I could hear you getting choked. Many of us weep with grief for what's happening, but you truly are a beacon of light in these dark times with your compassion and wisdom. Thank you 🙏
I am glad that Trump won. I am glad that you weep. Had Harris won you might feel triumphal. You probably would have felt that you have done enough. Harris was never going to save us from ourselves. That is something we have to do. A year ago I started a journey and a commitment to become a steward of a forest. We spent everything we had and it is hard. A year on we cannot imagine the idea of going back. We rarely leave the forest. We are still working on being able to sustain ourselves. We are trying. What are you trying? Do not ask a politician to save the world for you. They will not. Ask of yourself; if this is what I believe then why do I continue to live this way? Then Google Bill Mollison, the global gardener. There is hope within his rage. Access your rage and get to work.
I am glad that Trump won. If Harris had won you might feel triumphal. A politician was never going to save the planet for you. That is your job and mine. A year ago my partner and I began our journey to become stewards of the forest and learn how to be self-sustainable while doing it. Neither of us can imagine going back. What are you doing? If these are your beliefs why do you continue to live the way that you do? The beautiful thing about taking personal accountability and letting go of false hope for modern civilization is that it is really quite freeing. You must walk away from the dystopia in order to escape it. The longer that you cling to hope within it the more likely you are to be caught up in its wrath. Access your own rage and let it guide you to action. Walk away from it. If I can do it then so can you.
Natural introvert and screen addict here. My favourite day of 2024 so far was helping a lost dog find its owner. It pushed me to interact with people in my local community that I'd never met before. We all bonded over a common cause based on values and moral duty. It was a wholly uncharacteristic way for me to spend the day, but it has stuck with me ever since as probably the most meaningful thing I've done all year. There absolutely are bad faith actors lured by power, but I'd like to think that the majority of the populace are just listless and apathetic. They need an inciting incident like this to be shaken out of their complacency and reminded that the most rewarding aspect of life is not that of wealth accumulation or intoxicating entertainment, but of being in service to and in presence with others. Sounds like cheesy, softy leftist nonsense, but rather miraculously, it's true.
What about getting a homeless dog from the animal shelter? Lots of bonding ... and you would be out in nature more often 😀A friend of mine did this and has now more interactions with people in the local community than ever. Not only is the dog happy, there is also a neighbor's child with developmental difficulties who is reassured and enjoys petting the dog and sometimes taking care of him. Win-win-win situation 😀
And while this happened, countless people were murdered in Gaza, Ukraine etc. So it's very good that you could help a dog, but it doesn't change the completely violent and life-threatening status quo. It doesn't change the fact that for politicians and their overlords, who we cannot vote for or against, see us as cattle and flesh for their meatgrinder called capitalism, society, etc..We are nothing in their eyes.
@@adambazso9207 You’re right of course, but fully concentrating on the macro-level systems effects 24/7 can lead to disillusionment and apathy. This was me for a while, and it serves nobody. Some of us are Roger Hallams, others are just trying to pick themselves up and get through the day while causing as little harm to the planet as possible. I’d like to be in a position of influence to affect social change at a greater scale, but it’s not my reality at the moment. I’m building towards it, but it doesn’t happen overnight. In the process, we shouldn’t neglect to acknowledge the small acts of kindness we experience, nor should we be blind to the beauty in our everyday interactions with the non-human and natural world. To solely see ‘the forest’ is to ignore the bewildering beauty and complexity of the tree. I seem to recall a podcast guest mentioning a walk in the woods with Daniel Schmactenberger, and she was getting frustrated with her planned discussion about the metacrisis being constantly curtailed by Daniel excitably fawning over fungal growths and the other natural wonders around them. He told her that we need to make time to look around and appreciate life and remember what we are fighting for. If a mind of that capacity and depth is insistent on it, I’m inclined to agree.
