What if We’re the Lucky Ones?

Without a doubt, we know that 100% of your life satisfaction is about how you perceive what goes around (and inside) you.

Every insult. Every trauma. Every unfortunate event or disastrous consequence. They’re all just fodder for your interpretation and meaning-making.

We’ve known this for decades, if not centuries or eons… but too few of us have resilient nervous systems or emotionally-stabilized response systems or the imagination to project the benefit of each traumatic event (especially while we’re in it) to create a cultural zeitgeist to stop believing that “sh*t happens” to us.

Learning to be like nature- adapting to the changing microclimates and unfortunate events- will become our norm. 

And correspondingly, we also know that nothing ever anywhere is in our control… it’s all about how we respond or react.

We create our life’s trajectory based on our responses to what happens. 

Life’s circumstances absolutely dictate what we experience, and then we choose what to make of it. 

And yes, you could say that some of us are ‘luckier’ than others, having chosen or been dropped into life’s circumstances that made life easier. 

I still look back on certain parts of my life and wish I’d had an easier road to travel. 

And, I also know that I wouldn’t have gained the experiences, skills, talents, commitment and courage that I now host in my Being.

Perhaps because my life was extremely challenging, I am now more ‘ready’ for what’s next. 

Like the callouses that form when you walk barefoot on sharp stones, my feet are ready to do the walkin.

So if everything we experience is training for what’s to come, and if we’re here to bring in the next phase of what it means to be human…

…. maybe, just maybe, this is the best time ever to be alive.

Reframing the Collapse

I’ve spent much of the last year immersed in the ‘collapse’ literature. I figured I needed to know the truth- Big T- so I can better prepare for the world as it’s becoming.

Or TEOTWAWKI- as Michael Dowd often referred to The End of The World As We Know It. 

[NOTE: If you don’t have time to read the books/ study the literature/ watch podcasts related to collapse…Michael Dowd put together the best-ever highly-referenced easy-to-engage primer on the actual collapse. See his 2 videos: Collapse 101 and Post Doom/Gloom. While Michael has transitioned, his vast compendium of interviews and teachings will long succeed him.]

We are 40-50 years into the collapse (with real indicators having emerged in the 1970s, which we summarily ignored,) and have roughly 5-10 years to find ourselves a new way to live to respond to this reality. 

Period. That’s it. 

That’s a pill hard to swallow, if you’re looking at our predicament as the apocalypse or a catastrophe that’s merely ‘happened’ to us.

And I say this with enormous empathy and grief, as someone who’s experienced decades of what you may be feeling. 

I started having visions of this destruction as a child, and documented a catastrophic vision in January 2023 (see article Enlivened by a New Dawn, We Begin Again) in which I was told we are experiencing the Great Turning that esoteric teachings and recent sages have described.

Which is exactly the point.

What if instead of believing that the end-is-near or doomsday is upon us… 

… we reframe the collapse as an opportunity to begin again?

… a Great Do-Over for humanity on this bounteous planet which we’ve raped and pillaged? 

To learn a new way to live together harmoniously, with the roughly 8.7 million species STILL living on planet earth?

… and acknowledge that YOU (and me and all of us) showed up here at this time IN ORDER to be witness to (and participants in) this Great Turning? 

That maybe we all decided to be here IN ORDER to do the deep work required to liberate our souls and become the most evolved Beings we could be in the context of these challenges?

Evidently there was something compelling enough to draw us all (8+ billion of us) to the planet now in order to find our way through this portal to the future.

It’s like, maybe, just perhaps, we all showed up for the greatest show on earth? 

Like the World’s Fair + the Roman Coliseum + the Super Bowl + the Summer AND Winter Olympics + the fight for democracy-equality-justice + the transition to peace vs war + the first steam engine/rocket to Mars + (whatever other great invention you can imagine)...

What if we came BECAUSE we’re the lucky ones who got a ticket for a front row seat at the greatest most astounding feat of all time, and we WANTED to be part of it?

But what we’re currently doing is a coliseum-like human-vs-lion event with Us competing AGAINST Us. 

What if instead of competing against ourselves we started working WITH Us and all of nature and Mother Earth and all of our seen and unseen allies to move the needle in the opposite direction?

