Rachel what a gripping and personal account of your courageous and insightful young journey as a young woman into your adult womanhood that you lead with heart and leadership. It is a great honor to learn from your platform continuously and you do offer hope as you warn that so many lives live in balance of our uncharted future and state of our planetary health or lack there of. You have become a missionary visisionary that brings such rich information as tools of our hopeful conviviality. Blessings to you always.i am a great fan of yours and I love you as a father would love his child because I am but a humble old man now but I stand behind in your struggle for a future that will provide our progeny a fighting chance to stage there own revolution for peace and fae greater equality for all..
What a wonderful tribute that I fully agree with as a subscribed member of Rachel's substack and a lifetime of studying and searching for how we can move beyond collapse.
Thank you Janet and I see that we are of a like mind. I would like to connect with you in some manner. You can likely connect with me directly via my presence on LinkedIn. I would very much like to learn more about you and collaborate with greater impact. My email and phone number should be available to you if you are a LinkedIn member. if not my email is 1ddavis@comcast.net. Please reach out to me at your earliest opportunity.
What a wonderful tribute that I fully agree with as a subscribed member of Rachel's substack and a lifetime of studying and searching for how we can move beyond collapse.
What a great post. I love this, Rachel! It so reflects why I came to Substack too - to try to get through beyond my academic work. Nothing is happening fast enough and I’m bringing kids into this world so feel deeply responsible to do all I can to make a positive dent. So thanks for your work. This particularly hit home: “The task of every parent and every ancestor is not finding bridges, but becoming them.” Keep going.
I graduated high school in 2009 on a largely unquestioned path toward "green" process engineering (a.k.a. chemical engineering)... aware enough of environmental issues but not having any kind of grasp of the depth of predicament(s) we face, I assumed I would be part of the solution.
I dropped out of university during my 2nd attempt at 2nd year for a multitude of reasons, not least of which was that the Deepwater Horizon disaster happened in 2010. It was at that point, looking at pictures of seabirds choked in oil, whole coastlines entirely devastated, that I viscerally understood that if I were to continue on the path I was on, I would most likely end up working directly for the industry that caused (and continues to cause) that level of horror.
At some point in there I read Derrick Jensen's book Endgame, and Daniel Quinn's Ishmael, among many others. My eyes were opened, and I couldn't close them again.
I collapsed into depression and a total loss of identity (school and good grades had been my one apparent strength, until they suddenly weren't). I've since then tried and tried and tried to reconcile "doing the things I need to immediately survive" (like working a job) with what I understand to be true about the nature of our predicament. I've been trapped in this backwards, crumbling, toxic culture of make-believe, at various points painfully aware, completely numbed, or in full-on denial of the scale of challenges we face.
I think I may have finally found a way forward (for myself) which is admittedly still wholly dependant upon the faltering systems of the global Goliath. I'm still unsure and quite unsteady on this path. I know it to be a wild "malinvestment" given my understanding of collapse and the failing systems I live within, and yet it appears to be something I can do myself, and which will allow me some sort of creative outlet and to finally find my voice. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense yet, but it seems to be something I'm compelled to do, for now. Maybe it will ultimately lead to something different, more sustainable. I don't know.
All that ramble to say that I find your work to be... reassuring, I suppose. I am a paid supporter of Planet: Critical because what you do, Rachel, and who and what you are, is so important. An inspiration. A role model. A guiding light in the dark; a reminder that there are always ways forward, if only we choose to find them. To become them.
Lovely post Rachel, thank you. It reminds me of a line I heard once from someone paraphrasing William Gibson's famous line (sorry, I forget who): the collapse is already here, it's just not evenly distributed ☮️🕊️🌻☀️
Glad to hear your voice and from your generation. There are many of us who've been living between the worlds in this way, I'm twenty years more spins ahead of you, your words help sustain the long years of weaving and remind me it's worth it. Thanks.
I am reminded by this tanza as written by Edna St. Vincent Millay.
"Upon this gifted age, in its dark hour, Rains from the sky a meteoric shower of facts; They lie unquestioned, uncombined. Wisdom enough to leech us of our ill is daily spun, But there exists no loom to weave it into fabric".
Beautiful, thank you Rachel. This is so similar to the path I've been walking too, since I quit my job twenty years ago.
Finding security in relationships and shared yearning rather than in money, and widening the cracks in the mainstream so that more and more of us can live there, building true resilience and living heartfelt days:
Thank you for sharing from your own journey. That’s really all we each have! I feel deeply that we humans are in a chrysalis time of imaginal transformation. We are imaginal (a word that includes imagination, but also the mysterious qualities of the imaginal cells in a chrysalis) in that we have some (possibly shared) premonitions of where we are going, but also absolutely no idea.
The awareness of our absolute vulnerability keeps many people from acknowledging the journey into this rapid, anthropogenic extinction event.