Nate, seriously, bless you. There are those that care but don't have the intelligence. There are those who are intelligent to a specific focus but they don't have the care. You have the care, the intelligence and the articulation, but beyond that, you have true humanity. Your grounded, calm, curious and always humble delivery within these intensities is stoic and it feels like sitting next to a warm fire. I get guidance from spending time with ancient redwoods, or full body nature immersion. In this distorted human world. you are among only a few which I feel are having the courage and conviction to speak the unspoken. You are very very strong Nate. Thank you for continuing the highest relevance zoom-out conversations. I appreciate the Effectivism word. YES to THAT as we move consciously forward.
Yes - our work is just getting started. We couldn’t start until we got clear on what we were dealing with. Now we know and we are with you and all the others like you - you’ve lit the way- let’s go! We were made for these times. Sending much love and gratitude.
"Stay parasympathetic" is my new email sign-off :) Thanks for this Nate. I feel your heart in it. The truth of the world is hard, but somehow it helps me to hear it laid out like this. Somehow, some of us need to keep the big truths in our minds, and not fall unconscious, not numb ourselves with consumption, but also not be suffocated by panic and grief.
Oh, God Nate, I love you, and you're work, but I really do have to force myself to focus, tune in, and digest some of the more esoteric side of the great struggle discussions. Whereas It is conversely very easy for me to devour 1 5 hr + PCs with energy and geopol experts or permaculture practices. Sometimes, I just can't. Sometimes, personal problems win, and other times, I must physically move or flounder. One thing that has happened without fail since I began listening a couple of years ago is that when I listen, I come away not only feeling better and more calm, but actually knowing that I've learned something useful about myself and others. I'm reminded every time that what I personally do in my life is more important than any amount of worry or struggle over the larger picture. Thank you, Nate!
@thegreatsimplification I commented early on in the vid, before you mentioned elitism. I didn't want to use that word and seem offensive, but I love that you brought it up and how you explained it. I always hope to see your viewership rise, but dread what I've seen happen with the community and comment section when viewership numbers take off. So extra happy on that! Thanks again. Peace✌️
You take good care too! I’m in tears as well. Nate, you and DJ feel as father and grandfather figures for the world. This is true care, true Love - the message you both have studied, created, and shared. It provides guidance and space to grieve and then to brainstorm how to act effectively. I’m gathering the tools and incubating to become one of those border collie humans. Know you both continue to fulfill your goal of raising and nurturing children/young adults who are not your own. I’m one of them.
@@ricos1497 DJ White (see EarthTrust). They wrote “Reality Blind” together. They are long-time collaborators, and I take a lot of inspiration from them.
Apparently someone asked Simone Weil, “Where was your God during the holocaust, uh?” To which she replied “Where were you during the holocaust? Where were we?” ‘God’ isn’t there unless we bring God into the world; then Grace fills the vacuum, the empty spaces, and the heart of a human being when it’s being purified. We can make a difference with our work in Presence. Bless you for this channel, one can feel a great soul brotherhood around here. Greetings from Florence, Italy
King, you dropped this. 👑 For real though that was incredible. You, and you alone, have built an entire school of thought. An axiom by which all other decisions can be evaluated. And you've done it out in the open for all of us to join you. And for that I thank you. You may never know how much your ideas have changed the lives of others, but i truly think you can lay your head down at night knowing that you've already changed the course of the human enterprise. It's just too soon yet to know how.
Thank You Nate…I did not want this horror in the country to happen in my time as an elder but it has…and your video of opposites clarified my direction that aligns with your conclusion and has brought me some parasympathetic peace. I have let go of the hope of influencing the populist power agenda after this election and I making my way to my small rural community to create the collective to weather this coming decade in a supportive community of “sheepdogs” renewable energy and my Aladdin oil lamps…much aloha my friend and to all my like minded fellow peeps
I'm/we're staying tooned, Nate. No time to abandone any battle. Even almost blind as we sometimes are because all the difficulties of our times, we're already having the intuition of possible seeds, can even imagine them, desire them. That's already a lot. If this is our time, let's not waste any minute. Keep talking and doing your job, you're spreading seeds, helping others to spread theirs. Thank you, Nate, deep thanks from the heart.