Doesn’t that make more sense? To win this damn competition WITH ourselves?

Why Now is the Best Time Ever to Be on Planet Earth

So, I’ll admit, it’s taken me decades (or lifetimes) to be able to see trauma coming at me and relish who I would become on the other side. 

Having had my head chopped off a few times, stake burnings and miscellaneous other murders, and a lifetime of failed relationships and careers and instability of many sorts…I am not a stranger to disaster or debacle.

And yet… because of all that opportunity to receive the gifts of my lifetimes, along with integrating quite a few fractured parts!, I now see the Silver LIning in absolutely everything.

Even this… the collapse of our home on earth. Everything will change. 

TEOTWAWKI is here. There is no going back.

And, we can look a few steps ahead and envision why this had to happen, and how it will be of benefit to us.

See this article Despite the Choppy Seas, the Winds of Change Are In Our Favor for just a few reasons why now is the best time ever to be here.

And, columnist Jennifer Rubin throws a wet rag on a nostalgic view of our past in her essay Get Real and Read Some History. The Past was Worse, pointing to the many ways that we’re better off than ever, which also portends that we actually may be able to deal with the brink of collapse.

What Do We Need to Do to Use this Time Wisely

In the article I reference above (Despite the Choppy Seas…,) I describe two important traits that we must embrace in order to find our way into this future that is only certain to become more challenging and also distinct from anything we’ve ever known.

These traits are a Witness Capacity (or Subject-Object Perspective) and the ability to see Paradox. [see many more references in the Choppy Seas article.]

Witness Capacity

To find enough of a Silver Lining in the collapse, I must be able to step back and ‘stand outside of myself,’ so that I’m not only witnessing how the collapse will affect me, but also witness how I’m responding to the experience. 

And to be able to inquire deep within from a witness stance to see what else wants to emerge from me and through me.

I must be able to witness how the ravages of climate disaster and all the other polycrises will affect people and the planet inequitably. 

Per the current inequitable distribution of resources and power on the planet, the polycrises have been and will continue to affect those who have less MORE than it will affect those who already have their hand in the till. 

This is not news. Certainly. And yet as the calamity increases, I will need to realize that the burden is relative and my own suffering or inconvenience is less than most people on the planet.

Which will (and already has) caused me to think about how I will share my time, talents, resources and power with others who have always had less.

I was thinking about my youngest daughter recently, who is a case manager for the homeless in the San Francisco area… and how I would need to learn skillsets from her to help manage the future.

The point is… stepping outside of ‘what else do I need?” to ‘what else do others need to survive under even more dire circumstances?” AND also witnessing how I respond to this new goal, to be ever more of service.

This is definitely not the Prepper mentality taken up by the fortunate, to hoard resources to provide for themselves whilst ignoring the calamity already underway for so many.

I’m now actively participating in the Deep Adaptation Forum (and its resources) and the Deep Adaptation FB group to gain ideas and resources for how I may be of service in our emerging world.

Paradox

I’ve been writing about paradox for a few years, including this series. The capacity to hold paradox, two seemingly distinct possibilities simultaneously, is and will be required of us to live in a collapsing world AND live a meaningful life, create beauty and find our way to a different future. 

I can hold the truths that the world is collapsing around us AND that I am willing to be prepared and courageous in facing this reality.

I can accept that much of humanity is living in fear, anxiety and dread of the future AND that I am learning to love more, rejoice more, hold wonder and awe like never before, and be willing to share myself with the world in those ways. 

Everything is ALWAYS a both/and.

For instance, while I know that I need to personally prepare for the future, including learning new skillsets for a more agrarian ‘homesteading’ lifestyle than I ever imagined needing, which are very concrete earth-based skills…

… I ALSO need to become more adept at navigating uncertainty, co-creating with the universe, and living in a continuously ‘altered’ state that lets me access the wisdom of the morphogenic field so that I’ll have continuous access to what lives outside of me… definitely NOT a concrete set of skills. More aligned with the advanced spiritual presence that I host now in my Being, and cultivating it more and more so I can serve as a beacon and translator for what is to come. 

Maybe you can see the dimensions of your own paradoxical calling… who you are now will be morphed into a version of you that you cannot yet know, as the future unravels before us.

