Climate Connection:
Feeling Change: January
By John Lewis
The last few months we’ve been exploring climate change as an existential crisis. The scope of the problem calls into question the possibility of life itself.
A few important feelings make up the fabric of an existential crisis. The first is depression, which at its core is the loss of something important to us. It could be something that gives us pleasure or satisfaction, or someone who is intimately connected to our sense of who we are, such as a loved one.
Anxiety, the fear of loss of this object, is the second feeling. Without the object, we’ll lose some sense of satisfaction or even safety. It may trigger early feelings of loss, of being weaned without the words to describe our comfort and safety seemingly taken away.
Appeals to something being taken from us are powerful. They tap into deep, primal feelings, before we have words or reason to work through them.
Lurking behind much of the climate discussion is this anxiety. Our way of life is changing dramatically. And we may lose some of the things that give our lives meaning.
Depression and anxiety are natural experiences that we all have. They become a problem only when they no longer help us to adapt, to change, to go on living.
Hope is the last feeling and is harder to define. It’s not a wish for things to be better despite the evidence. That’s fantasy. Instead, we can glimpse hope in certain attitudes toward life, a choice to live as if the deeper and more true parts of us are the better parts. Even when the evidence doesn’t always show this.
This may be our last and most difficult task in these challenging times: not to give in to cynicism, viewing everything from the most narrow and least charitable viewpoint. But to try to see the better parts of others, even when they’re not always clear. This reveals the truth of our situation. Our existence, our very being, is not solely our own. It’s deeply entangled with the being of others.
The fear of losing a way of living is real. We must honor the fear regardless of the form it takes because we can’t go on living as we are, consuming the energy and resources we’re currently using. And this will mean difficult changes and loss.
But we do have a choice in how we move into this future. Do we go kicking and screaming? Or by working together to adapt to the here and now, and at the same time develop ways of living that reduce the burden on future generations. We can do both. These are not mutually exclusive paths. The past, present and future are always connected by the very fabric of life, of being itself.
The solution to this crisis can’t be retreating into our own minds or groups. In doing so, we cut off part of our very existence. Instead, hope enlarges our being. It enhances our sense of self by recognizing in others the same elements that make us who we are.
It’s this core of our being that we encounter in a crisis, and that we experience hope most directly. No matter how bleak the situation, there is something in us that refuses to accept it as final, that there is the possibility of something different, something better. Because we still have time to act.
This will be the last “Feeling Change” column. Many thanks to the Climate Connections group for all their support and help writing these articles. And for all who have read and been willing to explore the experience of change. Gunalchéesh.
Film to Show;
Benefit for Shelter
Sitka Homeless Coalition will host the showing of the movie ‘‘The Pursuit of Happyness’’ 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 30, at the Sitka Coliseum Theater,
The event is a fundraiser for Sitka Homeless Coalition and a chance for Sitkans to learn about Shelter Sitka.
‘Child Find’ Sets
Preschool Screening
Sitka School District provides Child Find Preschool Screenings for children ages 3-5 at the Baranof Elementary School. An appointment is required for the Monday, Jan. 24, screening. For more information, or to schedule one, parents should call (907) 966-1316.
The Child Find program is provided without charge to families who live within school district boundaries.
The program identifies children who are having difficulty in their development, and provides special education services to them, when appropriate.
Parents may have concerns about their child’s development in the areas of hearing, vision, speech/language skills, motor skills, thinking skills or emotional or social skills.
Screenings will be held at least once per quarter at Baranof Elementary School, and those dates will be publicized. Additional appointments at other times or locations may be scheduled as needed.
Sitka AmeriCorps
Day of Service
At Senior Center
Sitka AmeriCorps Program members will be cleaning, prepping, and painting the interior of the Swan Lake Senior Center in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Monday.
The event is held each year on the third Monday in January on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities.
Day of Service Projects, with AmeriCorps members in Alaska in partnership with organizations and tribal groups, will be held in several Alaska communities.
Serve Alaska promotes and supports volunteerism across the state and brings AmeriCorps programs to Alaska. It is overseen by no fewer than 15 and no more than 25 voting commission members appointed by the governor. The Serve Alaska sub-grantees operate in almost every region of the state, bringing support and training to rural and urban Alaska. Serve Alaska is housed within the Division for Community and Regional Affairs and the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development at the State of Alaska. To learn more about Serve Alaska, visit https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/dcra/ServeAlaska.
Alaska Day Panel
To Meet Tuesday
The Alaska Day Committee Board will hold its monthly meeting 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18, at Harrigan Centennial Hall.
All are invited to attend. Agenda items include election of officers and directors for the upcoming year and planning for the October Alaska Day Festival.
Questions can be directed to chairman Ted Allio, 747-5124.
‘Sitka Tell Tales’
Episode to Stream
Sitka Tells Tales, the live local storytelling series, will present the broadcast premiere of ‘‘Point of No Return: Stories When There is No Turning Back’’ 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18, on KCAW Raven Radio.
The episode, featuring Brian Hullfish, Louise Brady, Cheri Hample, Emily Kwong and Will Swagel, was originally recorded live before an audience at Beak Restaurant.
The next live new edition of Sitka Tells Tales is on Feb. 15 with the theme ‘‘Jumping Ship: Stories about Changing Course.’’
For information or to get involved with Sitka Tells Takes call (907) 738-2174.