Surfing tsunamis is impossible, and yet the mere existence of life is an impossibility as well.
I commend you for continuing to be as true as yiu can be to your calling, which I have taken to calling “empathetic enquiry” …. not as a total description, of course, it just seems to me like what you are doing - and is also a vital, vital part of the love that the world needs now!
This is your most revelatory and moving piece. Thank you for it. In the philosophy of Collapse the two concepts that I have the hardest time with are powerlessness and acceptance. I don’t like either of them, and I have plenty of reasons. I don’t see that you’ve interviewed Brian D. McLaren about Life After Doom. Maybe you’ve steered clear because of the faith component, but I think it would make a good interview.
Good overview Rachel - hopefully it will be read far and wide. Yet in the face of increasing change and turbulence, many people will just cling on to what they know or expect, many will not have the risk appetite to strike out into the unknown - this is where those who can need to continue to provide support and insight.
I am a young woman new to the sustainability workforce and constantly trying to keep one foot in “what I am supposed to do” at this age and also trying to contribute to a future I would like. This text felt like an older sister carefully giving her story as an inspiration and learning opportunity. Thank you for this deeply personal and reflective text, it felt sort of like a warm cup of tea to read for me.
Great piece! Retirement finally allowed me to withdraw from the rat race able to subsist on Social Security, meager as it is. Years ago I thought retirement was one's "Golden Years" but alas, it's more like a nightmare as the U.S. breaks down all around me in the collapse you and others here understand. I relish not working my old 50 hour work week and have mostly withdrawn into reading and writing. I am dismayed by the ignorance and violence that swirls around me and my urban neighbors. My challenge is to stay positive enough so as not to depress the H out of my millennial daughter who is just starting out in the rat race I left behind, in a world that is horribly askew. Trying to stay hopeful to be that bridge.
Thanks Rachel, well said! It seems that, young or old, we are all stuck in this bewildering interregnum: we know why civilization is unravelling but have yet to create a unifying narrative of plausible futures. I used to think this was simply a colossal failure of imagination, but the more I learn about this fin de siècle / cul de sac of a culture we inhabit the more overwhelmed I become. Thank you for making me feel that I’m not alone!
Rachel what a gripping and personal account of your courageous and insightful young journey as a young woman into your adult womanhood that you lead with heart and leadership. It is a great honor to learn from your platform continuously and you do offer hope as you warn that so many lives live in balance of our uncharted future and state of our planetary health or lack there of. You have become a missionary visisionary that brings such rich information as tools of our hopeful conviviality. Blessings to you always.i am a great fan of yours and I love you as a father would love his child because I am but a humble old man now but I stand behind in your struggle for a future that will provide our progeny a fighting chance to stage there own revolution for peace and fae greater equality for all..
Thank you so much, David! Your words move me.
What a wonderful tribute that I fully agree with as a subscribed member of Rachel's substack and a lifetime of studying and searching for how we can move beyond collapse.
Thank you Janet and I see that we are of a like mind. I would like to connect with you in some manner. You can likely connect with me directly via my presence on LinkedIn. I would very much like to learn more about you and collaborate with greater impact. My email and phone number should be available to you if you are a LinkedIn member. if not my email is 1ddavis@comcast.net. Please reach out to me at your earliest opportunity.
What a wonderful tribute that I fully agree with as a subscribed member of Rachel's substack and a lifetime of studying and searching for how we can move beyond collapse.
What a great post. I love this, Rachel! It so reflects why I came to Substack too - to try to get through beyond my academic work. Nothing is happening fast enough and I’m bringing kids into this world so feel deeply responsible to do all I can to make a positive dent. So thanks for your work. This particularly hit home: “The task of every parent and every ancestor is not finding bridges, but becoming them.” Keep going.
Thank you Jonathan! Keep bridging.
I graduated high school in 2009 on a largely unquestioned path toward "green" process engineering (a.k.a. chemical engineering)... aware enough of environmental issues but not having any kind of grasp of the depth of predicament(s) we face, I assumed I would be part of the solution.
I dropped out of university during my 2nd attempt at 2nd year for a multitude of reasons, not least of which was that the Deepwater Horizon disaster happened in 2010. It was at that point, looking at pictures of seabirds choked in oil, whole coastlines entirely devastated, that I viscerally understood that if I were to continue on the path I was on, I would most likely end up working directly for the industry that caused (and continues to cause) that level of horror.
At some point in there I read Derrick Jensen's book Endgame, and Daniel Quinn's Ishmael, among many others. My eyes were opened, and I couldn't close them again.
I collapsed into depression and a total loss of identity (school and good grades had been my one apparent strength, until they suddenly weren't). I've since then tried and tried and tried to reconcile "doing the things I need to immediately survive" (like working a job) with what I understand to be true about the nature of our predicament. I've been trapped in this backwards, crumbling, toxic culture of make-believe, at various points painfully aware, completely numbed, or in full-on denial of the scale of challenges we face.