Resilience/ Anti-Fragility

Another skillset that will be required of us is the ability to be resilient, or to face the challenging times ahead.

I’ve also been writing for years about resilience and antifragility, which includes a more grounded-centered-anchored or stable sense of self, starting with purpose and creating alignment with the truth of who you are.

Most of my work in the world is helping to create this new embodied and emergent version of ourselves, and is the beginnings of the new human template that I am personally experiencing.

See the Playbook for Navigating Our Wild Future to gain ideas about how to create this for yourself. And stay in touch for my emerging work in 2024, including the initiative Boldacity™, an immersion for all of us to become undaunted creators for the new world.

What Will Stop Us from Using this Time Wisely

More likely than not, our own fear of failure will be the most prescient hurdle to overcome if we want to find our way to a different future than the one we’re headed toward.

Generally, we can imagine taking useful steps and overcoming challenges until the cortisol kicks in and we fear the doom and gloom of failure.

Our own stark reality is that we may not pull it off. We all know it is possible that we may go down in flames, or ripping each other apart in an apocalyptic scenario.

And, unless we have an unwavering faith until the very end that it is actually feasible, and that we each have a role to play in creating this alternate future, we’ll not use the time wisely and instead fritter it away in wasted worry and anxiety.  

Remember. collapse (of the environment, of existing social systems and infrastructure, of economic systems and really almost everything we now consider ‘normal’) is the inevitable horizon of our generation. That is not in question. 

We are entering TEOTWAWKI, a new epoch.

But collapse is not the end – it’s the beginning of our future. We have time to reinvent new ways of living in the world and being attentive to ourselves, to other human beings and to all our fellow creatures.

What Can You Do, Now?

Step One: Take One Step. One Action. Do One Thing Differently Today than Yesterday.

As you think about the kinds of action steps, think in terms of the Deep Adaptation framework that includes resilience, relinquishment, restoration, and reconciliation to reduce harm from climate and ecological devastation. 

And as always, my suggestion is to begin with knowing who you are at a deep level so you can discover what’s YOURS to do. Taking action from the essence of your core Being. Your purpose. This is called Inner Adaptation. 

And then extending to your family, community and work, and ONLY THEN extend your actions to include global possibilities. You’ll find yourself more stable, grounded and aligned. Inner Adaptation leads to more fruitful Outer Adaptation.

Let’s be like “cultural magicians,” as Jem Bendell suggests, inviting people to imagine new ways of loving themselves, each other and the world. 

And if you don’t know what action to take, I find comfort in the list of reflections that Jem Bendell shared, noting how he personally is coping with the need for adapting our lives to the realities of our future. A few of his most notable ideas include:

• Explore your own sense of meaning and spirituality- that there is a consciousness that exists beyond our material realm
• Become more engaged in the factual information being presented, so that you are adept at discerning what is hearsay or emerging science about the unfolding reality
• Recognize your own emotional or intellectual resistance to considering a catastrophic future, as it may indicate your fears of failure and self-worth rather than the truth of our reality
• Don’t panic. You have time to take action. We can make a difference in how it all turns out, if we ALL choose.
• Become inspired to contribute in ways that are meaningful to you, as you will have the most perseverance and engagement with actions that inspire you. Figure out what is YOURS to do.
• Find time to be engaged with life in ways that promote wonder and awe. It will create an enlivenment in your life, regardless of the other realities.
• Expect everything to change for the better, if you choose to orient your life to becoming more purposeful and meaningful. You can create a life of love and fulfillment, if you expect to find it within yourself. 

If you struggle with how to overcome any significant hurdles, use this simple science-backed WOOP process (you can also download the app) to visualize overcoming the hurdles for the simple and discrete actions you plan to take.

Each Decision. One Step at a Time. 

Here’s what I’ve created as one of my intentions for 2024.

For each and every action and decision that I face this next year, I will ask myself “Does this move me closer to loving myself, and therefore others and the world? Will this create a lifestyle and future that realizes this alternate future, or move me/ us further away?”

I realize this will lead to major shifts in my lifestyle, my focus and how I interact with every facet of my life. 

It is what I chose as my most sincere effort to be the type of human who can walk into the future, knowing I did everything I could.

Join me? 

I love you.