Tags
Activism & Social Justice, Climate Crisis, Eye of the Storm: Facing Climate and Social Chaos with Calm and Courage by Terry Lepage (USA 2023), Global warming, Grief Circles, Stress Management
Photo Credit: Open Door Communication (USA, 2023)
[D]ue to the baked-in heating of the planet, we are experiencing ever-increasing regional catastrophes across the globe from storms, fires, floods, droughts, crop failures, and heat waves. A barrage of local, regional, and specific collapses on an uncertain time frame against a background of more general decline seems to be in store, rather than one grand collapse…. This is the storm we face.
Fear is contagious, calm is contagious, and courage is contagious. Those of us who have some idea of what is unfolding can prepare ourselves mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to be (as we are able) centers of calm, compassion, and courage. We can be ready to coach others to hold onto their values in hard times. Because we will have pre-processed some of the loss that others will deny for a while longer, we will be able to support them when they finally face what comes.
Excerpt from Eye of the Storm: Facing Climate and Social Chaos with Calm and Courage by Terry Lepage, Open Door Communication, California, USA, 2023 (pp. 11 & 12).
Terry LePage creates spaces for connection, healing, insight, and inspiration. With a PhD in chemistry and a Master of Divinity, she combines heart and head with her clear and insightful writing, speaking, and facilitation. She has worked as a research chemist, transitional minister, and hospice chaplain. She currently lives in Southern California and facilitates Nonviolent Communication practice groups, grief circles, and social justice groups both locally and for the international Deep Adaptation Forum.
Three Worlds One Vision 
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Thanks very much, Derrick.
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Very good text! Yes, in these times of upheaval, of increasing disasters but also of changing perspectives, often greatly distorted by media reports, it is important to maintain a firm standpoint. Otherwise there is a danger of being swept away by the storms. The latest developments clearly show us how quickly this can happen.
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Thanks very much, Friedrich. I’m finding it difficult to keep up with the growing number of climate related disasters here in the USA and worldwide. A powerful storm blew across the High Desert on Friday afternoon, July 12th, causing what some described as “sand hurricanes” and “mini sand cyclones,” which destroyed property and caused a multi-vehicle crash on the 40 Freeway. Thankfully, my sister who lives in the region, was not caught in the eye of the storm. She thought it was a rainstorm approaching as the sky darkened like night had fallen. She’s used to high winds, but this one came out of nowhere and was gone in minutes.
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Yes, Rosaliene, it is indeed worrying and disturbing. And yet we continue to cut down the rainforests, cutting off one piece of “lung” after another. Let us hope that we as humans come to our senses in time.
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I hope Dr. LePage is right, Rosaliene. I also hope she includes attention to the literature on grieving, not easily “pre-processed,” especially when lives will be lost.
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Dr. Stein, in her chapter “Befriending grief,” LePage not only discusses the literature on grieving but also traditional cultural and religious responses to grief, as well as grief rituals. In the sub-section “Learning how to grieve,” she writes (p. 110):
“We have much to grieve in this time of mass extinction and the ending of industrial consumer society, because much that we love and have made a life around is being lost. Grief may go unnamed and unacknowledged, only finding expression through anger or depression, or anxiety. This is what I am inviting us to avoid. Because my culture offers so little support to grievers, we have have to learn how to grieve.”
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Very kind of you to provide me with information so responsive to my concern. Thank you, Rosaliene!
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My pleasure, Dr. Stein 🙂
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Yes! I agree that we need to face the difficulties of the future with courage & with a calm attitude towards change. A positive message here viewed against a very negative background.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Ashley. It’s a very negative background, indeed, when truth tellers about our existential climate and ecological crisis are shamed, discredited, and vilified.
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We had the courage to get ourselves into this mess, we need the same courage to weather the storm and try to make changes to help us survive it. Happy Sunday Rosaliene. Allan
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Sad to say, Allan, that we’re not doing so well on making the necessary changes to ensure our survival. A Happy Sunday to you, too 🙂
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Wise words you cited, Rosaliene. Hopefully, humankind will have the wisdom to do something about climate change before it’s too late.
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Dave, it would seem that we have the wisdom but not the collective will to act decisively in reducing our carbon emissions.
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True, Rosaliene. And fossil-fuel companies want to keep profits rolling in. 😦
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Therein lies our challenge, Dave 😦
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Yes!
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Yes. Calm is contagious, as well. This looks like a good book, Rosaliene.
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Mary, as someone who is dealing with climate and ecological grief, I have found LePage’s book both reassuring–I am not alone in my grief–and illuminating in learning how to build relationships for mutual support.
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Sounds like an important book as we brace for harsh reality, Rosaliene. I really admire people that can be calm and courageous in the face of it. Let us all be that way!
