"I'm really struggling with this," Zac said. "I'm very pragmatic and rational, so when I hear people talk about government policy as if money grows on trees, it really pisses me off. We don't live in economic La La Land. I'm not American, but why should my tax dollars pay for some college kid's student debt? He got to spend a few years drinking beer, partying, and learning shit he could have learned online. That was his choice. Meanwhile, I came from a very humble background and spent my late teens trying and failing with businesses until I eventually succeeded. Now that I am successful, I'm supposed to pay for this guy's choice because politicians tell me that's 'compassionate?' The market wasn't very compassionate to me when I lost everything on my failed businesses — but those businesses were essential for earning my money today. Politicians want to take my money to give to colleges who already have too much money, and then they call me morally bankrupt if I don't agree with their 'compassionate' agenda."
"Don't conflate 'compassionate' policies with an abundance mindset," I said. "Politicians are generally terrible at solving problems at their root cause. Solving a problem at its root cause requires the ability to communicate counter-intuitive solutions that were reached by the deep analysis of complex cause-and-effect relationships. The general public doesn't understand the nuance, so it's easier for a politician to say 'we'll forgive all student debt' than to ask deeper questions like 'why are the colleges charging so much?' and 'does everyone need a university degree, or are there more efficient ways to educate society?' Hence, you don't earn votes by coming up with counter-intuitive solutions that solve problems at their root cause. You earn votes by doing obvious surface-level shit that is incremental and easy to communicate. For all our human cleverness and intellectual capacity, we're still a society run by apes.
Just because someone proposes a drastic economic policy to eradicate fossil fuels in a short period of time, at a huge economic expense — doesn't mean they are expressing a belief in abundance. They may actually be expressing a belief in fear because the Sponsoring Thought behind the policy is fear of climate change — not love of our planet. As they push against climate change, they create more of it so they can have a physical experience of pushing against climate change."
"But does that mean we should just bury our heads in the sand?" Zac asked. "Should we deny climate change in the hope that it goes away?"
"No. Not at all. Denying climate change is still resisting the problem and creating more of it. God talks about this…"
I’ve heard this before and I’ve always railed against it, because it seems so dishonest. I mean, if you’re sick as a dog, you’re not supposed to admit it. If you’re broke as a pauper, you’re never supposed to say it. If you’re upset as hell, you’re not supposed to show it. It reminds me of the joke about the three people who were sent to hell. One was a Catholic, one was a Jew, one was a New Ager. The devil said to the Catholic, sneeringly, “Well, how are you enjoying the heat?” And the Catholic sniffled, “I’m offering it up.” The devil then asked the Jew, “And how are you enjoying the heat?” The Jew said, “So what else could I expect but more hell?” Finally, the devil approached the New Ager. “Heat?” the New Ager asked, perspiring. “What heat?”
That’s a good joke. But I’m not talking about ignoring the problem, or pretending it isn’t there. I’m talking about noticing the circumstance, and then telling your highest truth about it.
If you’re broke, you’re broke. It’s pointless to lie about it, and actually debilitating to try to manufacture a story about it so as not to admit it. Yet it’s your thought about it — “Broke is bad,” “This is horrible,” “I’m a bad person, because good people who work hard and really try never go broke,” etc. — that rules how you experience “broke-ness.” It’s your words about it — “I’m broke,” “I haven’t a dime,” “I don’t have any money” — that dictates how long you stay broke. It’s your actions surrounding it — feeling sorry for yourself, sitting around despondent, not trying to find a way out because “What’s the use, anyway?” — that create your long-term reality.
The first thing to understand about the universe is that no condition is “good” or “bad.” It just is. So stop making value judgments. The second thing to know is that all conditions are temporary. Nothing stays the same, nothing remains static. Which way a thing changes depends on you.
Neale Donald Walsch
"So, here's how we solve climate change," I said. "We look at the facts, and we own our collective creation. Climate change is happening. Now, who am I, personally, in relationship to this situation? I can decide that I value sustainability, and express that belief into the world by making small choices. I can consume less single-use plastics. I can reduce my meat consumption, or eliminate it entirely. I can buy fewer products, and/or only buy from sustainable brands. I can walk more, or commute via bicycle. There are plenty of little things I can do to express this new version of myself into the world — a version of myself that believes in a more sustainable, abundant future. I don't make these choices out of fear of climate change — I make them out of love for our planet.
If everyone acted out a belief in a more abundant, sustainable future, those collective beliefs would modify the 'shape' of society. It would create surprise in the system. Over time, the system will minimize this surprise. New ideas will be injected into the minds of scientists and entrepreneurs and policy-makers. Those ideas, acted upon with love, will create the innovative solutions we need to solve our energy problems and bring about a more sustainable future."
"But we're so far gone already," Zac said. "Climate change is here. We have to steer the ship pretty quickly. Isn't it healthy to fear climate change as a survival response, in the same way we fear a snake that could kill us?"
"If you see the snake on the ground and feel fear, do you keep focusing on the snake?"
"No. I'd walk towards safety."
"Exactly. Look at the creation, notice the fear, and choose a higher thought. Focus on the positive polarity — safety. In the case of climate change, focus on the positive polarity — sustainability."
"I just don't know how we're going to get out of this jam, though," Zac said. "Obviously climate change is an issue, but developing countries are built on fossil fuels. Changing from fossil fuels now will devastate their economies. It's also insanely arrogant for well-off people in developed countries to demand less-developed countries consume fewer fossil fuels. The well-off people were the ones who created this problem in the first place! Their current quality of life was built on the back of fossil fuels, but poor people aren't allowed the same privilege. Yet if we don't do anything about the situation, we will ruin our planet. So do we consume fewer fossil fuels and devastate the developing countries? Or not? I don't know."
