When Henry David Thoreau said “In wildness is the preservation of the world,” he was correct in ways he might not have imagined at the time. In terms of the present climate crisis, in wildness is also the preservation of Earth’s biotic capacity to maintain a stable climate. Though such awareness is largely missing from the mainstream response to the the climate crisis, it was well on the minds of about 70 scientists, writers, filmmakers, land practitioners, entrepreneurs and others who gathered last April in Munich, Germany for a conference called
I recently had a chat with a retired biologist and disclosed that I was glad I hadn't gone into ecology as a field of study because I could not fathom spending the last 40 years screaming about the need for working with life, protecting biodiversity and approaching our choices as humans with humility against the backdrop of destruction, denial and simplification that has been so evident in how we've chosen to focus our energy. How could I have not become bitter and, perhaps even suicidal? But, of course, the answer is love. To have spent the last 40 years connected to, studying and feeling a part of the wonderful web of complexity and growth that is nature would have meant, yes much heartbreak but also to have known at a deeper level feelings of joy, acceptance and communion. I've spent the last 3 years being part of community efforts to turn the city where I live into a city in a forest. I've come to learn so much about the wonders of the natural world and have felt feelings of connection with so many beings. I do often feel bitter and angry but I don't feel hopeless. I've come to realize, as you point out, our world is biased towards life which is to say all that is, is biased towards love.
Thank you for your beautiful comment, Josh. Yes, I think that is what I was hearing from these scientists, a certain surrender. After careers putting the pieces together and trying to convince a restless, consumptive world of the dangers, there is left the miracle of life and being swallowed by it. Maybe we can't save life, but life can save us, if we would let it.
I like "Real hope is in the land." And that with new knowledge and care we can become part of the land again.
Let's hope.
Exciting read!
Thank you Rob for walking all of us through it step by step, forward and backward, and forward again.
I recently had a chat with a retired biologist and disclosed that I was glad I hadn't gone into ecology as a field of study because I could not fathom spending the last 40 years screaming about the need for working with life, protecting biodiversity and approaching our choices as humans with humility against the backdrop of destruction, denial and simplification that has been so evident in how we've chosen to focus our energy. How could I have not become bitter and, perhaps even suicidal? But, of course, the answer is love. To have spent the last 40 years connected to, studying and feeling a part of the wonderful web of complexity and growth that is nature would have meant, yes much heartbreak but also to have known at a deeper level feelings of joy, acceptance and communion. I've spent the last 3 years being part of community efforts to turn the city where I live into a city in a forest. I've come to learn so much about the wonders of the natural world and have felt feelings of connection with so many beings. I do often feel bitter and angry but I don't feel hopeless. I've come to realize, as you point out, our world is biased towards life which is to say all that is, is biased towards love.
Thank you!
Thank you for your beautiful comment, Josh. Yes, I think that is what I was hearing from these scientists, a certain surrender. After careers putting the pieces together and trying to convince a restless, consumptive world of the dangers, there is left the miracle of life and being swallowed by it. Maybe we can't save life, but life can save us, if we would let it.