SidBySide

Losing Hope in a Doomed World

15 posts in this topic

Let me preface this by explaining my life context: I am 22 years old Canadian currently studying  Marine Biology at University. From my very early life, I have been given more and more education about the declining state of our natural environment, the ozone layers and now Global Warming on a massive scale. My studies are pushing those facts in my face even harder as we analyze recent threads of ecosystem destruction all over the Earth due to Human Activity

This problem used to fill me with determination and a sense of life purpose to save what I love the most, being this planet, all of its inhabitants (animals, insects even) and contribute to creating a better world where humans and nature thrive together in harmony.

Fast forward to 2019, more and more data is being released on how exactly the human race is fucking-up its only home and I'm honestly losing hope to the reality that maybe.. even with our best efforts, it's too late and we have screwed up everything anyway. I know how much of an alarmist I sound right now but Truth is we have to be alarmist, we are literally watching the World die. 

Watching creatures and ecosystems being wiped out in the name of profit disgusts me to no end. It hurts so much and leaves me in a depressed, fearful and feeling an overwhelming amount of dread when I even think about the current state of things. I have lost hope and meaning in this post-Holocene World where my kind is currently destroying anything and everything I hold dear. 

I feel like even if I were to become an environment Gandhi, it wouldn't do much to help the situation. Odds are even if humanity stopped its destructive behavior right now, even if every single person in existence would realize how much we are fucking up, the wheel is already spinning and massive die-offs will happen to an unprecedented scale. Things will get really ugly nonetheless. Realistically, I cannot have a big enough impact and this adds to the feeling of being powerless in a situation where we are watching the world die. 

I know according to Oneness that I should accept this destruction and even love it, it's just really hard for me right now.

It sounds bleak, but I honestly don't see why I shouldn't off myself right now to avoid watching all I love and care about slowly decline to non-existence. It is not that I want to die, I love life, maybe a little too much, hence these feelings arising.

Anyways, thank you for reading :)

 

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@SidBySide
The intensive farming, fishing etc. Is only happening because people for the most part, as people live in overpopulated cities. And land ownership is concentrated with a small proportion of the country.

The thing is, "necessity being the mother of invention" is a lie. Along with the rest of Plato's Republic.

A reason immigration into the US and especially the UK is totally insane. Is that arable land per person is 1 acre in the USA. 0.22 Acres in the UK. An acre of land in the past, 'could' feed a family of 8 on potatoes in Ireland.....Add to that soil depletion, and any number of things that can go wrong.

I did some backpacking in BC and Alberta years a go. So heard about the over-fishing from a local person firsthand, on Vancouver Island. Plus the water looked devoid of life.

The problem is as people form into gangs, both political and workers. It makes things more difficult for individuals, when it's 2 against 1. Forming a more powerful gang is not going to work as a strategy for survival of humanity, as they fight over resources. A Positive Feedback loop, possibly out of control.

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The problem is, it doesn't get enough exposure in the media. You know a lot about this stuff because you've studied it a lot and invested shit ton of time focused on that particular subject (or set of subjects).
From my point of view, I don't care almost at all about these problems because they don't exist in my perception, I believe the same happens for 99% of people, they just don't know 

Edited by Hello from Russia

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@Hello from Russia I'm in a similar state to you, sitting on the fence. There seems to be different views about climate change expressed in the media, I'm not knowledgeable like @SidBySide to evaluate the evidence myself. When I was at school in the 60s and 70s the talk was about a new ice age freezing us, now we are scared with tales about global warming. There's vested interests profiting from renewable energy, and the extra taxes etc are regressive, targeting the poor. I'm respectful of good independent, disinterested science, but also sceptical of the political debate, especially extinction rebellion. Overall I'm confused and unsure what to do. 

One idea I've had, is that all this CO2 we are releasing into the air is just the same carbon which was taken out of the atmosphere during the  carboniferous age. So, far from 'destroying the planet' as the environmental lobby claim, aren't we merely turning the clock back geologically to a previous era, which to be fair will probably favour plants over animals (more CO2 & less Oxygen).  Also I thought the ozone layer was ok now, and repaired itself after we outlawed CFCs, or am I behind the times on that subject?  

I'm not a deliberate climate denier, just genuinely confused and looking for some unbiased information, if anyone here can help. 

Edited by MuddyBoots
Simplification.

Everything is connected, but connections are only necessary from a fragmented point of view. What's the connection between two waves? The whole deep ocean which they are made of in the first place!

