As runaway abrupt climate change and it’s brutal reality bares down on us with the speed of a tsunami, another little discussed side affect is grief. I shall try to cover it in this blog and provide some avenues for readers to seek solace and solidarity below.
Those of us who are monitoring the unraveling of the biosphere will be fully aware of this aching phenomenon already but our numbers are relatively few (sic) due to the lies and obfuscating taking place regarding the severity of the crisis, yet when the awareness of the imminent demise of our species dawns on the afflicted planets populace, all the symptoms of grief will manifest on a monumental scale!
Sadness, depression, anger, denial, resignation, pick your poison (sic), try and be gentle with yourself and those you interact with. Embrace your grief, acknowledge it, share it with those you trust. Support those of your friends, colleagues and neighbours who are suffering, it really is best shared.
In recent times renowned climate bloggers have been courageous enough to admit in public how their research has driven some of them to the edge of despair, you are not alone;
Michael Slezak writing for The Guardian Environment;
My professional detachment has finally turned to panic
“One day in his office, he reviewed a new study about the release of methane from the ocean floor and saw, more starkly than ever before, the conundrum the world faced. It wasn’t simply that they needed to consume less, to bring humanity’s impact on the biosphere under control, it was that there were just too many people, and even allowing for technological change and economic restructuring, the planet was on a collision course with disaster. In the United States and India floods covered millions of square kilometres, in Africa and Europe the heat was growing ever more intense and in Indonesia and Brazil and Malaysia the forests were burning, yet he and Ellie were trying to have a baby. What sort of world would that child inherit? Were they really doing the right thing by bringing another life into it?”
More on the much under reported methane risk here;
Arctic Methane Emergency Group
“Dr. Maria Salta, a biological oceanographer and lecturer in environmental microbiology in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Portsmouth, echoed this dire outlook on the state of the oceans.””For shrimpers, 80 percent of everything caught is bycatch and thrown back for dead. It is a mode of mass marine extinction.”
“It is clear that if we continue like this, in a few years time, there is not going to be much left,” she told Truthout, speaking about the impacts of ACD, pollution and overfishing. “We are losing species every day without ever knowing about them. Sometimes humans can be like a plague to the environment.”
The rest of Dahr Jamails’ great article is embedded below;
Dahr Jamail | Global Fisheries Are Collapsing — What Happens When There Are No Fish Left?
Another case in point Neven Curlin from the Arctic Sea Ice Blog;
“But a problem was emerging — Curlin wasn’t just tracking the change, he was feeling it too. As he wrote in 2012, shortly after the record fell:….this stunning melting season has made me even more acutely aware of the gravity of what is taking place….To be able to watch and write about the Arctic sea ice, I used to block out the realisation of risks, so that I could make a joke here and there and be scientifically reticent in my own amateur way, keeping up appearances, acting objective.But my bubble has burst. I’m already watching past the minimum. As the melting season ends, it feels as if things are only beginning. The age of consequences.”
I highly recommend this podcast courtesy of Deb Ozarko speaking with Dahr Jamail;
Passion, Courage and truth: Reporting from Ground Zero with Dahr Jamail
From the excellent climate blogger Eric Holthaus;
“There are days where I literally can’t work. I’ll read a story & shut down for rest of the day. Not much helps besides exercise & time.”
On our recent NZ wide speaking tour Professor Guy McPherson and I spoke to audiences in university’s and public venues and a very important aspect of the tour was addressing the emotional response to our message as the cold hard reality of what we have collectively inflicted on the biosphere sunk into our audiences psyche. They were to a large degree already aware of the severity of the crisis but often feel isolated due to the grief denying culture many of us live in.
Most of the N.Z. presentations have been embedded below by my dear friend and colleague Wolfgang Werminghausen.
Schneller als gedacht / Faster than previously thought
From Professor McPherson’s website;
“I’ve received many requests for a workshop focused on emotions rather than evidence. Such a workshop is described here . It is available in your hometown and also in Belize.”
A number of Facebook groups have been established to help people come to terms with their grief for our afflicted biosphere. For the sake of brevity I have embedded a number below in no particular order. If joining please ensure you observe the philosophy of the groups and remember we are there to support each other in any way we can.
Much respect to the diligent, hard working admins.