Thank you, Nate. These are powerful messages at a time when it’s tempting to succumb to apathy, despondency, or, at the other end of the spectrum, hatred and violence. Your content is a beacon of light and inspiration (both intellectual and spiritual) in this era of growing insecurity and upheavals. Wishing you many breaths of calming peace as well 🌍🌏🌎
I needed to hear this. I haven't been my higher self the last few days. I left my city life behind. I now live happily with less, I and surrounded by nature. I feel so fortunate. Understanding the science history and knowing that most do not does help me be more compassionate. It's been a challenge this month. Your calm and thoughtful presentation is a good example of how to communicate and continue to grow. Thank you for everything you do.
I keep thinking I need to quit my gardening jobs and run away to a rural area...many are considering leaving the country. I would be more brave with like minded people nearby to work with
@GabrielLaValle-ex3sk I didn't know anyone here at first. I am a bit of an introvert. The first people I met were not so pleasant. I have been here for a few years and now have found some fabulous friends. I enjoy solitude, so the lack of local friends wasn't a problem. Also, I live in Navajo and Pueblo country. I love going to town. The first time I went to the grocery store on the Rez, I was pleasantly shocked by the experience. I ended up dancing and singing with the produce guy. In the city, I just kept to myself. For the most part out here, I am not a stranger. I am a new friend who hasn't been introduced yet.
Dear Nate, the problems you are talking about are NOT IN THE FUTURE. Believe someone who has lived through the 2019-2020 Australian wildfires, immediately followed by gigantic floods, which have repeated themselves every year since. This was at the same time as the start of COVID. I have had to evacuate my home in thick smoke under a shower of carbonized debris, I have been stuck in my house for a week due to landslides and floods, which have destroyed my $10,000 irrigation pump and that of many other growers. And all the while, I have to witness the daily relentless destruction of forested and agricultural areas around the city of Sydney, Australia, at the hands of the construction and real estate lobbies who control the corrupt Australian federal, state and local governments. The problems you are talking about are NOW. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR MERITORIOUS WORK.
The chessboard in the thumbnail leads to the conclusion/assumption that this is a game where someone will win and someone lose. Life is not a game and there do not have to be winners and losers. The cattle farmer does not lose if he switches to more sustainable plant agriculture neither does the unborn or unkilled cow or the consumer that now has healthier food. The billionaire/millionaire losing his/her fortune that was never really his ( money is a shared psychosis) does not lose, he just realizes the truth before his death, good for him.
Thank you so much for this one Nate. My wife and I just listened and we’re in tears. We appreciate you & are big fans of this podcast. We’re working to spread the message of caring for each other and our planet to children through music.
Thank you Nate...It is hard to even imagine how we might move forward in these times...I find myself wanting to withdraw, to just completely give up...Your message here is helping me to formulate a plan on how I might effectively in my own small way become more of a part of the solution....Thank you for your persistence...
Wow. Weeping quietly in collective grief and our commitment to do the right thing. Thank you Nate. I really needed to hear this particular Frankly today.
Of course, one might ask: has the collective ever known or done the"right thing"? If memory serves, from the mini-series "Confession" there is this observation from one of the principle characters between a duality of plotlines. "It's not hard to DO the right thing. It's hard to know what the right thing is." Another question is "college educated" for what purpose and to what end? Also, using the term "elite" without qualification is pointless. Which elite and what is the source of the "eliteness"? The game of life has not changed... and "everyone gets it"...which is why things are the way they are...so the fear here for Nate is that the majority won't get whatever this "collective" is, vs the rest. Just curious, but what other form of life has been concerned or directed at the "collective we" imagined here?
