Nature always wins

By Silas Rose Jan 5th, 2021

It seems so long ago.

Early in the fall of 2019 millions of people were gathering shoulder to shoulder in the streets all around the world to demand action on the climate crisis from our hand wringing leaders.

Unlike other mass mobilizations in recent memory, these demonstrations reflected a coherent sense of unity among a diverse group of people. Global warming was one issue everyone could get behind, well almost everyone.

It felt like the start of something big, dare I say… a revolution.

For a brief, exhilarating moment the youth had a voice and a platform to exclaim what many of us were afraid to admit, even to ourselves. The natural world we rely on is in deep trouble and time is running out.

Sadly, the anthers of the revolution shrivelled up and blew away as quickly as they appeared. Almost overnight the marches stopped and our attention turned towards a more imminent threat.

The rest of the story is as they say, history.

From doing to being

With the exception of the Black Lives Matter uprising during the summer of 2020 the masses have mostly stayed home.

The pandemic forced us to set aside any rhetoric of change and shift gears to an unfamiliar experience of just being.

Doing nothing is remarkably hard, especially in times when our survival depends on doing something.

The sense of urgency and purpose we expressed marching in the streets has been preempted by something more personal.

Sometimes doing nothing feels like a hot crucible burning all ego clinging to cinders. The other extreme is also possible. We may find ourselves in a cold and grey purgatory desperate for entertainment and connection. Either way, just being is no holiday.

The sanity of earth

This liminal space we find ourselves in during Covid (or any major life transition for that matter) reflects the rhythm of nature. It can’t be rushed, despite our pleas.

Here we must reconcile with the murky realm of feelings and search for a new loadstar to guide us into an uncertain future. Instead of speaking up, demanding change, all we can do now is listen and wait.

However, this is not wasted time.

To find contentment alone in a forest is a radical act. It pushes back on the fear and scarcity that pollutes our mind (and world) with doubts about our own nature.

Even in the confines of a small city park a cacophony of migrating birds or the gentle sound of a babbling brook has the power to reawaken primordial memories of home, the place of belonging where we are whole and loved.

This is natures immovable way, and nature always wins.

When Covid 19 finally recedes into the annals of history and the streets are again filled with passionate protests, hopefully it will be with a humility and conviction that comes from a new awareness of the power of basic being.