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@MuddyBoots Yeah, I agree, there is all kind of information flowing around in society, a lot of it is probably wrong and far-fetched. Even those people who are closely related to these problems I believe can be highly dogmatic and believe what their professor or textbook says for granted. And then they try to make the hype out of this information. It's very hard to know who to believe in those kind of things and this situation being very far away from our "casual" problems that we face every day (Such as issues with health, money, carreer, etc)  doesn't really motivate us to do anything about it

Edited by Hello from Russia

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Hey everyone, thank you for answering my post and sorry for the delay, I was in the country-side this week-end. It's Thanksgiving in Canada. 

@RichardY  The points you bring about Human population being more and more concentrated in areas are very interesting and strikes home to me when we discuss the situation. Simply put, smaller villages would help so many things including overpopulation and overconsumption. I believe human labour needs to get back in the field-work if we are to have enough resources for our ever-increasing population. 

@Hello from Russia Again, I agree 100%. There's the occasional thread on Reddit or headline about a huge catastrophe that happened in the World and some people react to it... but it ends there.. Remember the Amazon Fires? It was hot news for like a few days but after it died down very quickly, without any concrete action taken. I feel that even when there are natural disasters headlines it is very rare that a link to human destruction is even presented. We are like ostriches screaming Wolf but then hiding our heads in the sand pretending everything is okay... Yes, it is a very far issue when it comes to direct contact in our daily lives but I feel that if we continue to ignore the warnings, our survival and that of millions of ecosystems is in very real danger.

@Nahm Hello Nahm! As much as I enjoy a ''riddle'' forum post making me think and search, I have failed to locate the meaning of your word. May I ask for an explanation? Thank you :)

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@SidBySide :) It’s not a riddle. You are the sneakiest being that has ever been. Literally. There has never been anyone as sneaky as you. There is not even a close, or distant second place. The world does not cause your thoughts, your perspective, nor your feelings. You choose your perspective. When it does not feel good, when your inner being tells you it is not true, rather than listening to the sensation, you use the entire world to justify the continuation of - choosing your same, “right & accurate”, perspective. 


MEDITATIONS TOOLS  ActualityOfBeing.com  GUIDANCE SESSIONS

NONDUALITY LOA  My Youtube Channel  THE TRUE NATURE

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@SidBySide I've struggled with this a lot myself. There are a few things that give me some peace:

  • Things have never been better for humanity - we are extremely lucky to be living at what is peak humanity. The level of global peace, health, lifespan, information, education, human rights, has never been higher at any point in history. It can all improve, but we are currently living better than kings did 300 years ago, even 100 years ago. It can and will get even better
  • Things aren't so good for most non-human creatures, it's very true. We really are chewing up our planet. But don't forget that life has bounced back on this earth after much worse encounters than with Homo sapiens. The planet has been decimated in the past by colossal meteor impacts that threw so much dust into the air that almost everything died, mass extinctions that make our worst-case scenario seem like a picnic. Super volcanos, and other catastrophes that make what we're doing seem mild.
  • We won't end all life on earth, and we won't wipe ourselves out. We could definitely turn the planet into something of a biological desert if we don't watch it.
  • The earth needs people like you if there is to be any hope for protecting the ecosystems that make our planet a joyous garden to live in. We won't erase our impact, but we can learn to be good stewards for this amazing place.

We really need to take action and steer humanity in the right direction. The less we do that, the more bleak things look in the future. But no matter how bleak it gets, life will go on. We just might make it a very sterile place if we don't watch it.


How to get to infinity? Divide by zero.

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@outlandish Thank you Outlandish, this is exactly the kind of wise thoughts I needed. I have done some thinking lately and I guess I need to embrace the impermanence of things. After all, as you say, the World has changed continuously throughout its evolution (sometimes in much bigger ways than our modern times) and it is only normal it does so right now. 

You are right, I believe humans with the gift of intellect and consciousness can become the shepherds of a new time where we take care of and protect our environment instead of bringing destruction about it. I guess it is part of a cycle, just as Rome fell, the current civilization will fall, leading to better times. Destruction = Renewal :P 

@Nahm I have the feeling you are trying to talk to me by bypassing my egoic self? Your words weight hard on my Mind but again I can't seem to really grasp it you know? My ''right and accurate perspective'' would be to think humans are doing a lot of damage to our environment, and feeling quite sad about it. Are you telling me that this perspective is somehow flawed or incorrect? I am very interested in your words, please continue writing here! I am open to all and every teaching :)

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Everything is going to die, just like you are going to die

All the knowledge humanity has created will die

Humanity is going to end( i'm 99.99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% sure).

