Climate change

How To Find Solutions To Global Crises: Ask And Pray – One Inspiring Example

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
a large field of dead plants in the middle of the day

I suddenly realized I was not Little Red Riding Hood or whoever that hooded girl who carries her lunch to grandma is, stopping to smell flowers.

I’m the wolf.

I sometimes wear a Little Red Riding Hood cape because I want to go about my life, enjoy my kids, and laugh while we enjoy a day beside the lake. But more and more often now, I feel constrained like old caterpillar skin that needs to be shed. And I’m afraid of what may come out of me. It seems I am a caterpillar about to transition into a fire-breathing dragon.

And I don’t know what to do or where to put the fear and anger that has been stirring quietly under the surface for so many years that sooner or later, it’s bound to come out as an explosion.

I would sort of rather not do that.

I would rather be a butterfly fluttering about and minding my own business.

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” 

The Lord Of the Rings

And is there hope for these situations in the news and our lives that threaten to overwhelm us with darkness?

This is God’s Word on the subject: . . . I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

The Message

Yep.

I was so startled by a surprising story of hope at a prayer group meeting that I burst into tears unexpectedly.

There, we learned the remarkable true story of a group of people praying together over issues today that bothered them. One person recounted that in that prayer group, he felt God giving him an idea of how to help clean up plastic from the ocean. I know this way to get new ideas sounds far-fetched, but stay with me1 before you snap your laptop closed.

And then this guy from the prayer meeting went out with his company and built the thing that is another piece in the puzzle of our astonishing plastics problem.

And therein (listening to God and responding ) is our hope.

What global or personal problem threatens to suffocate you, friend?

For me, lately, it’s climate change. But the good news is that God holds a part of the solution for every difficulty we face. He offers different jewels, different parts of the solution to different ones who listen to him and obey his promptings.

Will we humble ourselves and ask him to help us clean up this mess we’re leaving on Earth?

If . . . my people, my God-defined people, respond by humbling themselves, praying, seeking my presence, and turning their backs on their wicked lives, I’ll be there ready for you . . . I’ll restore their land to health.

The Message

As the song below plays, can we sing together that we, too, together are “aching for the yield for you to harvest from this hurt?”

Photo Credit: Land Needing Restoration by Md. Hasanuzzaman Himel on Unsplash

Footnotes:

1 Chemist August Kekulé and Physicist Albert Einstein discovered the shape of the benzene ring, and theory of relativity, respectively, after insights gleaned from their dreams at night and many similar examples abound.

In a dream, for instance, a vision at night, when men and women are deep in sleep, fast asleep in their beds—God opens their ears

The Message

And to mess with your mind a bit more, the entire scientific process is only possible with a Christian understanding of the world that God values and is the TRUTH. Think about it. If EVOLUTION were to underlie the scientific process, TRUTH wouldn’t matter and couldn’t be trusted – Only things that helped propagate your genes could be relied upon accurately, not TRUTH. More on this another time.

Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!

The Best Climate Solution Hack Is To Focus On This One Other Thing Instead

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
grayscale photo of person inside the plant formation

Just because the battle of [insert famous battle name here – I’m not a Historian, ok?] was lost, doesn’t mean those soldiers lost the war too!

The same is true in the war that many in our culture are fighting to open our eyes to the reality that climate change is real.

We’ve lost a battle or two, granted.

For example, consider the implementation of climate solutions and the recent US election. I am not a Harris supporter by any stretch of the imagination. (Also, I’m Canadian, so no one cares who I would have voted for. AND, it’s much easier to criticize leaders trying to create positive change than to come up with real solutions that work!)

The point is that we lost another battle in the war against recognizing that climate change is even a “thing” with the election win of Mr. Trump.

But just because climate change has lost another battle, that doesn’t mean we have lost the war in finding a solution to our climate woes – Not by any stretch.

It is time to close the chapter in the book “Let’s talk about climate change rationally, using science.”

Instead, let’s focus on applying and implementing this one solution.

Let’s focus on food.

No, I did not leave my rationale mind over there as I wrote this post over here.

Stay with me.

In Paul Hawken’s book “Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation,” there is surprising hope in implementing Regenerative Agriculture.

Don’t have time to read?

Check out this free movie, Kiss the Ground Film | Official Website

A Hollywood Actor narrates the movie, so that’s how we know it is the truth!

Just kidding – There is LOTS of science here and a growing movement.

“Kiss the Ground is an audience-supported nonprofit promoting regeneration and healthy soil as a viable solution for our wellness, water, and climate crisis. Since 2013, we’ve inspired millions to participate in the Regenerative Movement through storytelling, education and partnerships.”

Kiss the Ground For Regeneration

Oh, and another benefit – when you put less poison in the form of hyper-processed foods into your body and recognize food ITSELF is healing, you’ll probably feel a lot better, too!

