This is very true. First we lie, and then we walk around confused because we lie, because the lie settles our cognitive dissonance. All that lying and then you have a "mental health" pandemic. That's what they call it -- "mental health." Because the body is also divided into functional parts, just like the Earth.
The problem I see with splitting sharply between "life" and "death" is that the green machine worshipping cultists truly believe they are on the side of "life." They are also emotionally invested in these "machines," sort of like a person who is still waiting for mom and dad to come save them...the same people who will always defend giant industrial institutions because they are still attached to the notion that such institutions will some day provide them with benefits and goodies if they behave. That's the teaching model in schools and in much parenting.
I suppose any parallel systems we create are going to have to look mighty good and attractive to the onlookers because we are dealing with people who are looking for a benefit. They don't see a living planet as a benefit to them. We give soldiers free college. People will literally run off to mass murder in order to have free tuition. How do we make a living planet a benefit? Do we even promulgate such a rewards system, or do we act as if the reward is self evident and model the health and wellbeing of restoration and Earth protection? But that's hard to do when we are all sick. Even those defending the Earth can be sick and violent towards others. The process is confusing to me, but I suppose that's because I take a "long view." Perhaps a long view isn't required at this time.
Such a thoughtful comment. Thank you. I share the same questions and recognize we live in a multiplicity of double binds.
Martín Prechtel wrote a nice parable about this sort of thing. Something to the effect that we are like a seed that fell into a pit and we have grown into a little tree. The tree will never get out of the pit. But its seeds—if it is resilient—may one day return to the forest and plant roots with its relatives once more.
He then explained that we can’t be all of it now. But we can be ancestors worth descending from. Best holistic answer, I say.
Yes to all, AND what strikes me is the education we are getting. Who knew all the good we were doing in the world, and all the chicanery going on where being educated to how this world is run gives us the wherewithal to deal as we never could while overshoot was heading us to apocalypse? Look at how serious the devastation has had to be to get us to even think about rethinking everything.
Thank you. I’m glad that even someone as experienced as you shares similar questions. I sometimes forget that it is okay and a part of being human to sit in the questions. Unknowing and being a worthy ancestor at the same time.
So beautiful, as always. Many people supply data but not so many move us like Justin does when they write about what’s going Check out @markmcinerney, writing SMOKE SIGNALS, who is another one who always moves me.
Experiments on how to decimate a people and a culture ~ they didn't realize they chose the strong ones first, the last time around... the first peoples of the nation in North America...
what horrors they have experienced, it's palpable in the morphogenetic field...
breaking the perception of the man as a broken spirit of non-existent capabilities and barbaric means... when you look at things this way... you see the finger pointing at us, meanwhile 3 are pointing right back and their barbarisms...
I have often dreamt of a world that when the 'colonialists' arrived in North America that they adopted the ways of the peoples who were present... none of this 'doctrines of discovery' and what our world today would look like.
perhaps I am dreaming and forgetting the war-like natures and I prefer to see cultural and philosophical peaceful tribalism, not war.
Thank you for this piece... seems my sister, who turned into a Raven after she passed in 2019 is messaging me lots, with lots of Raven visits and posts about the salmon - she used to call me "a Salmon" in the spirit of way.
"Always swimming against the flow, worked hard and eventually gets to their destination"... is how she put it... well...
I am now seeing what she may have meant all this time... maybe it's the 'barbarism' part of me or the cultural and spiritual relatedness with nature and it's cry for help from the mountain tops to the depths of the ocean - our entire biosphere is being challenged to find the limits of tolerance.
So I ask you, what is your limit of tolerance?
Before you get to that limit, come up with a plan, don't 'lose it' and cause problems but stand in your power instead... be wise... be crafty... be strong... we are about to catch the wave, we are on the crest - who's catching this ride?
😭😭 I couldn't stop thinking about this essay all last night. How do we get people to see? How do we fix it? At 2am I genuinely considered printing it out and posting it through all my neighbours doors.
I love that you feel such passion for our world. I've experienced a wide range of emotions as I've engaged with these topics — from deep despair to a sense of empowerment. What has helped me the most is my Buddhist practice, which gives me a way to frame how I see the state of the environment, how I choose to respond, and what state of mind I maintain while doing so. I might write more about that soon.
How do we fix it? In short, we need a dramatically different society rooted in radically different values — values that prioritize life, interconnectedness, and genuine respect for the natural world. But the first step in creating that society is transforming ourselves internally. If we can transform the way we think, feel, and act, we can help others do the same.
I've chosen to focus on feeling empowered by the potential for this transformation — in myself and in others — rather than falling into the mindset of "what's the point?" When we nurture courage, wisdom, and compassion within ourselves, we become a source of light for those around us, even in the darkest times.
Such beauty and power dances through your writing. Thank you. I love that you chose one specific example to illustrate the idea of ecosystems; makes it more tangible (and heartbreaking!).
So beautiful and true, Justin. Thanks for posting.
"But we are not confused. We are liars."
This is very true. First we lie, and then we walk around confused because we lie, because the lie settles our cognitive dissonance. All that lying and then you have a "mental health" pandemic. That's what they call it -- "mental health." Because the body is also divided into functional parts, just like the Earth.
The problem I see with splitting sharply between "life" and "death" is that the green machine worshipping cultists truly believe they are on the side of "life." They are also emotionally invested in these "machines," sort of like a person who is still waiting for mom and dad to come save them...the same people who will always defend giant industrial institutions because they are still attached to the notion that such institutions will some day provide them with benefits and goodies if they behave. That's the teaching model in schools and in much parenting.
