Fire and Ice
by Robert Frost

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
.

With some slight changes and additions, the following was first published in January 2020 – pre-pandemic. At that time, Australia was burning and we were getting more and more news of increasing polar melt. I thought climate change would be the theme for that year. However, with the coming of the pandemic, our attention shifted dramatically. We were already overwhelmed and climate change was not top of mind. So here it is again.

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On one hand, Fire and Ice is about the legacy we elders are lovingly creating. On the other hand, it is about the emerging fire in the bellies of the younger generations. Bravo to both! And, in both cases, it is about choosing to Be FULLY and Fully BE in this time of global transformation.

Who knows? Perhaps there will be some form of step-change that miraculously reverses the self-reinforcing, closed-loop course of climate change. That would be a gift beyond measure. And yet, in the meantime, our Mother Earth seeks to find homeostasis in the same way that we humans do when we have a fever. So, miracle or not, just in case, it’s good to be both present and ready to face Earth’s responses as She seeks a new healthy balance for Herself.

In a conversation with my wonderful mentor, Willis Harman, during the 1990s (a decade I devoted to global sustainability), he spoke of this time as a hinge in history. I asked him what he recommended as action. He said, “Stay awake. The more awake and aware you are, the less you will suffer and the more you will be able to help reduce the suffering of others.”

Photo by Barbara
Lake Harriet
Minneapolis, MN