I think I may have finally found a way forward (for myself) which is admittedly still wholly dependant upon the faltering systems of the global Goliath. I'm still unsure and quite unsteady on this path. I know it to be a wild "malinvestment" given my understanding of collapse and the failing systems I live within, and yet it appears to be something I can do myself, and which will allow me some sort of creative outlet and to finally find my voice. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense yet, but it seems to be something I'm compelled to do, for now. Maybe it will ultimately lead to something different, more sustainable. I don't know.
All that ramble to say that I find your work to be... reassuring, I suppose. I am a paid supporter of Planet: Critical because what you do, Rachel, and who and what you are, is so important. An inspiration. A role model. A guiding light in the dark; a reminder that there are always ways forward, if only we choose to find them. To become them.
Thank you, Geoff. I know so many have tread your path. Thank you for being here.
Lovely post Rachel, thank you. It reminds me of a line I heard once from someone paraphrasing William Gibson's famous line (sorry, I forget who): the collapse is already here, it's just not evenly distributed ☮️🕊️🌻☀️
Glad to hear your voice and from your generation. There are many of us who've been living between the worlds in this way, I'm twenty years more spins ahead of you, your words help sustain the long years of weaving and remind me it's worth it. Thanks.
I feel the same way and can relate very much to this narrative :) You are such a good writer
I am reminded by this tanza as written by Edna St. Vincent Millay.
"Upon this gifted age, in its dark hour, Rains from the sky a meteoric shower of facts; They lie unquestioned, uncombined. Wisdom enough to leech us of our ill is daily spun, But there exists no loom to weave it into fabric".
Beautiful, thank you Rachel. This is so similar to the path I've been walking too, since I quit my job twenty years ago.
Finding security in relationships and shared yearning rather than in money, and widening the cracks in the mainstream so that more and more of us can live there, building true resilience and living heartfelt days:
https://sulbooks.com/site/2021/5/16/where-the-sidewalk-cracks-part-2-interstitial-insurrection
Thank you for sharing from your own journey. That’s really all we each have! I feel deeply that we humans are in a chrysalis time of imaginal transformation. We are imaginal (a word that includes imagination, but also the mysterious qualities of the imaginal cells in a chrysalis) in that we have some (possibly shared) premonitions of where we are going, but also absolutely no idea.
The awareness of our absolute vulnerability keeps many people from acknowledging the journey into this rapid, anthropogenic extinction event.
Surfing tsunamis is impossible, and yet the mere existence of life is an impossibility as well.
I commend you for continuing to be as true as yiu can be to your calling, which I have taken to calling “empathetic enquiry” …. not as a total description, of course, it just seems to me like what you are doing - and is also a vital, vital part of the love that the world needs now!
I love this essay so much Rachel.
This is your most revelatory and moving piece. Thank you for it. In the philosophy of Collapse the two concepts that I have the hardest time with are powerlessness and acceptance. I don’t like either of them, and I have plenty of reasons. I don’t see that you’ve interviewed Brian D. McLaren about Life After Doom. Maybe you’ve steered clear because of the faith component, but I think it would make a good interview.
Brilliant.
Good overview Rachel - hopefully it will be read far and wide. Yet in the face of increasing change and turbulence, many people will just cling on to what they know or expect, many will not have the risk appetite to strike out into the unknown - this is where those who can need to continue to provide support and insight.
I am a young woman new to the sustainability workforce and constantly trying to keep one foot in “what I am supposed to do” at this age and also trying to contribute to a future I would like. This text felt like an older sister carefully giving her story as an inspiration and learning opportunity. Thank you for this deeply personal and reflective text, it felt sort of like a warm cup of tea to read for me.
That means a great deal, Annabel, thank you. I'm glad you're here.
Great piece! Retirement finally allowed me to withdraw from the rat race able to subsist on Social Security, meager as it is. Years ago I thought retirement was one's "Golden Years" but alas, it's more like a nightmare as the U.S. breaks down all around me in the collapse you and others here understand. I relish not working my old 50 hour work week and have mostly withdrawn into reading and writing. I am dismayed by the ignorance and violence that swirls around me and my urban neighbors. My challenge is to stay positive enough so as not to depress the H out of my millennial daughter who is just starting out in the rat race I left behind, in a world that is horribly askew. Trying to stay hopeful to be that bridge.
Thanks Rachel, well said! It seems that, young or old, we are all stuck in this bewildering interregnum: we know why civilization is unravelling but have yet to create a unifying narrative of plausible futures. I used to think this was simply a colossal failure of imagination, but the more I learn about this fin de siècle / cul de sac of a culture we inhabit the more overwhelmed I become. Thank you for making me feel that I’m not alone!