Our Greatest Danger: Tears, Sadness, Hope and Gratitude Through These Heavy Storms
Reflections of the huge storms hitting California, The Greatest Dangers facing all of us and the difference of attitude about these threats to our very survival between older and younger generations
THE DAWNING LIGHT NEWSLETTER #55 Monday March 13, 2023
Photo CredIt: Chinmayan
Reflections on these storms and on being in this time of rapidly developing climate change that is about to go out of control and the greatest dangers to our survival
GOING THROUGH ONE DANGEROUS STORM AFTER ANOTHER
We are in a lull between heavy storms this morning.
It is so quiet outside, except for the cawing of crows and the occasional car going by out on the road.
We have gotten so used to howling winds and rain thundering on the roof, of skies always being filled with swirling black clouds, that these lulls of stillness without even a breeze, seem eerie and a little unnerving.
I have surrendered to this time of storm after storm after storm so much now that it feels like it has been going on forever and will continue forever without end.
I know we are fortunate in this high mountain valley to not be going through the terrible flooding and destruction that has been happening in the Central Valley and other parts of our beautiful California.
I am grateful that we have been spared, but my heart breaks for all those who have had their homes and lives swept away by raging waters, broken levees, mudslides and high winds.
I was just watching clips of all the effects of these storms on people’s lives…thousands of folks forced to evacuate their homes as flood waters are rising…homes, bridges and roads washed away by raging waters….folks who have been stranded in their homes for two weeks by snowdrifts so deep their houses are covered and roads impassible, folks running out of food, trying to stay warms without power, folks with medical needs that can’t get to their doctors…
Photo Credit: Chinmayan
I couldn’t keep the tears from drenching my cheeks to see so much suffering from these heavy weather events that just keep coming.
I feel for all the homeless people who have no shelter or place to go or food to eat.
I feel for the elderly stuck in their homes alone without phones or power.
I feel for those who have had their lives upended with great unexpected losses.
I feel for all those responders who are trying to mount rescue efforts, but can’t get through.
I feel for all those who are truly in a state of emergency need, who do not know if that help is coming.
I am deeply touched by the thousands of volunteers who are pouring into the state from neighboring states, such as Utah and New Mexico and Arizona, who are showing up with heavy equipment and an army of friends to pitch in to help wherever they can.
HUGE ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS JUST KEEP COMING
And still the atmospheric rivers keep coming towards us from out of the Pacific.
They are incredibly huge when seen on radar, stretching out to the west of us for a thousand miles or more of powerful storms of drenching rain…heading towards us.
Our phones keep pinging with more “Severe Weather Warnings” and more dire forecasts.
My brother in Florida keeps texting to ask how we are doing and I say “Praise God, we are OK…we are not flooding out, we have had snow but it melted away, the weather is bad but we were prepared, we have enough food and fuel for our furnace and are getting by day by day and thank you for your prayers and concern.”
I have been living in California for fifty years and in these mountains for most of that time and we have never had a winter of such intense storms coming one after the other like this.
I have been boldly praying for an end to the years long drought that was getting to really severe proportions, asking for enough abundant rain for this winter, but these storms are beyond anything I could have imagined by many times over.
Its true that we badly needed water all over the West, and now all our reservoirs are full, underground reserves are being replenished and the land which was so dry is now saturated with precious water.
ITS BEEN MUCH WORSE THAN ANYTHING I HAVE EVER SEEN OR COULD POSSIBLY IMAGINE
I am amazed and grateful and hopeful all at the same time.
I can feel that whenever these storms end and Spring comes for real that it will be the sweetest, lushest, most verdant of our lives so far.
As much as I appreciate the rain, I am ready to swing into the warm, sunny days of Spring.
Just knowing they are coming for sure brings hope and gladness to my heart.
Photo Credit: Dawa Fitzmaurice
WE ARE LIVING IN A TIME OF RAPIDLY DEVELOPING CLIMATE CHANGE
I know that we are in a time of rapidly developing climate change that is about to go over a cliff beyond our control or ability to stop it.
I am painfully aware that the older generations which I belong to are mostly not paying the level of attention needed that this dire threat poses to the very survival of the human race.
Almost all of us have our heads collectively buried in the sand, unwilling to even see what is clearly becoming our new and dangerous reality.
But ignoring it won’t make it go away—it will just insure that the coming future will be one that none of us anywhere would want to live in… where our wealth, location or anything else we can do, can protect us from it.
After all, we have only this one beautiful planet to live on.
I saw an article about a state that is considering a law requiring its schools to add teaching about climate change to the curriculum.
So far, only Connecticut has a law in place to teach climate change in high school.
Photo Credit: Nyima Fitzmaurice
OLDER GENERATIONS ARE IGNORING THE DANGERS WHILE OUR YOUNGER GENERATIONS CLEARLY SEE WHAT IS COMING AND WANT ALL OF US TO WAKE UP AND GET BUSY SAVING HUMANITY AND THE PLANET FROM A TERRIBLE FUTURE
They did a poll to find out what folks thought about the proposed law…and nearly 100 % of older generations were against it, saying that since math testing scores had fallen so much since the Pandemic, that schools should focus on Math.
But nearly 100% of high schoolers and younger generations are for it. Even so, it was projected that the law had little chance since the older generations dominate in the legislature.
I am one of the older generation who bucks the prevalent trend, because I have been close to nature all of my life, unlike most folks who live in the artificial environment of cities and sprawling suburbs.
As Richard Attenborough wryly observed We were once part of nature but now we live apart from it…”We were once a part of nature, but now we live apart from it.”
Photo Credit: Chinmayan
OUR GREATEST DANGER IS APATHY
I once had the opportunity to meet and speak with Jane Goodall, who I have tremendous respect for and who is working tirelessly to awaken humanity to the dangers ahead. She says, “The greatest danger to our future is apathy…the greatest danger to our planet is that we lose hope—especially if our youth loses hope. Because, if we have no hope, we give up and stop trying to do our bit to make a difference.”
I, for one, refuse to give up hope because I believe that humanity is in the midst of a major paradigm shift as we evolve together as a species.
Yes, historically we can be very stupid, destructive and cruel but once the danger is clear to most of us, we always band together in high state of cooperation and through working together in close alignment make the changes and take steps that often only a short time before seemed impossible and do resolve the situation and overcome the challenges and make a better world for us all.
Meanwhile, just as I prayed for the rains to come to end our drought, I am praying through that we do pull our heads out of the sand and get busy doing what we need to do to save ourselves and our children from a terrible future!
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