Does anyone else feel we've fallen into a "lull" period--where the world is still pretty terrible, but plenty of personal routines are now normalizing after coming out of more intense phases of pandemic?
Tons of friends are consumed with work & community functions as if we were back in 2019. It's interesting, because we still have a heck of a struggle ahead, but after having had *time* to reflect on that struggle, the cadence of everyday living has reasserted itself. Are we less ready to act?
@CrypticMirror That's a key factor, too. Ever since January 2017, I have been trying to remind myself that what we're living through is not normal. The moment we normalize extreme events, they become easy to gloss over as a static state. Remembering our flexibility as a species is our greatest strength.
@MLClark
I attribute it to denial. Most people can't deal with the enormity of the problems facing us.
@Jeber There's so little we can do, too, when so much of our future rests in corporate circles, and among the government officials in their pockets. Bit of denial, bit of despair.
@MLClark
I guess it can be depressing, but it's reality. If we let it overwhelm us to the point of denial we'll never find a solution if there is one. No one (outside religion) ever promised us that life would always be easy and humanity's future is assured. We could easily go the way of the dinosaurs, and much sooner, if we ignore all that's going on.
That's why I contend that nothing is off the table. We may have to have a revolution against the rich and powerful yet to save humanity.
@MLClark We absolutely need a recovery period if we are to be ready for the next push. Our collective brains are useless while carrying constant allostatic load. So this lull is necessary.
@misslovelymess That's a great reframe, MrsMess. Let's also call it our "info gathering" phase: we're still receiving, still processing, but above all else waiting for the next opportunity to act in concert.
@MLClark Yes indeed. It’s actually trauma theory applied collectively, and I wish I was at the PhD level to do a dissertation on it.
@misslovelymess
that's why i'm spending my days tending my garden.
planted more native species yesterday, with help. today my back needs the bed of nails treatment.
@holon42 Me too. I’m really focusing on tending to the gardens. The heat finally broke here, which makes me very happy.
yes, it's cooler here today too👍🏼 but we need rain🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
@holon42 Same. There are spotty storms but so far, nothing here. I’m watering veggies twice a day because they are full sun. Flowers and plants are once a day because they are more shaded and are retaining more water in the soil.
@misslovelymess
i've been running the sprinklers in the evening so that plants have more time to absorb overnight.
The quiet heroism of carrying on.
@ceorl :) Wise words.
They put me in mind of Stephen Baxter's "Last Contact": a poignant reminder that, even if the end were actively on the way, the greatest store of dignity and courage would lie in simply going about our lives - but with more care to cherish every detail that's made precious our fleeting time in the cosmos at all.
@MLClark @MLClark I think I'm just acclimating to living in a constant state of crisis.