A Reflection at Dusk

Days are noticeably shorter now. The coastal fog cycle native to my region is sputtering with the weakened power of the Sun, so we have days of heat followed by days half of which are soft and gray, burning off only in the afternoons to sun.

Autumn is here.

Usually, this is a joyous realization for me. I love the fall, with its colorful leaves, spectacular sunsets, skulls and bones and pumpkins. Autumn feels like the reaping of rewards long striven for, the achievement of the year’s culmination.

This year is a little different. It feels as though I have suffered many blows and time is running out to secure another job and get on with things.

Yet I feel hopeful, still.

Yesterday, I asked the question: What if we’re screwed? What if the Earth’s Anthropogenic Sixth Extinction and its advance into full-on Greenhouse Earth are too late to avert? What if all we have built—this cruel and remarkable global civilization, these technological miracles—are temporary dreams, soon to be washed away?

Well, you saw where I went with that. And I do so at the personal level, too.

Things could get really bad. Many of us are struggling to survive now, as late capitalism wrings us dry.

Yet still, there is that sunset. There is this moonrise.

There is yet another day, and with it, the prospect of good news.

In these dark days, friends, I say take heart, and take one another’s hands. Join in community and share a Harvest feast. Know that your efforts matter, and your good intentions count.

Tip a libation to the thirsty Earth, and feel the love for our world that is the truth at the core of all living beings.

It’s not over yet, for any of us. Celebrate.

Live.