Together In The Storm

Last week, we took a taxi to the grocery store. While we were shopping, the sky turned black. Just before we got home, it began to pour. The taxi driver, who was a little anxious, perhaps remembering a particular storm in his past, said something about houses blowing away. We arrived in the downpour reassuring ourselves that it was just water, no wind, no worries. The taxi driver, in spite of his anxiety, kindly put our groceries on the porch. He left well soaked having earned sincere thanks and a generous tip for his help.

This story reminds me that within and between our minds, there are ways of thinking which are often at odds but sometimes working together to manage a threat.

At the most basic level, we react automatically in a state of readiness that has been called hyperarousal. As soon as we are aware of the threat, we have a quick and dirty response ready. It doesn't always improve things. We should give it a second thought if possible before committing to action.

After the stormy taxi trip, I have time for second thoughts. Storm damage is so rare here, we should be more worried about a crash caused by a nervous driver than houses blowing away. I search the weather history and find I am right. We rarely get tornadoes in Guelph. No worries. We're good here.

Thinking things through takes time and effort gathering information and estimating probabilities. Then we can reassure each other, pretend bravery, cry for help, buy insurance, enjoy the adventure, make a video for the evening news, carry on, shelter in place, wait for fate, write a note for the blog, whatever. Informed choices work better.

On third thought, we could have avoided all the bother using some imagination, like checking the weather report in advance and picking a better day to shop. We'll check next time.

We all want a future that is safe and comfortable. We may not get what we want without waking up to threats, thinking things through, and finding creative solutions, all of our faculties working together. 

This note isn't about storms. It's about people in storms, and heat domes, drought, floods, wildfires, famine, war, threats that are becoming chronic because climate change is here and getting worse. It's about responding to the threat with actions that improve safety and comfort.

When the threat doesn't go away, how does one live with hyperarousal? Clearly it doesn't do any good to scream "we're all going to die" and keep it up until we're dead. We are all going to die, for sure; but it would be nice if our children and grandchildren had a chance to live because we valued their safety more than our comfort. Hyperarousal should last just long enough for us to wake up to the threat. After that we need to calm down, do the thinking, find creative solutions, and get to work.

As individuals, we find a way that doesn't always feel like progress. We see the threat, explore its implications, get depressed, snap out of it, make a plan, do something, rejoice when things work or lose hope when they don't and do it all over again and again. As communities, we and our friends are at different places in this, so there is some disagreement when we speak from our current point of view. Yelling louder convinces nobody. We need to listen.

If you are scared, listen to those who are being thoughtful about the state of the world because that is your path out of blind fear. If you've been paying attention and see how bad things really are, listen to those who are working on solutions, because productive action is your path out of overwhelming complexity. If you've been busy working on solutions, listen to those who are scared, and stay motivated because the future is not assured.

Whatever we are thinking about the climate emergency, let's be together in the storm.

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Severe thunderstorm warning for southern Ontario this afternoon. I stow the patio furniture in the garage, just in case. I'm listening.

State of the Climate: BBC, March 19, 2023.

Wildfires in Canada: Global News, July 11, 2023

Climate Anxiety Cartoons: CBC,
What on Earth, July 6, 2023.

The Anthropocene: CBC, July 11, 2023

Benefits of Renewable Energy: David Suzuki Foundation, May 30, 2023

Have We Got Enough Minerals: Just Have a Think, July 2, 2023

David Suzuki Survival Guide, Retrospective: CBC Ideas