GUY ARRIVING IN WEIPPE
WHOOP (WOOP)- noun: a loud cry or shout, as of excitement or joy
-idiom: whoop it up: to raise a disturbance, as to celebrate noisily
In a recent conversation with my friend Guy, I asked him if he would mind sending me a photo upon his arrival in Weippe. True to his word, the above photo was in my email inbox a few hours later.
So what's so special about Weippe, Idaho? This was the town where Guy grew up. He is currently on another speaking tour of the USA, although Weippe wasn't one of the venues. Whether he let out a shout of excitement or joy, or raised a disturbance during his visit, I don't know. But I do imagine that being back there after so many years away, probably helped to bring up some long forgotten memories.
This particular speaking tour began a couple of days ago, and concludes in Chicago on July 25th. Some of the venues along the way will probably have a significant number of climate change deniers, but by now Guy is well acquainted with this type of individual. At this very late stage in the story of abrupt climate change, it's a curious thing to see how some people still believe that the topic is just a hoax or government conspiracy or whatever. Perhaps one explanation can be found when looking up the definition of cognitive dissonance.
Cognitive Dissonance: noun: anxiety that results from simultaneously holding contradictory or otherwise incompatible attitudes, beliefs or the like...
So for example, if you were to ask the average person why there are no longer any dinosaurs roaming the planet, the answer you would likely receive is that dinosaurs are extinct. People get that, and most of us learned that fact back in elementary school. The dinosaurs lost their habitat. No habitat, no more dinosaurs. Makes perfect sense when you think about it. But now we get to the tricky part when we discuss the human animal (and we are just another animal species). We are rapidly losing our habitat, and so it seems rather obvious to an ever growing number of us, that without habitat, we too will go the way of the dinosaurs. And that's where the cognitive dissonance comes in. Other creatures go extinct, but humans? We're too smart. We've got technology. Sorry folks, without habitat, we're done. It's just a question of when, not if. And the date for when seems to be rapidly approaching.
I stumbled across Guy's work way back in 2011, and by that time I already had five years under my belt studying this subject of climate change, so when I read what he had to say, it all made perfect sense to me.
Guy is a conservation biologist. He understands speciation, extinction and habitat, and once you understand the significance of habitat, it's very easy to see how species go extinct when their habitat goes away.
Now, I have had the pleasure of knowing Guy personally for the better part of five years, and I am very grateful to count him as a friend. And in spite of the news that humans are going to go extinct, I certainly don't go around with a big black cloud over my head. In fact (and I have to thank Guy for this), I now understand how slim the odds are of ever being born in the first place. Now just pause and really think about that for a moment. There was absolutely no guarantee that you or I might ever have been born. By keeping that in mind, I find it rather easy to enjoy each precious moment as it presents itself, and I now derive great joy in all the other life that surrounds me. Life is good, and I am happy.
OK, I'm rambling on a bit too long with this post, so I'll wind things up for this week. Guy will continue on his tour (and perhaps raise a few disturbances along the way), I'll keep weeding here in Port Townsend, and who knows, maybe they're still whoopin' it up in Weippe.
And for anyone else who wants the lowdown on abrupt climate change, you can always check out Guy's website. https://guymcpherson.com
living a life of simple acceptance,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
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