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Mara, I’ve found LePage’s book very practical in her approach to dealing with our harsh reality, that will only get worse as we continue to overheat our planet. in her chapter “Practical emotional support,” she offers a toolbox of anxiety relief practices for building our physical, emotional, and spiritual health. In the sub-section “The nonanxious presence,” she writes (p. 104):
“When denial is in full swing, slow-brewing crises are not consciously acknowledged. Instead, they manifest as anxiety simmering beneath the surface, while people do their best to carry on with business as usual. Unspoken anxiety affects relationships, menatal and physical health, politics, and policy. The nonverbal signals of anxiety are often interpreted (consciously or unconsciously) as anger. People find scapegoats to blame and become less tolerant of differences. The United States has been working its way to a slow boil of anxiety for a while now, and the results are ugly.”
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She certainly gets it. Our culture teaches us to hold in our anxiety and deny reality but we desperately need to talk about it and face it as it is. I really look forward to reading this!
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Mara, it’s a worthwhile read for those ready to face the storm.
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We need to multiply by many times the amount of energy produced by solar/wind/water power. But, people being people, that won’t happen anytime soon.
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Couldn’t agree more, Neil. For this reason, I believe that societal collapse, already begun in some parts of the world, will spread as a result of our failure to reduce our carbon emissions.
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The excerpt alone makes your selection appealing. Thank you for bringing us another significant and relevant book. I appreciate the author bio, too. Take care, Rosaliene.
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You’re welcome, Michele. Like us here in California, you’re also feeling in the flesh the effects of our increasingly more intense summer temperatures. You take care, too ❤
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So true. My computer is showing “heat warning” and “wildfire update” in the left corner. Ugh! Thank you, you too. ❤
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“Fear is contagious, calm is contagious, and courage is contagious. “
This is exactly what we need, now more than ever.
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We do, indeed, JoAnna!
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You read really interesting non-fiction. Thanks for this title.
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Thanks very much, Rebecca. My pleasure 🙂
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Such an interesting read Rosaliene! ✨
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Thanks very much, Mayar 🙂
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This excerpt is perfect for this moment, Rosaliene. Thank you for bringing this book to our attention. I’m “supposed” to be writing a Climate Movement Monday post right now and am paralyzed by all the issues facing us, and also deeply questioning whether my posts offer anything helpful. Our political and institutional systems are shams, and I’m struggling with whether it’s still worthwhile to act in solidarity with a group in need of support (for ex, Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in re to Line 5 pipeline) or to offer links where people can donate to people in Houston. And then I think about the many, many people forced to leave New Orleans for Houston after Katrina, and am overwhelmed by how messed up all of this is. Perhaps I’ll take this week off. 😦
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Tracy, it is, indeed, an overwhelming experience in doing our small part when the need is so great and vast. Without the financial resources and influential power of the multi-millionaire or billionaire, we have to limit our help to whatever is within our reach. I focus on feeding the hungry and contribute to three organizations: local, national, and international. Perhaps you need to narrow the focus of your Climate Movement Monday posts.
Taking this week off sounds like a great idea. Self-care is essential if we are to help others. Know that you are not alone ❤
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I like your 3-tiered approach, Rosaliene. And you’ve got me thinking on how I might narrow my scope. Thank you.
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Solidarity!
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“Fear is contagious, calm is contagious, and courage is contagious.” What an insightful journey of mind, body, and spirit. Thanks so much for introducing us to Terry Lepage, sistah Rosaliene! Have a courageously amazing week! 🥰💖😘
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You’re welcome, Kym! A courageously amazing week to you, too 🙂 ❤
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I receive that Rosaliene and the same to you too my dear sistah. Much love and hugs! 😘💖🥰
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Beautiful! And yes, the only way to get through the fear is to hold on tight and keep moving forward.
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Pam, thanks very much for dropping by and sharing your thoughts 🙂
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oxo
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So beautiful!
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Thanks very much, Belladonna!
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Thank you for sharing!!.. In this time of uncertainty I just follow my heart “Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.” (Roy T. Bennett ) with the words of Mr. Roosevelt in mind; “It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, the man who at best knows achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” (Theodore Roosevelt )… 🙂
Hope all is well in your part of the universe, you have managed to avoid the severe weather and until we meet again….
May flowers always line your path
and sunshine light your way,
May songbirds serenade your
every step along the way,
May a rainbow run beside you
in a sky that’s always blue,
And may happiness fill your heart
each day your whole life through.
(Irish Saying)
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Dutch, thanks for sharing your thoughts. Fear can dominate us, if we let it.
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I love the excerpt you shared, Rosaliene. Mental preparation is so important. For anything! Especially circumstances that will bring about our decline as a species. Thanks for sharing this powerful message.☀️
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Lisa, I’m so glad that you can appreciate the excerpt I’ve shared.
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