Out of the frying pan and into the fire

A small group has awoken Smaug. He's descended upon all of us. The fire is potentially existential. What should we do now?

This feels apt

As the Earth nears another full cycle orbiting this solar system’s sun, many people from different traditions take stock. Some celebrate. Some drink and eat so much they swear to never do it again (inevitably getting back into it a week later). Some sit in quiet reflection, pondering what was, what might be and how to act with real virtue going forward. Some honestly couldn’t give a fuck (about the time of year and all that comes with it).

All of these rituals and practices are beyond the scope of today’s brief musing.

For what it’s worth, I am doing my version of this. In fact, I pretty much do this daily. I actively practice reflexivity. I ponder possibility. I sit with what is arising. I walk the bush, breathe deeply and observe attentively. I try to make sense of historical patterns, deep narratives, power structures and myriad other topics. And most importantly, I engage in the process of acting on what I think I am learning (which always occurs relationally).

I do all of this on the daily because I give a fuck. And so do you.

The truth is, everyone gives a fuck about something. Usually it’s lots of things. It’s your kids, your partner/s, your communities, your spiritual practice/s, your garden etc. Sometimes we give lots of fucks about stuff that I have, can and will likely continue to argue in various settings, is less than particularly meaningful (specific and detailed examples of what I really mean here, such as an obsession with wealth and power, are beyond the scope of this brief musing).

Giving lots of fucks about the wrong stuff has arguably been one of the biggest contributors to systemic ecological overshoot, rampant inequality, seriously scary political instability and a bunch of other stuff. You may have heard this referred to as the metacrisis, the total ecosystem of all global crises and the common underlying dynamics that generate catastrophic and existential risks.

Soooooo much could be said about these ‘underlying dynamics’. But for now, I’m gonna throw this into the bucket (feels a little like a greasy bucket of KFC… Moving on!) of giving lots of fucks about the ‘wrong’ things.

Alright, so this is the basic setup. Let’s go on a quick adventure with Bilbo and friends.

In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins is swept up in a pretty epic quest to take back the sacred home of Thorin Oakenshield and co. Skipping over plenty of detail. Thorin eventually becomes obsessed with a particular jewell. As a result of wanting it more than anything, his ‘leadership’ results in the awakening of a pretty bad ass and very scary talking dragon, Smaug (Smaug was originally attracted by the Dwarves treasure hoarding, which resulted in death, destruction and the long-term loss of their home).

Pissed off that this small crew was trying to take what was his, Smaug eventually punishes the small group by descending on Esgaroth, or ‘Lake-town’. His intention is clear. He is going to destroy the town, whilst those ‘responsible’ watch from the top of the mountain.

Although this isn’t a perfect match to our current predicament, there’s a lot of patterning here that maps to what we have seen in humanity.

We kind of start by going astray (which is never one thing, but rather a complex weaving of ideas and stories and conflicts and pursuits and all kinds of other stuff).

We begin to explicitly and implicitly value the wrong things.

We begin to seek out these things, pretty much at the expense of all else.

Seeking out these things, within a constrained biosphere, results in a few getting lots and many getting little (there’s a huge amount of nuance to this point. Just hold that. Be with it. Try not to react. Recognise that I, like you, know that some of this patterning has been ‘good’. Some of this patterning has enabled utter brilliance and beauty and plenty more. This patterning has enabled me to write this on a fancy laptop. This patterning has given me clean and reliable drinking water and sanitation. This has given me soooooo much. I am profoundly grateful, but I’m sticking with my point).

This patterning, over hundreds of years, results in some serious ass consequences, such as transgressing 1.5 degrees of warming relative to pre-industrial global averages (along with 5 other planetary boundaries).

Because of the way that the treasure has been distributed, those without are already, and will continue, suffering the most, even though they’ve been orders and orders of magnitude less causally implicated in the whole situation.

We know this stuff. Seriously. We can’t afford the politically charged, poorly intentioned debate anymore. We don’t need more white papers or one directional presentations. We have a very good idea of what is going on. We have a darn good sense of how we got here. We have plenty of folks relating to this whole process with genuine integrity and deep wisdom. And, we have a very real opportunity to lean into this, express the best of our collective capacities, and find ways forward.

But do not be fooled. Shit is getting real. It’s going to get more real. There is no magic solution to bringing life back within the safe operating zone. There is no technology that will just fix this. And, perhaps most concerning of all, our current systems show close to no signs of supporting the type of transition (direction and speed) that would enable all of us to find ways through and beyond these challenges, and into some type of shared existence where we have what we need (I use the word need here very deliberately), where we healthily relate to one another, where a big chunk of our life is actually spent doing what is meaningful to us.

So, what to do? And how can giving a fuck about the right things help us figure it out?

That is the question. It is not for me or any specific actor or institution to answer and then dictate. Rather, this is something we have to exist in relation to. This is something we have to do. And we have to do it together.

So perhaps tomorrow, whilst you’re having a yarn at Christmas (for those who celebrate), ask someone (I’m not at all suggesting you use this charged language. This can absolutely be fam friendly) what it is that they really give a fuck about? Show interest. Dive deeper into it. Explore with curiosity. Then share how you relate to this big question.

This very real process of unfolding what it is that really matters is something that, like a good meal, is best shared.

Enjoy the process. Engage in the process with love. Don’t lose sight of the fact that we, at our best, are absolutely beautiful.

This is our earth shot, and it’s the only one we’ve got.

With love as always.