I suppose any parallel systems we create are going to have to look mighty good and attractive to the onlookers because we are dealing with people who are looking for a benefit. They don't see a living planet as a benefit to them. We give soldiers free college. People will literally run off to mass murder in order to have free tuition. How do we make a living planet a benefit? Do we even promulgate such a rewards system, or do we act as if the reward is self evident and model the health and wellbeing of restoration and Earth protection? But that's hard to do when we are all sick. Even those defending the Earth can be sick and violent towards others. The process is confusing to me, but I suppose that's because I take a "long view." Perhaps a long view isn't required at this time.
Sorry for the rambling.
Such a thoughtful comment. Thank you. I share the same questions and recognize we live in a multiplicity of double binds.
Martín Prechtel wrote a nice parable about this sort of thing. Something to the effect that we are like a seed that fell into a pit and we have grown into a little tree. The tree will never get out of the pit. But its seeds—if it is resilient—may one day return to the forest and plant roots with its relatives once more.
He then explained that we can’t be all of it now. But we can be ancestors worth descending from. Best holistic answer, I say.
Yes to all, AND what strikes me is the education we are getting. Who knew all the good we were doing in the world, and all the chicanery going on where being educated to how this world is run gives us the wherewithal to deal as we never could while overshoot was heading us to apocalypse? Look at how serious the devastation has had to be to get us to even think about rethinking everything.
Thank you. I’m glad that even someone as experienced as you shares similar questions. I sometimes forget that it is okay and a part of being human to sit in the questions. Unknowing and being a worthy ancestor at the same time.
So beautiful, as always. Many people supply data but not so many move us like Justin does when they write about what’s going Check out @markmcinerney, writing SMOKE SIGNALS, who is another one who always moves me.
It's important to understand the role Bears and Salmon play in fertilizing forests.
https://westernwildlife.org/rivers-salmon-bears-and-healthy-forests/#:~:text=Over%20millenia%20bears%20have%20been%20fulfilling%20this%20age-old,corridors%20along%20the%20Pacific%20Coast%20of%20North%20America.
So beautifully written so sad and so true. But also it seems, so inevitable.
a magnificent piece of writing.
Experiments on how to decimate a people and a culture ~ they didn't realize they chose the strong ones first, the last time around... the first peoples of the nation in North America...
what horrors they have experienced, it's palpable in the morphogenetic field...
breaking the perception of the man as a broken spirit of non-existent capabilities and barbaric means... when you look at things this way... you see the finger pointing at us, meanwhile 3 are pointing right back and their barbarisms...
I have often dreamt of a world that when the 'colonialists' arrived in North America that they adopted the ways of the peoples who were present... none of this 'doctrines of discovery' and what our world today would look like.
perhaps I am dreaming and forgetting the war-like natures and I prefer to see cultural and philosophical peaceful tribalism, not war.
Thank you for this piece... seems my sister, who turned into a Raven after she passed in 2019 is messaging me lots, with lots of Raven visits and posts about the salmon - she used to call me "a Salmon" in the spirit of way.
"Always swimming against the flow, worked hard and eventually gets to their destination"... is how she put it... well...
I am now seeing what she may have meant all this time... maybe it's the 'barbarism' part of me or the cultural and spiritual relatedness with nature and it's cry for help from the mountain tops to the depths of the ocean - our entire biosphere is being challenged to find the limits of tolerance.
So I ask you, what is your limit of tolerance?
Before you get to that limit, come up with a plan, don't 'lose it' and cause problems but stand in your power instead... be wise... be crafty... be strong... we are about to catch the wave, we are on the crest - who's catching this ride?
Nice Cheerio.
We all need to tap into our Barbarismism to survive what’s in the pipeline, I propose.
Another survival instinct that has been dulled & fluoridated.
Nature creates ecosystems. Humans create egosystems.
Wow. Absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking. Thank you 🙏
I think the exact same phrase every time in walk in a forest in the PNW. 🙏
😭😭 I couldn't stop thinking about this essay all last night. How do we get people to see? How do we fix it? At 2am I genuinely considered printing it out and posting it through all my neighbours doors.
I love that you feel such passion for our world. I've experienced a wide range of emotions as I've engaged with these topics — from deep despair to a sense of empowerment. What has helped me the most is my Buddhist practice, which gives me a way to frame how I see the state of the environment, how I choose to respond, and what state of mind I maintain while doing so. I might write more about that soon.
How do we fix it? In short, we need a dramatically different society rooted in radically different values — values that prioritize life, interconnectedness, and genuine respect for the natural world. But the first step in creating that society is transforming ourselves internally. If we can transform the way we think, feel, and act, we can help others do the same.
I've chosen to focus on feeling empowered by the potential for this transformation — in myself and in others — rather than falling into the mindset of "what's the point?" When we nurture courage, wisdom, and compassion within ourselves, we become a source of light for those around us, even in the darkest times.
You’ve woven ecology, culture, and grief into a visceral call to remember our place in the web of life.
Thank you for speaking for the salmon and for all of us who are part of this story, whether we realize it or not.
Such beauty and power dances through your writing. Thank you. I love that you chose one specific example to illustrate the idea of ecosystems; makes it more tangible (and heartbreaking!).
Thank you. 🙏