The ocean calls you to contemplate your own existence. To consider the fragility of life and the precious impermanence of all things. It’s okay. You’ll be okay. Take a deep breath and look out on those lapping, steely blues. Maybe what you need will arrive with the rising tide.
Carrying the Spark
The words you hear in this piece are adapted from Danielle’s blog, The Cautious Optimist, along with other excerpts of her writings. In it, with great care and tenderness, she challenges us: What will you do with the time you have here?
Text: Danielle Moore, edited by Joanna Bull
Sound: Stewart Legere
Voices: Joanna Bull, Kaitlin Burek, Ruth Gamberg, Gabrielle Mills, Anika Riopel, Mary Stone and Kailyn Hanke.
Many thanks to Joanna Brenchley and Kelsey Lane for their invaluable support.
Danielle Moore lived her life full of hope and believed in creating great change for a more just and environmentally sustainable planet. In her 24 years, she touched the lives of countless people across Canada and around the world. She was a courageous leader, champion for justice, beloved friend, eager learner and teacher, and an environmental activist always keen to carry the hard work of sustainability forward. What’s more, she brought authentic joy and enthusiasm to all that she did, and made people feel at ease and cared for in her presence.
Tragically, Danielle’s life was cut short on March 10th, 2019, when flight ET302 crashed in Ethiopia – Danielle was on her way to represent Canada at the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya.
We created this piece in honour of Danielle’s legacy – the incredible impact she had during her life, and the many ways in which her beautiful spirit is being carried forward by those who knew and loved her. She embodied the essence of courage, and hope, and life, and energy, and light, and tenderness, and playfulness, and jump-in-with-two-feet-ness, that we all so deeply need right now as we rise to the challenges of this incredible and devastating moment in Earth’s history.
Carrying The Spark
[Gentle plucks are played on a ukulele. They underscore the voices of a number of women who speak this text]
Hey friend! Welcome to this place! I’m so glad you joined me here today.
Shall we take a seat on a comfortable rock? Or we can stand if you like that better, or grab a bench :) Or maybe just feel the ground underneath you. Let’s slow down for a moment and listen to the ocean.
Isn’t it beautiful here in Mi’kma’ki? I am a huge fan of the ocean.
So, I wanted to talk to you about what it will take for us to survive the Climate Apocalypse. DUN DUN DUN! I’ve been listening to a podcast called ‘How to Survive the End of the World’ hosted by Adrienne Maree brown. She’s someone who has radically impacted me this past year in more ways than I can count or list. Seriously, if you haven’t read ‘Emergent Strategy,’ this is your nudge - it filled me with hope, direction, inspiration, and energy, as did this podcast episode.
The thought of the Climate Apocalypse can be daunting and paralyzing. Sometimes when I think about the stress that land, ocean, and its inhabitants are feeling, I can’t help but feel powerless and small.
This shouldn’t be surprising: I am an inhabitant, too.
It feels as though I am almost pre-programmed to fall into the debilitating and numbing state of apathy when I read the news. And that’s OK. “Grief is an expression of gratitude,” says Adrienne. It’s OK to feel sad. Somehow, along the path of human existence, we have severed our relationship to our home.
It’s important to feel this grief. Grief is an emotional signal that we are aware of loss. But it is also important to work towards healing. Always.
What would it look like to transition from a way of living that has been exploitative, greedy, and harmful, to a future where we begin to heal our relationship with the Earth?
Some of us often forget that we are in relationship with Earth.
Can we imagine and envision a future in which we work towards living in relationship to the land?
Who would we need to be, in this moment now, in order to bring that beautiful world into being?
In the midst of changing times, in the midst of a looming future, we can also revel in the idea that such a change or collapse can bring upon a new way of life. So I choose hope. And that’s what I hope to share with you.
Sometimes I call myself the Cautious Optimist. On my to-do list? Have more dance parties for organizers, activists, and all those with heavy hearts, where tears are welcome, and laughter is welcome, too.
And I’m going to learn all the skills I can that might help me survive the Climate Apocalypse. Some ideas so far that have come to mind are: fixing and repairing things like bikes, cars, and toasters; sewing; growing and preserving food; reading the weather and using medicinal plants. And I’m going to write a blog about all that I’m learning! It’s partly a silly way to embrace a changing world, partly a way for me to take action within my own life instead of falling into ‘pre-programmed’ apathy, and partly a way to start a conversation with those around me.
So what about you? What would you like to do?
If you like, take a moment and close your eyes. Take a deep breath in... and let it go.
Can you feel the aliveness of your body, right now, in this moment? There is a beautiful spark of life in you.
What does it want to do? How does it want to play?
Maybe there’s a movement that would feel good to do right now. Or maybe you want to sing something. Go for it… trust your spark.
Your life is so precious.
What are you going to do with the time you have here?
[The gentle strumming of the ukulele crescendos and fades away.]
Let us know:
What will you do with the time you have here?