We went to the lake today, armed with sunscreen and our new floats. A cooler and sun hats and the usual lake things. With a forecast of excessive heat and wind, it was the only reasonable idea I could come up with for the day.
Along the shore you could find us splashing and swimming and eating snacks. And watching an endless parade of fancy trucks dropping off shiny boats and people loaded up with all of their lake gear, ready for some fun in the sun. It felt as though no one was noticing what was happening in the distance. I wanted to scream. THE EARTH IS ON FIRE!
I kept trying to be present to my kids and the moment, but it was impossible. The smoke from the wildfire kept growing bigger and the music from the fancy boats kept growing louder. We could smell the smoke in the air and left once the high winds kicked up big enough waves to scare us out in our new fancy floats.
Heading home in our air-conditioned car to stay inside and watch a movie in our air-conditioned house, I felt my stomach sinking the whole time. I couldn't find a distraction big enough to quell the feeling in my guts. Nothing made sense.
Are we asleep?
This is too early for fire season. I am not here to argue climate change. I am here to ask what we, as a species, can do about the state of our environment? Our HOME?
We have NOTHING if we don’t have a home. I understand posing this question inherently poses another: What is the cause of climate change? And I don't have all of the answers by any means. But I do have a heart that is painfully aware of the sounds our earth is making.
Extreme weather is happening everywhere. That isn't debatable. To me, Mother Earth is hot and angry and chaotic. And she has every right to be.
Perhaps we feel powerless as individuals. I know I do. But there has to be something we can do to help our earth heal if we join forces and do it together.
I will continue to pray, to try to heal myself, to keep shining my light even if I am shaking. But what can we do as a collective? To me, it feels imperative to take action immediately.
To me, the time is NOW.
Do you feel this way, too? What do you do?
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