His statement on his website says:
"I'm more and more convinced that our only hope of saving our planet is if we begin to have different feelings about it: specifically, if we become re-enchanted by the amazing improbability of life, suffer regret and even shame at what we've already lost and feel exhilarated by the challenges we face and what might yet become possible. Briefly, we need to fall in love again, but this time with nature, with Civilisation and with our hopes for the future."
--Brian Eno, July 2022
There were birds above, they sang the whole day through
And the sky revolves a pink to golden blue
All the roads through time weave the world's long rhyme
And it all unravels in a sea of pearls and swine
There were bells above that rang the whole day through
And the sky was shot with light and hazy blue
Early days of winter sun, all the days turned into one
All the sirens beckoning the crew
There were horns as loud as war that tore apart the sky
There were storms and floods of blood of human life
Never mind, my love, let's wait for the dove
Fly back to tell us there is a haven showing nigh
There were those who ran away
There were those who had to stay
In the end, they all went the same way
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| Brian Eno | Photo: Cecily Eno |
I am not sure I can muster the same cautious optimism that Eno can. I created this blog many years ago now as a way to catalog things that inspired me, caught my eye or ear or heart, things I found beautiful. And it goes without saying, at least in my mind, that these things are products of a wondrous world full of the possibility of creation, a pure expression of the sheer existence of human beings. It all results from an inexhaustible élan toward creating, participating in a cycle that is breathtaking, overwhelming, and even a little frightening if one can stand still long enough to perceive it. It sounds silly but this little blog has been my way to remember this all, and I wrote in the "ABOUT" column to the right that I am dedicated to posting the positive, the fascinating, the beautiful, the interesting, the moving, and the inspiring and uplifting. But I also say that just like life, all of these things may often have a bit of melancholy or even sadness in them, which is what makes our time here so lovely and bittersweet and precious. And I cannot think of anything more melancholy or sad than the impending end of our civilization which, make no mistake, is on the way. I have alluded to these worries we all have in posts through the last many years but my focus, being on beauty, has not allowed me to address it directly.
Maybe like many of you, readers, I am sometimes too weary and worn down from it all to continue to hold it at bay. After all, we still have to carry on with our lives at this moment, in this place and time, for each of us. I still have to earn a living, manage my design company, pay a mortgage, feed and clothe myself. But every so often I just break down and cry. The impending disasters encroaching on us all weigh us all down whether we acknowledge it or not: the constant fires, and extreme heat fronts, and droughts, and storms, and hurricanes, and rising sea levels, and flooding, and burned bodies of humans and animals, and charred ruins of homes and towns, and drowned bodies of humans and animals, and migrants from climate disasters as well as murderous regimes, and senseless wars, and the deliberate cruelty and the denialism from so, so, so many fellow humans whose ignorance perpetuates it all. I was evacuated from my home here in California for almost 2 weeks because of a fire that threatened a large section of the state, and I hold directly responsible anyone who denied and still denies what is happening in front of their eyes, anyone who has thwarted efforts to address climate catastrophe, anyone who has voted for and supports any political figure in a position of power who could enact meaningful change but who simply has not out of misplaced religious fanaticism or willful ignorance and a wish to hold on to power. I was lucky enough to have my home and neighborhood spared but hundreds of my fellow citizens just a few miles away from me were not so lucky. Everything we are suffering now was laid out over 30 years ago and we have had all that time to make plans and changes but no, we are now witnessing the beginning of the end. Actually, it has been going on for a bit now so this is not the beginning, it is well underway. How far will it be allowed to go? How far will the destruction go? Will there be a day when I turn on my faucet and nothing comes out, when I have to leave my home for a migrant camp because the state is no longer inhabitable? Do I die of hunger or dehydration? Dysentery from crowded conditions? What is waiting for us all? And maybe we deserve whatever is waiting for us, if we can't figure out how to do this right. Maybe we all deserve to die. These thoughts and worries are painful and sometimes debilitating. At this moment, I am in a place where I can't be quiet, I have to cry out in a way I allow myself to do in life but have not here in virtual blog-land, until now.
So for this post, readers, I speak to you a tiny bit of what keeps me up at night, what churns my stomach, and what makes me tremble for my future and the future of us all. But I have to do some laundry, and get ready for my upcoming week. And tomorrow I will be back to sharing lovely art and special music with you all. It will make the time go by faster. And maybe, just maybe, it will have some sort of ripple effect...if you are inspired by what I share, maybe you can inspire someone else, and we can all, as Eno suggests, fall in love with civilization and ourselves, and find ourselves worthy of saving. Maybe.
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