UP #105: Letting Go of Our Collapsing World with Deb Ozarko

“This is a dark time, filled with suffering and uncertainty. Like living cells in a larger body, it is natural that we feel the trauma of our world. So don’t be afraid of the anguish you feel, or the anger or fear, because these responses arise from the depth of your caring and the truth of your interconnectedness with all beings.” —Joanna Macy

It’s becoming glaringly evident that we’re living in increasingly frightening and uncertain times.

Despite that fact, many people either fail to comprehend, sluff-off with indifference, or downright deny the fact that our planet is being altered at a pace and magnitude that is rapidly steering us into uncharted territory.

With what’s playing out environmentally with unprecedented wildfires, droughts, tropical storms, heatwaves, floods, sinkholes, red tides, coral bleaching, epidemic animal die-offs, and the accelerating speed at which the Arctic sea ice is melting, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to stay grounded as everything unravels around us.

Our oceans now contain more spilled oil and plastic than sea life. One of the great natural wonders of the world that fascinated me as a child, The Great Barrier Reef, is rapidly dying.

Profound economic collapse is unfolding in Venezuela, with South Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Russia in hot pursuit. Closer to home, areas of northern British Columbia are also in free fall.

Planet-wide toxification, rampant overpopulation, rapacious consumption, and staggering willful ignorance are driving the crisis that much deeper.

Discussions about collapse wouldn’t be complete without speaking of Donald Trump and his penchant for inciting hatred, xenophobia, sexism, bigotry, aggression, violence, narcissism, and fear in the lowest common denominator in the United States. One man has single-handedly inspired the emergence of the ugliest parts of humanity by giving permission to the remorseless expression of a violent shadow.

With the US presidential election only months away, the candidate choices for the most domineering country in the world are bleak: Patriarchy from a megalomaniac blowhard, or patriarchy in a conniving pantsuit.

Sad, sad, sad.

Of course we can’t forget the violent shooting rampage in Orlando that destroyed the lives of 49 innocent people and also brought to light (yet again) the entitled lunacy of the National Rifle Association and the American right to bear arms.

And if that’s not enough, Britain regressed into the dark ages with the recent Brexit vote—a vote that ensures the burgeoning far right psychosis that has gripped the collective psyche.

Sadly, this brief synopsis barely scratches the surface of our dire global predicament.

To quote Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

The world I once knew is now a distant memory—a memory that I cherish, and one I am deeply grateful for. The future however, brings a knot to my stomach that refuses to leave.

There’s no doubt that the entire world is in collapse in every aspect of our lives—from the micro stresses of our personal lives to the macro stresses of our collective lives. We’re living in dire times of great crisis, and no amount of denial, ignorance, or new-age magical thinking will make it go away. The consciousness of humanity is at an all-time low. Yes, there are wonderful people doing wonderful things to make the world a better place. I’ve brought the voices and hearts of many of these people to you over the past few years. But it’s no longer enough as darkness rapidly envelops the planet.

The word, apocolypse means, “a lifting of the veil” or a “revelation”. While ‘business as usual’ creaks and groans under the weight of its own lies, many are choosing to no longer wear the blinders of denial, drink the kool-aid of hopium, or choke down the blue pill of ignorance. This makes for an apocolyptic reality check,