Near Term Human Extinction Love
Near Term Human Extinction Support Group
Near Term Human Extinction Evidence group
Ruppert’s Restaurant Named after the late great Michael C Ruppert
My dear friend and colleague Pauline Schneider is in the process of editing a documentary based on footage shot on our recent NZ speaking tour. A Facebook page has been created with a short trailer embedded here;
Only Love Remains Dancing at the Edge of Extinction
To those of my many darling friends, especially my ‘Tribe’ on Rakino Island who often ask how I am feeling, chronicling the unraveling of the biosphere, I must quote my dear friend Professor Guy McPherson; “I have a long list of people I would like to see dead, my name isn’t on it”.
“At the edge of extinction, only love remains”. Be gentle with one another, starting with yourself.
Aroha Nui. Much love, be gentle.
K
Activist, sailor, passionate about the earth and all it's inhabitants without favour . Brace for imminent impact as we bare witness to the non-linear unraveling of the biosphere and habitability disappearing for most if not all complex life on the only habitable planet we know of. To quote President Niinistö in North Russia: ‘If We Lose the Arctic, We Lose the World’. Folks we have lost the Arctic.
Well said Kevin. Our politicians and the main stream media are spineless and only deserve our contempt. We need to discard them to the scrap heap as they deserve. So much pain and suffering could have been avoided if they had done their job.
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Remember the phrase (most likely purloined from a 80’s nuclear armageddon movie), “will the living envy the dead”.
Most likely at some point.
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War of the Worlds – the preacher song
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Reblogged this on Nick Robson's Blog.
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It is a strange time. I made a comment a while back which you acknowledged that summed up my experience. It said something to the effect of “Just when I needed you most you left me, for you did not have the fortitude to love me. Those who wish to think themselves loving wish for the enlightened to lie so they might continue to love them. I feel for anyone who encounters this type of generosity.” That pretty much sums up my experience. I have never experienced anything so gut wrenching in my life, and I still cannot think of it without great difficulty. But at least I understand it now. My wife had a great deal of faith and trust in me. She would always gloat about how much I knew and how I could be asked almost anything and always have a thoughtful answer about it. When I began to realize the severity of the problem she was a completely different person. She had to question my sanity, to question why she was with me, (I didn’t used to be so paranoid) and she had to question why I completely dropped a three year project I was working on to right a book about religion. She could not understand that my work was no longer about me. It was about us; humanity. And I couldn’t work on anything but that. But she had to question me, because she trusted me so much and had so much faith in me that the things I began telling her she just could not psychologically accept. So she just didn’t. And it was entirely an unconscious psychological self-defense mechanism on her part. Everything she believed for a decade went out the window. Something was wrong with me, because there is no way anything I was saying could be true. I can explain much better now why it is true as a result. But I hope anyone who has the opportunity to read this will carefully consider how they deal with others regarding this topic. I was well into my stages of grief when I just dropped it on her. I I feel so very bad about that now. But ignorance is the cause of all our pain though, isn’t it?
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I totally and absolutely get this sentiment, been there experienced that.This is uncharted territory, navigating in a fog of despair is and will be very difficult, form a tribe, stick together.
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There are two books which provide some explanations for the resistance and denial that occur when people are exposed to such a shocking revelation as the threat of human extinction:
“Don’t Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change,” by George Marshall (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014)
“Marshall presents the psychological research demonstrating why climate change simply doesn’t feel dangerous enough to justify action and how we can trick our brains into changing our sense of urgency about the problem.” – Booklist
“What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming: Toward a New Psychology of Climate Action,” by Per Espen Stoknes (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2015).
Identifies the five main psychological barriers to climate action and offers new strategies for how to talk about global warming in a way that creates positive solutions, meaningful action, and support for policy.
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@ John. Did your wife divorce you. What was the outcome?
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Yes. Simplified, it was the result of my own grief and desperation for a meaningful future that was the cause, coupled with her unwillingness to attempt to understand the validity in my assertions. This is understandable given the state I was in. After all, I guess who would want to spend the rest of their life with someone in that condition, not understanding it nor knowing if it would continue or get worse. I spent a number of years swaying between the bargaining and anger phases of grief. The depression phase only seemed to last for a couple months with the divorce. After that I have since been doing quite well. I will be leaving to hike the Appalachian Trail in late March and am back to my old carefree self. I just laugh at everything now. All has become just a tragic comedy to me now. I think the best medicine is music, nature, laughter and friendship. Oh… And also throwing wrenches in the cogs of the suicide machine. Troublemakers are always a lot of fun to be around.