There is a movement of people who have started to be accidentally healed of various modern ailments through eating healthier foods, but we’ll talk about that another time.

Oh, and we can avert the climate crisis once this movement snowballs, too, without mentioning the term “climate change.”

The thing is (whisper):

God has a solution to EVERY problem we see in our world.

We have hope! Let’s dance! No problem is too big for our God.

As the song below plays, ask God, “Has my hope been reduced to the size of politics or the problems in my life and our world? Forgive me. Would You help me place my hope in the One who is bigger than every problem?”

“If . . . my people, my God-defined people, respond by humbling themselves, praying, seeking my presence, and turning their backs on their wicked lives, I’ll be there ready for you: I’ll listen from heaven, forgive their sins, and restore their land to health. From now on I’m alert day and night to the prayers offered . . . “

The Message

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How To Actually Find Yourself! (Can We Start With Me?)

/ Lori Lawe / Leave a comment
woman in black jacket holding black smartphone
Photo by Nico Smit on Unsplash

So how do we find ourselves?

We write some stuff, publish it online, and then ask THEM who we are!

What people somehow (inadvertently, I’m sure) forgot to mention when we were children was that we need to make messes in order to find out who we are and why we are here – and, by extension, what we’re supposed to be writing.

Anne Lamott in Bird by Bird

For example, I’ve been trying to figure out why people are reading this Substack for a while, and despite my careful research, I haven’t thought up any reasons!

(You already know why I like you.)

And since we’re talking about defining ourselves by how many people on the internet like us, can you please complete this (quick) survey to help me determine why you like me?

Do you subscribe/read these posts because:

  1. I am cool? I.e., You like the funny posts?
  2. You need me to tell you how to homeschool? I.e., You like the homeschooling posts?
  3. You want to grow spiritually and haven’t had time to find someone who actually knows what they are talking about? I.e., You like the spiritually-themed posts?
  4. You want to eat healthier? I.e., You are looking for healthy food inspiration?
  5. You want to be smacked upside the head for being a self-centered jerk? I.e., You like the posts about living sustainably?
  6. Your ego is also so huge that you think you can save the world, too? I.e., you like the posts about climate?
  7. Other reasons? I.e., WHAT kind of future content are you hoping for? Please let me know in the comments below!

(I’m writing for you, actually, even though I pretend I’m not. Don’t tell my ego. And I DO want to help you find a cup of cold water or to share whatever lint or whatever else I can find here in my pocket if you want it.)

You’re welcome!

Good luck!

The Way To Fight Climate Change is To Eat Beef (Seriously)

/ Lori Lawe / 1 Comment

I was looking around me, trying to figure out how to save the world.

We’ve got some problems, right?

“Tick Season” and “Wildfire Season” are the terns that replace what we used to simply call “Spring” and “Summer”.

The warmer winters allow ticks to flourish, and weird weather events are seen all over the world with increased regularity.

So how do we solve these problems, I wanted to know, as I took another bite of my snack and continued to half-watch my favorite iPad distraction.

One list of ways to curb climate change helpfully included “Turn off lights” as a to-do item.

“Come on! The world is falling apart and you are harping about turning off lights?” I thought incredulously.

OK – what are the MOST important things that we can be doing to reverse climate change?

I don’t have a lot of time here. The commercial is almost over.

It turns out, that the best thing we can do is to eat beef.

Now, two caveats:

(1) I didn’t say that we should eat MORE beef.

(2) I didn’t specify what KIND of beef we should eat.

We should eat LESS beef. For sure. Your hearts and knees will thank you. We should cut up that beef into TINY strips and use it to add flavoring to our stir fries, for example. But we should EAT beef.

We should ONLY eat ONE kind of beef. The kind that costs more money. But if we do point number one, above, and eat LESS beef as well to give our overtaxed bodies a break, we still come out ahead, financially. And we can enjoy a side of ultra-cheap beans with every meal, which will make our bodies happy too.

Anyway, having extra money to buy more plastic items that will break next week is one of the idols of our culture, enslaving us. But that is a conversation for another day.

Now, I finally get to the point:

Eat only beef that has been regeneratively farmed.

Yes, a big word for the end of a short blog post.

Check out this movie for a summary of this movement or wait for a future post for a detailed explanation.

Kiss the Ground

What are your thoughts?

Cowering In Fear Or Ready To Fight?

/ Lori Lawe / 1 Comment

Yeah, I’ve been cowering in fear as mentioned here and here.

But we’re made to soar, our Heavenly Father, like the wind, buoying up our wings.

But I feel fearful again, this morning.

How do we keep Fear at bay, in its corner of the ring, instead of on top of me, rendering me immobile?

