
joyfully in the present moment.”
Indeed, that’s what we must seek to do: both to be honest in
assessing the world’s ecological challenges and also to learn how to live now
with a sense of joy.
Bard’s suggestions regarding how to do the latter were not
bad. They included “spend time in nature,” “connect with loved ones,” “be
grateful,” and “give back to others.”
(They also suggested, “do things that you enjoy,” but it didn’t
seem very intelligent for AI to say the way to live joyfully in the present is
to do things that you enjoy.)
Enjoying the present largely depends on not allowing the
fears of the future to dominate our thinking. Rather, we must be fully present
in the present for much of the time.
Knowing that industrial civilization will at some point
collapse—and sooner than most people are willing to consider probable—doesn’t
mean we can’t live with enjoyment in the present. We individuals, especially we older adults, know that death is coming, but we still can experience much joy
now.*
But it is imperative that as we enjoy the present we don’t jeopardize
the future by damaging the environment. Or, more positively, our goal should be
living joyfully in the present and also doing all we can to extend the future
for the coming generation(s).
While TEOTWAWKI is
most likely to happen sooner than any of us want to think, human action now can
push that collapse further into the future. Twenty years from now is far better
than ten years, and collapse in 40 years is much to be preferred over 20 years.
What can we do to extend the future while enjoying the
present? Here, very briefly, are three important things we can do in this
regard:
1) Seek increasingly to practice simple living.**
2) Continue to develop good environmental practices and to encourage
friends and acquaintances to do the same.
3) Work actively for the election of Senators and
Representatives who have a good understanding of the current ecological
predicament and who will work to enact public policies that will, indeed, help
to extend the future.
_____
* I have
already dealt with this matter to some extent in “Memento Mori,” my 1/28/23
blog post, see
here, and I encourage you to read that post (again).
** A helpful
book in this regard is The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Simple Living (2000).
This book is now out of print, but several used copies (reasonably priced) are available
at Abe Books. I also encourage you to read “The Shakertown Pledge: Nine Ways to
Make a Difference,” my 5/5/11 article on the GoodFaithMedia website (here).
A few minutes before 7:00, a local Thinking Friend sent this brief comment in an email:
ReplyDelete"You use the word 'Collapse'… what about adapt and evolve…is it absolute? I mean don’t forget God is involved."
Thanks, friend, for reading and commenting early this morning. There is little that is absolute, but I have become convinced from reading the evaluation of credible scientists, environmentalists, and thinkers (such as Michael Dowd) that the collapse of TEOTWAWKI is, indeed, inevitable. Of course, when and exactly how that will happen is unknown and unknowable.
DeleteAnd, yes, I believe that God is involved--but to a large extent the nature of that involvement may also be unknown and unknowable. I don't believe that God is going to miraculously save the current industrial civilization from collapse, and I no longer believe in the type of eschatology that we grew up hearing, that is, in a literal Second Coming that might happen at any time and make the world what God wants it to be.
I have long thought Teilhard de Chardin's emphasis on the "omega point" was a good and helpful vision of the coming future of the universe--and it still is. But I now think that that point is far more distant in the future than I originally thought it would likely be. It took tens of thousands of years for human beings to reach their current state of existence, and it quite possibly be tens of thousands of years, and long after the collapse of TWAWKI, before that omega point is reached, all under the guidance of Creator God.
Yesterday, this same Thinking Friend emailed me these further comments:
Delete"The current industrial situation needs to collapse. I also generally agree that the literalized eschatology we grew up around (not with) is pretty bogus. I do know that the God I know has and I believe will go to great lengths to save God’s children. The fact that we don’t see how isn’t really relevant since faith is about what we don’t know. Some things we perceive as bad may very well be what saves us. I pray for a strong enough revival of social justice actions that we can reverse our trends and help the 'inevitable' collapse become a sustainable planet.
"Maybe this globe is disposable and we will hurry up and pioneer a new place and wrap this in plastic for safe keeping. (Of course, I’m all about avoiding plastic.) I say keep the faith. No matter what happens, it is ultimately God’s world."
Thanks, friend, for these thought-provoking comments.
DeleteOn the one hand, I tend to agree that the current industrial civilization probably needs to collapse--but that would be TEOTWAWKI. The industrial world could not collapse without it likely meaning the death of perhaps a half or three-fourths of the earth's current eight billion inhabitants. But the struggle for survival by the wealthy nations (and persons, the 0.1%) of the world could easily slide into nuclear warfare that would bring about the collapse of the world's civilization as we know it now even sooner than the ecological predicament.
