The Courage to Wake Up
~ Gwilda Wiyaka ~
We can’t hope to evolve into our future potential
without looking at the truth of the present. Yet waking up to the truth takes
courage. With climate change, loss of species, and current lifestyles
environmentally unsustainable, our present circumstances can be painful to
face.
Illusions are dying as the naked truth emerges. We
have been a pushy species. Through artificial means, we have pushed the soil to
produce more food, the animals to produce more milk, and meat, the ocean to
give more fish, and so on. We have pushed so hard and so long, we’ve pushed
ourselves right out of the circle of life to the point that life may no longer
be able to sustain us.
The tide of change is upon us. Clearly, we need to
look at the present circumstance and use what has not worked as a model
for evolving into a better way of being. But where can we find guidance when
all the rules are shifting? What will sustain us as we weather planetary
change? How can we find the integrity to assist a process that may virtually
destroy our old way of being?
Our guest this hour has spent much time contemplating
the situation and hopefully will have some guidance for us. Kathleen Dean Moore
is a philosopher and climate activist, the author or coeditor of a dozen books,
including “Riverwalking,” “Holdfast,” and “Wild Comfort.” Until recently a
Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Oregon State University, her concern
for the reeling world led her to leave the university in order to speak out and
write about climate action. Her new books are “Moral Ground,” “Great Tide
Rising,” and “Piano Tide,” a novel.
Her website: river-walking.com