 

I say stay in this hopeless state because the truth is, it is the truth. EMBRACE IT.

You'll then learn to enjoy what we have now, and be grateful for it. While we are still alive.

I'm not saying give up, you don't give up living life once you realize everything you create as well as everything you do is going to die.

 


I've changed my account password to something I don't remember. 

I do not support actualized.org anymore

 goodluck

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@RichardY

On 11/10/2019 at 5:48 PM, SidBySide said:

Let me preface this by explaining my life context: I am 22 years old Canadian currently studying  Marine Biology at University. From my very early life, I have been given more and more education about the declining state of our natural environment, the ozone layers and now Global Warming on a massive scale. My studies are pushing those facts in my face even harder as we analyze recent threads of ecosystem destruction all over the Earth due to Human Activity

This problem used to fill me with determination and a sense of life purpose to save what I love the most, being this planet, all of its inhabitants (animals, insects even) and contribute to creating a better world where humans and nature thrive together in harmony.

Fast forward to 2019, more and more data is being released on how exactly the human race is fucking-up its only home and I'm honestly losing hope to the reality that maybe.. even with our best efforts, it's too late and we have screwed up everything anyway. I know how much of an alarmist I sound right now but Truth is we have to be alarmist, we are literally watching the World die. 

Watching creatures and ecosystems being wiped out in the name of profit disgusts me to no end. It hurts so much and leaves me in a depressed, fearful and feeling an overwhelming amount of dread when I even think about the current state of things. I have lost hope and meaning in this post-Holocene World where my kind is currently destroying anything and everything I hold dear. 

I feel like even if I were to become an environment Gandhi, it wouldn't do much to help the situation. Odds are even if humanity stopped its destructive behavior right now, even if every single person in existence would realize how much we are fucking up, the wheel is already spinning and massive die-offs will happen to an unprecedented scale. Things will get really ugly nonetheless. Realistically, I cannot have a big enough impact and this adds to the feeling of being powerless in a situation where we are watching the world die. 

I know according to Oneness that I should accept this destruction and even love it, it's just really hard for me right now.

It sounds bleak, but I honestly don't see why I shouldn't off myself right now to avoid watching all I love and care about slowly decline to non-existence. It is not that I want to die, I love life, maybe a little too much, hence these feelings arising.

Anyways, thank you for reading :)

 

That's the challenge isn't it? Learning how to not create negative emotions and drown in vitctimhood while continuing to challenge the dysfunctional status quo.

This world is not "all love". It's a terrible situation that needs addressing . However the only way you can be effective is to stay grounded in the present and let any action come from there. 

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@Nickyy
Yes, I suppose there is "give no thought for the morrow, sufficient is the Evil of the day."

I still find it ridiculous, that it isn't like this stuff hasn't been documented hundreds of years in the past. Overfishing was a problem document by the Economist Adam Smith hundreds of years a go. Even worse is that people are basically locked into Tech.

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On 10/11/2019 at 0:48 PM, SidBySide said:

I feel like even if I were to become an environment Gandhi, it wouldn't do much to help the situation. Odds are even if humanity stopped its destructive behavior right now, even if every single person in existence would realize how much we are fucking up, the wheel is already spinning and massive die-offs will happen to an unprecedented scale. Things will get really ugly nonetheless. Realistically, I cannot have a big enough impact and this adds to the feeling of being powerless in a situation where we are watching the world die. 

I know according to Oneness that I should accept this destruction and even love it, it's just really hard for me right now.

It sounds bleak, but I honestly don't see why I shouldn't off myself right now to avoid watching all I love and care about slowly decline to non-existence. It is not that I want to die, I love life, maybe a little too much, hence these feelings arising.

Anyways, thank you for reading :)

 

Exactly what will happen in the future is not known.  Don't be a "doomer" .  That is a cowardly position for people who like to complain and vent but never take action.  It's lip service. These types of people will be the last to take action no matter what the circumstances
Instead of  looking entirely at negative projections focus also on some things that are are also creative and regenerative that could be done.

Suppose you were 90 years old and you had 5 years left.  Would it be of any value to spend most of your time brooding over death?
Yes an alarm needs to be sounded but unless you enjoy making a career out of sounding it there are other things that need doing. Fight to the last breath ( no one really knows when it will come)

 

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