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Your comment shows a lot of insight and self awareness, thank you for it. I’m sorry you went through this with your wife. I feel like you do in terms of trying to deal with it personally and in relation to those I love. My son and his partner are in the process of adopting a baby……..they are both very intelligent. We’re all close, but even this this amazing closness…..I just can’t rub it in his face. Perhaps he’s thinking the same way towards me. You did the best you could……ignorance is indeed ( imo) the cause of all our pain. But we act from the state of consciousness we have at any given time. All we can to is keep waking up. I’m a Zen Buddhist and Master Sheng Yen, my teacher said: “Face it, accept it, do something about it and drop it” <continuously as you move through life. I've found it very good advice. We can't stay on the hamster wheel of pain. We have to keep moving with eyes open and care of self/others. That's my goal …………of course we imperfect. My daughter once said to me "muh muh….you should'nt say ( some thing or other) – You're a Zen Buddhist. I said, "I'm on the path!"
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I’m drowning in grief for the world – have been for quite some time. It’s a lot like torture. Thank you for this a direct but gentle state-of-the-climate report. I especially appreciate having the links all in one place as I prepare my next podcast, to include a NTE update in light of the recent report of record-breaking global warming. In just one year, we’re on the brink of the 1.5C to which the COP(out)21 paid their lip service. Predictions for this year depend on whether we believe there wil or will not be an El Nino. What do you think?
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I believe now alongside numerous climate scientists that we are no longer La Nina neutral and that another El Nino is building. Depending on how much momentum it develops there will be a corresponding increased risk for our coral reef systems, already in hospice
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See also these other NTHE abd related Faceboo Groups and Pages:
Clarifying Near Term Human Extinction (C-NTHE)
Near Term Human Extinction- LESSmoderated
Near Term Human Extinction Support Group Europe
NTE News
NTHE Comics
NTHE Partner/Place Finder
NTHE “Party” Planning Team
NTHE Philosophy Group
NTHE Spiritual Support Group
NTHE Vegan Folks
Planetary Hospice
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Habitat is collapsing world wide, anyone paying attention can or should be able to see it.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/20/the-threat-to-species-from-climate-change-should-provoke-shame-in-our-hearts?CMP=share_btn_tw
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When the cod fish were supposedly fished out on the Grand Bankes I often wonder if it was an early sign of warmer water in the region.
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One long essay discusses in detail what it will mean to accept not only our own death and that of our family and friends, but also the death of civilization, our species, and all that we hold dear.
https://guymcpherson.com/2013/04/the-irreconcilable-acceptance-of-near-term-extinction/
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“It was pretty overwhelming how many people responded,” Holthaus told me. “I’ve never had that big of a response to anything I’ve ever written either on Twitter or as a journalist. I think [climate despair] is a pretty big thing that a lot of people don’t realize is going on right now.”
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/climate-change-is-giving-us-pre-traumatic-stress
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I have no one to share my pain with, no family, no friends, no children thank goodness, I have no one I can trust, I live alone.
Most people here are believers in ancient superstitions, their “repuglicons” & quite conservative & it seems, anti science.
I don’t share their interests in religion, politics, family, home, spouse, cooking, children, work etc, there is no one I can talk to or share common interests with except online but that’s rather isolating as well.
So where is this blog you mention Kevin? “You might want to go see what they’re up to! Perhaps you will like their blog as much as they liked your comment! ” Where where where???
I guess I’m “lucky” to be 76, I don’t have much longer to live in any case & I know many effective ways to off myself, that’s what you do when your depressed most of your life, research effective ways to end it all in the least painful & messy way possible.
My recommendations are carbon monoxide, nice “healthy” looking, pink corpse & hanging. Surprisingly, hanging done right is quick & apparently not painful, you pass out then die, you don’t want to be left hanging too long though!
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Great discussion from Professor Guy McPherson on grieving.
https://guymcpherson.com/2017/04/recent-video-from-marc-haneburght-2/
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“A new series of interviews called: ‘Conversation with Grief’ starts with Jon Young and his beautiful ways of weaving words and heart.”