Yes, I do believe it is "ultimately God's world," but God's timeline for the consummation of the world may be far beyond what we have often thought (as I suggested above in the reference to Teilhard de Chardin).
Thanks for your kind comments, Anton -- and also thanks for sending me the link last week to the helpful article regarding eco-anxiety.
ReplyDeleteI have never read Epictetus to any significant extent, but I keep seeing him quoted and need to read more of his writings. I knew he was a Greek Stoic philosopher, and I see he lived from about 50 to 135. I was also interested to see (again, probably) that he is cited on Wikipedia's page on Memento Mori.
I also noted these noteworthy words of Epictetus:
“Not what we have but what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance.”
“Nothing is sufficient for the person who finds sufficiency too little.”
Perhaps Epictetus words are helpful in working toward simple living, which I recommend at the end of today's post.
Thinking Friend Glenn Hinson in Kentucky shares these comments:
ReplyDelete"I agree heartily, Leroy. I have attempted to follow your three recommendations. Years ago (1970), I wrote 'A Serious Call to a Contemplative Lifestyle' as an effort to spread Thomas Merton’s teaching. At 92, of course, I am not able to do much more than support environmentally friendly practices and politicians, but I stay alert. And I am hopeful that more people are awakening to our desperate situation."
I'm glad that someone mentioned GOD in their comments because of my belief in Him and our Bible, I am able to live Now in Peace&Joy looking forward to The Future; while living comfortably in the present.
ReplyDeleteHope this helps Others, as it has sustained me.
Blessings to All,
John Tim Carr
Thanks for your important comments, John Tim.
DeleteI believe: in the beginning, God. And I also believe: in the end, God. Further, "whether we live or die, we are the Lord's" (Romans 14:8). Thus, for me personally, there is no need for eco-anxiety or any other kind of debilitating worry or anxiety. But I am concerned about people who do not have a faith to sustain them no matter what. And I am concerned about what my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will likely have to face in their future on this earth--I am saddened by that prospect.
Excellent response Leroy and this is one of the reasons we send out our Devotionals so we can reach those who do have concerns like you have for your Loved ones.
DeleteWe don't promote or solicit people for our Devotionals, but if you would like to refer people to us on your Blog, we will add them to receiving our Devotionals and they can unsubscribe Anytime if they desire.
Thanks,
John Tim Carr
Early this morning, I received the following comments from local (and vacationing) Thinking Friend David Nelson:
ReplyDelete"Janet Reno’s mother gave her good advice which Janet shared at her confirmation hearing. 'I refuse to be afraid of the dark and I refuse to be afraid of strangers. I may be mugged someday by a stranger in the dark but the quality of my life will remain better by living fully today.' To remain human I believe we embrace it all and life with integrity, compassion and confidence that love is stronger than fear."
I’m with you and de Chardin, Leroy: an omega point in the distant future long after at least one EOTWAWKI (leaving out the initial T because there might be time for a number of collapses and recoveries).
ReplyDeleteBut what will that omega point consist of, and was de Chardin being particularly “Christian” when he proposed it? Richard Rohr would say so. I still wrestle with what that might look like, for God to finally become “all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28) in relation to creation.
In Paul's view, a seed has been planted in our cosmos and is coming into fruition in Christ the first fruits, resulting in "life for all" (Rom. 5:18), and "all will be made alive in Christ," when death itself is finally destroyed (1 Cor. 15:20-26), or as Luke described it, "the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago" (Acts 3:20). Fascinating to think about how such a universal restoration might play out.
The one thing that I have realized is that each of us will be dealing with more and more difficulty and watching people suffer and die. What kind of a person should I be in that situation? How do I react to the many refugees trying to get into my safe land? There will be more and more people in need.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Janice, for posting comments on my blogsite for the first time, and I hope this is only the first of many times.
DeleteThe questions you raise are important ones but hard to answer definitively. We people of good will know, generally, what kind of person we should be and perhaps even how we should react. But actually becoming that kind of person and reacting as we should are certainly not easy. That is why we need a community in which those questions can be discussed and in which we can receive mutual support and encouragement. And, yes, I think it is quite certain that there will be more and more people in need--and more and more of the "haves" keeping what they have more rigorously instead of sharing more freely with the "have nots."
A couple of days ago, Thinking Friend Dick Horn in Texas sent the following comments:
ReplyDelete"I find myself in total agreement with you on your suggestions. We have made some honest and deliberate choices in the area of being concerned about the future and the possibility of everything potentially being completely changed ecologically and possibly even a change in our form of government. But, living joyfully is a choice that we can make."
Thanks for your pertinent comments, Dick. I think you grasped the both/and position that I was forwarding."
Delete