Thy soul is required of thee

Transcript of a talk I gave in Chapel on Wednesday 4.13.16:

Good morning. Thank you for your attention.

I'd prefer that it not be this way, me standing in front of you. I'd rather have watched Netflix than think and stress and draft and toss and jot notes and talk and stress and write some more.

But here I am. And (to borrow an idea from MLK) if the Creator held me in front of the tapestry of space and time itself, had me pick any time in which to live, I would choose this moment, a moment when humanity sits upon a precipice, not much realizing or caring that we're balancing the satisfaction of our own desires on one side and the satisfaction of the needs of life on the other.

Introduction

I'd like to start off by addressing the typo that isn't really a typo up on the screen behind me [A student was invited to respond to the following questions, and he responded beautifully]:

• Why is it spelled "Eaarth"? The name comes from the title of Bill McKibben's definitive 2009 book Eaarth: Making a life on a tough new planet. Because humans have drastically and permanently altered the biosphere, cryosphere, and atmosphere, it is far from the Earth it was before industrialization.
• Can you give some examples? Melting arctic ice, average global temperature up 1.5 deg F since 1880, increased energy available to storms, changing local climates like California's drought.
• What do you think about all this? I think the scariest part is the uncertainty. Scientists are usually conservative with their predictions, so we could be seeing severe climate change impacts as late as 100 years from now but as early as 30 years from now, and that's not including current superstorms like hurricane Sandy or South Sea storms.

My Boys 

[Picture of my kids on screen behind me.]

I began identifying myself as an environmentalist when I was in the 11th grade. But it wasn't until my older son up there on the right was born, that I began to deeply care. 

I wasn't all too interested in having kids just yet, but my wife was ready and I figured I could go along with it and give it my best shot. The day that little kid was born was the day my life completely altered - who I knew myself to be, others to be. I had felt strong feelings for people before, but I didn't know how deep love could go until I held him for the first time.

It's because of them that I care, it's their future and it's your future that has me stand up here today.

Be Skeptical

In school we're often telling you to think critically and to be skeptical. I request that for the next 10 minutes you be skeptical of your own thinking. I invite you to hear what I'm saying as valid and accurate.

Uncurling from the Fetal Position

The imagery of uncurling from the fetal position brings up two ideas to me. First, it brings up courage. The more data analyses I read or predictions I come across, the more I want to curl up under a blanket and helplessly wait for it all to get over with. But to uncurl, to stand up, and start opening my mouth to say things that might be uncomfortable for me or others, that's me doing whatever I can to make a difference.

The second idea it brings up is society's maturing from the infancy of materialism, of selfishness and greed, to responsibility, compassion, and true fulfillment.

To me there is no other conversation more important than this one - a conversation with the potential to transform who we are for ourselves, each other, and life itself.

And I'm woefully inadequate for the task. I'm too selfish, too uninformed, too ill-spoken to adequately communicate in few words the depth of the climate issue at hand, an issue we don't have much time to address. Decade zero. 

What I've decided to focus on is religion. A student reflected on December's climate change talk that he didn't understand what Christianity has to do with climate change. Religion can provide context for our lives, it can also provide guidance.

Religion 1: Buddhism

I choose to follow many Buddhist values.

Imagine a world with people free from the constraints of judgments, fear, selfishness, and suffering. Imagine a world of personal satisfaction, of compassion and thoughtfulness, of freedom to be however, wherever, with whomever.

Who I Am is nothing, emptiness, an experience. WHAM, I become something. I become a man, a father, a husband, a friend, a teacher. Nothing, emptiness, an experience. WHAM, I become a jerk, cynical, frightened, righteous. Nothing, emptiness, an experience. WHAM, I become a conduit, a commitment to the health and well-being of life itself.

How is your identity confining you to the sidelines of humanity's collective climate crisis?

What perspectives can you try on that provide a more positive few of our collective future?

Are you a taker, or are you a leaver?

Religion 2: Science

Science adds depth to my experience of the material world - such beauty in the depths of it. Understanding the mechanisms in the life of tree, the electromagnetic forces holding atoms and molecules together, the transfer of oxygen in the air I breathe to my blood and body deepens my experience of being alive.

But attempting to reduce the universe to only its material constituents is an immense error in the development of human thinking and ways of knowing. Studying rocks and cells and behaviors doesn't say a thing about my experience of life. Science is a piece of the puzzle, but it alone holds no answers. 

Religion 3: Christianity
I also choose to follow a number of christian values. I think Jesus is an excellent model for human behavior in many ways, and he had great things to say. I like the relationship between Taoism and Christianity - look up to transcend the self, and look side to side to bring others along for the ride.

Jesus gave us two commandments: love God above all else, and love our neighbor as ourself. There's something greater for us, an omega-point. I think that heaven is not a place, it's a state of being. As an individual I can look up, transcend who I've become to become newly. And I am a member of a community, and I am responsible for the well-being of my communities.

[Here I referenced the gospel reading for the chapel service, Luke 12:13-21. I recommend that you read it and see how it relates :)]

The messiahs we're waiting for

Whether we've acknowledged it or not, we're all expecting a savior from the ecological issues we've been collectively causing. We're waiting for:

• Technologists - that they'll figure out solutions.
• Philanthropists - that they'll throw money towards it and fund a solution.
• Economists - that they'll encourage and inspire policies that lead to market solutions.
• Politicians - that they'll stop fighting once the straits become dire.
• Sages - actually, they've already given their two cents about this. We haven't listened yet. For over 2,000 years the great sages have been giving us guidance how to live, and we still haven't listened.

The messiahs who are coming

You and me. We are the someone who's coming. There's nobody else who can step up and work for a solution right here right now.

Seek for Yourself Treasures in Heaven, not on Earth
I assert that if we look deep at what we really want, nearly all of us can point to these items on the screen. Unfortunately, the latest iPhone can't provide these things, but living according to Jesus' two commandments can. And living according to those two commandments can provide us all with those things, not just a privileged minority.

This issue is not about what we need to give up. It's not about not driving an SUV, and you shouldn't. This issue is not about using disposable cups, and you shouldn't. It's about living our lives according to our values and the world that's possible if we do.

We really are balancing life on a precipice, and it's not about what we need to give up. It's about what future we want for ourselves and each other.