“Jon Young: For over 30 years, Jon Young has been a leader in the field of village building, nature-based education, Permaculture and cultural mentoring, implementing vital advancements in the understanding and benefits of effective nature- and people-connection modeling. Jon is a deep nature connection mentor, wildlife tracker, peacemaker, author, workshop leader, village builder, consultant, inspiring public speaker and storyteller. ”
“It is the first of a series of interviews with women and men engaging fully with our collapsing world, our dying systems, our grief and our deep longing to fully participate in our world in ways of soul and beauty.”
http://www.souland.org/my-blog/conversations-with-grief-with-jon-young
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“Is the anxiety, grief, and depression that these people experience about their environment, their life, their community, and their planet simply a manifestation of a transient news report today that will become a non-issue tomorrow? Or is it a real mental health problem worthy of attention among the professional community? A clear awareness of this threat to mental health can help us recognize and respond to it.”
https://ecoamerica.org/2017/04/closer-look-ecological-stress-disorder/?utm_content=bufferbda0f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer
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[…] liferafts which would at least provide psychological comfort would in some small way mitigate the Tsunami of Grief baring down on us. Alas denial and fascism rule at the end of the human epoch. In 2014 and 2016 I […]
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“the Tsunami of Grief” is being proceeded by global angst. That is visible but unacknowledged in politics with the success of La Pen, 45 and his Ignoranti. Global population overshoot and collapse from starvation, now expected NLT 2024, has led me to consider opting out of the inevitable decline in my quality of life either following the examples of Thich Quang Duc at the individual level, or Jonestown at the group level. Shawn Sphincter came up with the perfect name for the latter: “Holocaust Centers,” except they will be voluntary. The 60th anniversary of Thich Quang Duc’s demise will be 6/11/2023. Time enough to prepare those centers?
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You might want to look up “Planetary Hospice”: https://www.facebook.com/earthanatology/
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Epic work on the subject of grief from a veritable expert who challenges the grief denying culture we are all a part of.
There is a tsunami building lets help each other through the grief.
“At the edge of extinction, only love remains”.
Pamela Spoto’s “Dig This” Environmental Watch interview’s Carolyn Baker on “Holding Grief And Joy When Facing Climate Change” Part 1 http://kkrn.org/broadcasts/1724
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Anyone who is in any way aware of the chaos unfolding on our planet is grieving. Acknowledged or not you are experiencing it.
We live in a grief denying culture which pressures people to bottle it up and not show how they are feeling with the subsequent physical and mental consequences.
Personally I’m glad that I have found people who are motivated to have the conversations on subjects most people ignore, at their peril.
“Grief is a love letter to life” beautiful…………
http://xwer.de/en/fte-014-grief-composting-circles
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Hi from Ecuador
Thanks for this post, which nails how many are feeling. It hurts my heart to witness what’s happening, and to also witness how many who don’t seem to care.
We see the changes, witness the continued rape of the resources, and still a large percentage of people don’t awaken. I drove through a section of the country where the deforestation is alarming,yet they continue to cut down more to plant crops or make pastures. There was an old quote, “An ungrateful man is like a pig under a tree eating acorns, never looking up to see where they came from.”
I am not surprised that ‘Pachamama’ is having tantrums; if I were her, I’d be bucking more while trying to get rid of the human pests.
Thank you again for all that you do, even if the news is not pretty.
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When the new scientific formula on clean energy discovered, the Paris agreement on climate change is funny because the world’s energy problem can be solved soon!
This new hydroelectric scientific formula (E>P+1at) is the near future of renewable energy in the world!
We can answer them with a new scientific formula which not only Mr President President Donald Trump will be pleased but also all the polluting industries in shock plunge and join me! The result is a 24-year-old research proves that the world’s energy problem will be solved soon!
(Ee>Ep+E1at) = (E>P+1at)
What is the most difficult scientific question of global hydroelectric that no one scientists could the answer to it?
Now the hard global question!
How can we produce clean energy in a best way by the potential of water Static head in dams & seas that this water pressure can push to the center of planet?
Answer:
This is by getting benefit of joint scientific formula (E>P+1at) with immersion turbines method inside the water of dams & seas (Immersion turbines of series and parallel in zero point of opposite forces).
Ee= High pressure clean energy that is produced by the water power plants in the depth of water via released fixed potential energy of water natural pressure (More than ten meters of water) with new method (Immersion turbines of series and parallel in zero point of opposite forces).
Ep= Released fixed potential energy of water natural pressure in water depth (More than ten meters of water).
E1at= Amount of energy that is consumed at a small pump of one atmosphere power is the ability (In the same place of the water power plant in water depth).