Learning about what we fear helps. I learned that alligators need water to survive and that annihilated my childhood fear of these animals living under my bed. (Don’t judge me). In the same way, in a future post, I will talk about how my raging Fear was soothed as I learned from scientists studying wildfire behavior.

Scientists have also learned* that if we exert some (even very minimal) level of control over stressful situations, our stress levels decrease dramatically. Translation: DOING something, even a very small thing about the stuff that bothers us makes us feel a WHOLE lot better. Fear stays on its own side of the wrestling ring for a while.

And so I got on my bike, put on my superwoman cape, delivered flyers, and our neighborhood became Firesmart.

But then as I watched the news one day, Fear grew and its shadow threatened to overwhelm me again.

No!

And so I act, again, I DO something to battle my Fear.

I write this post.

Talking about climate has been compared to having flatulence at a cocktail party.

And dwelling on Fear is only another way to drag more of us into the ring, with Fear immobilizing all of us.

NO!

What are you DOING to fight Fear?

Every action we take is food that we offer to our neighbors, strengthening them.

Let’s share our food together, feeding and encouraging one another.

What are you doing or is another doing that is food to strengthen you, to pick up your boxing gloves, and to meet with Fear head-on?

Let’s bandage each other’s wounds, offer each other a sip of water and a word of encouragement and then get back in the ring.

Because fighting is how we soar.

Here are a pair of boxing gloves.

Are you ready to put them on?

The counterintuitive, best things we can do to fight the weird weather that ramps up our fear will be discussed in future posts.

Blogpost Footnotes

*Lecture 14: How Your Brain Manages Stress by John J. Medina in Your Best Brain, from The Great Courses

Want To Be A Hero Too?

/ Lori Lawe / 1 Comment

I AM a NEIGHBORHOOD CHAMPION. I AM the COMMITTEE CHAIR. (For those who don’t know, the CHAIR is the TOP, MOST IMPORTANT position on the committee).

Of what, you say?

Well, of this group I volunteer with, the Firesmart program. The goal is to educate people about the most common causes for houses to burn down due to wildfire, and then to focus on doing the most important interventions that decrease the risk of a house going up in flames.

We encourage each other to clean up the downed branches that are fire risks in our community. And of course, with tinder-dry forests where we live, in the BC interior of Canada, it seems the trees are shouting, “Please consume me with fire!”

Many of the cedars are already red, dried up, and sad, living in the arboreal never land between life and death.

But I digress.

The point I was trying to make is that, well, have you ever noticed how manipulation is overtly used in our culture? For example, the assumption is by the Firesmart program that Jane-Neighbor (aka me) would be more likely to spend another X number of hours volunteering if we raise her up a bit in her own eyes.

She is MORE important than others. SHE ALONE is the CHAIR, and my favorite, a CHAMPION. I rode around on my bike last summer delivering flyers with information about the Firesmart program. And now, I can wear a badge, and elevate myself to the lofty level of CHAMPION.

We are all so ridiculous, aren’t we? And by the way, when I throw away the title of Champion or Chair, what do we have left? “Regular Mom worried about her kid’s future”. Somehow that title isn’t as important, we feel. How wrong we are! The secret superpower, the cape under our regular clothes, regular moms, regular dads, is actually of course, concern for the wellbeing of our kids.

Learning what wildfire smoke does to kids’ brains* – that’s my superpower. I would wave my paper fan all day long in front of my kid’s faces . . . desperately . . . untiringly if that would decrease their potential cognitive impacts. I don’t even need the elevated title of CHAIR to do that!

Barring that, I ride on my bike distributing flyers. Maybe my kids and us won’t have to drive away in a car in a hurry this summer, flames licking at our tires. We read about others in Lytton, BC who endured that a few years ago. It would be nice not to do that, actually.

I’d rather just be a regular Mom, reading my book on the wharf at the lake while my kids play in the water.

Instead, I am a super mom, manipulated to feel important. The incredible truth is that “Mom Worried about Her Kids” is a force to be reckoned with. She is the true powerhouse.

Have you ever read about those moms who lifted a car off of their kids when they were in danger? The critical line in that article is that “. . . we humans are, quite simply, stronger than we think.”

Ready to lift the car of a sick culture off of our kids?

Come on, Moms, Dads. It’s time to reluctantly put away the novels, look at the future of our kids 20 years out, and work together to do some lifting. Our kids may be trapped between wildfire smoke and flames licking their tires unless we can find a way to turn this big ship, our culture, around. Time for some real heroes to show their stuff. On board?

For now, we can use our voice here, as one example of taking off our Clark Kent clothes and jumping into the battle. And let’s continue to talk about how to be a real hero in a future post, shall we?

Blogpost Footnotes

*Statement from this article: “A growing body of literature also suggests that exposure to particulate matter may have neuropsychological effects in children, including associations with ADHD, autism, school performance, and memory.”