Many scientists believe that the discovery of the formula is unparalleled. Although many still in shock! How this formula has not be discovered by scientists in the world. Answer to a hard question that scientists are searching for hundreds of years and they can control of climate change and stop global warming soon.
My new formula and new method can change the world and start a new industrial revolution soon. Note: This new solution and this new formula invention in Iraq and Turkey to formally accepted.
This invention is patented in Department of Justice in Kurdistan of Iraq No. 952/6 on 12/6/2013.
http://rudaw.net/NewsDetails.aspx?pageid=110844
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An entirely new, totally unknown heretofore, incomparable because we have never experienced this before – the end of days. Unstoppable. We are daydreaming through a nightmare. My poor uneducated reaction is just to “Keep calm and carry on”. Oddly enough I note around me a barely detectable air of resignation, with the resigners not able to put into words the reason for their feeling.Let’s just enjoy the ride, best we can before the rage against our impotence manifests itself. Graham.
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Stephen Jenkinson podcast;
https://orphanwisdom.com/on-grief-and-climate-change/
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Would like to share this on our climate site but my colleagues would be down on me for doing so. Not that they would disagree, but because it’s seen as a no no to communicate despondence. The logic behind being optimistic no matter what pervades the environmental movement. So much so that I’m often pulled back from honestly saying it as it is. And this meme is so strong and widespread I sometimes wonder if the optimism meme is on the right track.
Can’t answer that, except for two things: 1. Makes me uncomfortable being dishonest. 2. Even if most activists deliberately fake optimism (for good reason) it’s really important that at least some people spell it out without fear. Otherwise we can get to believe in the pragmatic spin and this leads society into wrong decisions going forward.
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I was getting very depressed and resigned to it all. A short illness gave me time to reflect, realisation dawning that the depression was pervasive, it was pulling me down. Changing the paradigm into one of just ‘Relaxed Awareness’ is helping me cope with reality. Psycho-Soma is helping my return to good health; hopefully. Graham
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Thanks for your thoughts Graham, we all have to develop ‘coping strategies’, hopefully we can all help each other through this stage of our collective journey.
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Exit strategy, Susan Livingston going where few care to travel, having the difficult discussions;”I’m a bit nervous about sharing Sequitur: Exit Strategy with a general audience due to its bold treatment of controversial topics such as conscious death, assisted dying, euthanasia, and suicide. The featured interview is with Tomorrow Never Knows Producer/Director Adam Sekuler and Buddhist Chaplain Darci Meyers and includes one of the songs from the movie, Carole King’s Goin’ Back sung by Dusty Springfield. David Wolinsky’s short poem Ghost Story provides a cultural enhancement, and Elizabeth West brings a Sunset Windows practice called Sensing Joy. Benjamin the Donkey offers his two cents’ worth. Theme music is by Zympht. Run time: 80 minutes.”
https://panina.org/2017/11/26/exit-strategy/
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2018, how could it not be a year of grieving;
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/05/14/great-grief-how-cope-losing-our-world
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Love And Loss In The Anthropocene
“As a species, we have been unable to meet the challenges posed by our own misguided attachment to growth.”
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/03/21/love-and-loss-anthropocene?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork
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We’ve entered the era of ‘fire tsunamis’
https://grist.org/article/weve-entered-the-era-of-fire-tsunamis/?utm_content=bufferb6bf5&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
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The tsunami is building, day by day.
https://grist.org/article/climate-grief-un-ipcc-report/?utm_content=buffer35edc&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
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As the tsunami of grief builds we have a few moments to prepare for what will be the perfect storm.
Very, very soon it will reach monumental proportions in our already stressed youth.
Avoiding this subject is akin to ignoring the smoke coming under the door from a fire in the next room.
We’ve completely failed in leaving our youth a hope filled future.
Start thinking about what you’re going to tell them now, don’t wait for the inevitable confrontation and then find yourself lost for words. At the very least they deserve an honest appraisal of the predicament.
Since I became an offshore sailor, I’ve mentally prepared for the day when my ship is sinking and what I would say to my crew.
Much of what I’d say is contained in this essay, except in this sinking, no one is coming to the rescue and there are no lifeboats.
Good luck everyone, this skipper has little more to add as the final voyage draws to a rocky conclusion.
https://weeklyhubris.com/finding-meanings-in-life/
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