@@dermotmeuchner2416 Not necessarily...and Dunbar's number applies to pre-agricultural tribes. Conflict would be dependent on the required resources, the scarcity involved, territories, etc...largely circumstantial. The number does not exclude internal conflict, also circumstantial. Tribal affiliation is not restricted to this number, so while tribal members might be without a population center exceeding this number, thereby forced to live in separate villages, they would still be members of the same tribe...and this can be seen throughout the world, throughout history.
I love your work, your contributions Nate. I have been following you since your OilDrum days (we've exchanged emails too!). You are probably the most influential thinker in my life, and not just in an abstract and intellectual sense, but in the way I live my life. Thank you.
Thank you for your ‘morning after’ intro. The image of harmonizing or integrating these polarities is far more comfortable for me. I am battle-weary, and increasingly convinced of the ineffectiveness of the battle approach. It’s a difficult habit to break, this turning to the ancient survival tools of attack and defend, especially in a world so on fire right now with mistrust, anger, fear and casual greed. But they have not served us well. We need new tools. ♥️🙏🏽🌏
I was born just before the midpoint of the 20th century. At the start of the industrial age circa 1750 until the time I was born, a period of 200 years, concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere rose from 260ppm to 340ppm, a rise of 80ppm. In the time since I was born, it has risen a further 80ppm to 420ppm, a concentration not seen in the previous 800,000 years. If anything is of a concern, this is it.
This was brilliant Nate,as are you, so glad you’re using it for good, downloaded, will watch again, wow! You definitely got me following, love you brother 🇨🇦
I cannot give gratitude enough for your channel in this present moment. Equanimity with ALL THAT IS, is the only way forward. The shaman lives outside the village. ♾️☠️
As per usual Nate delivers the truth of our times with clarity, humility and care ♥️. The only comment I would make is that it’s not purely a lessening of the masculine but a rebalancing of masculine and feminine energy that needs to occur. Masculinity is equally as important as femininity and we need to value both equally instead of wildly swinging from one to the other. The masculine “role” historically and biologically speaking was that of protector and provider and we need to reaffirm the place for and importance of positive masculine energy (and I say this as a woman).
I think you could also add: the battle of our times is realising who we are. Another great frankly Nate, thank you. I like the way you explain the range from micro to macro and I suspect that can’t be easy. Please look after your brain, a lot of us are agreeing with you and learning from you and your guests. No doubt, if the tree falls new ones will grow and hopefully they get to hear your podcasts as they do. I reckon in time our orphan species will learn its place, let’s just hope we don’t destroy too much more in the process.
Great insights Nate. Speaking from Wales here, a little closer to the action in Europe, however I prefer to look at the bright side of what's coming in January. To change things, we must break them, and there is no better change agent than the "great" orange one. The status quo has not served us or the planet well. He knows not what he does, and that chaos will lead to change. Sometimes things need to get worse before they can get better.
Tolkien was fascinated with Welsh Myth and language, it was the coal wagons rumbling past his house on the railway when he was a kid that encouraged that interest. But we have stopped mining coal (although the narrow guage steam railways do not like the foreign coal) and I saw a Red Kite over Wrexham, and that lifted my heart as they make a comeback from near extinction.
Thank you for this seed in my own sense making - it’s so rough here in the states right now. And yet the organizing and learning to resist authoritarianism are the same that are needed for the great simplification… so perhaps this is how we go to school en masse.
Thanks, Nate. I really appreciated your comparison of activism v. effectivism -- it helped me to better understand where you're coming from in some of the remarks you make. At first I wasn't feeling too pleased with your linking the idea of activism to backwards-looking thinking, but I have to acknowledge that under any definition of what one would call success in terms of being effective, activism as we've defined it increasingly just hasn't cut it, especially these last 30 years -- which has brought me no end of frustration. Big clue! Your suggestion that we fully acknowledge who we really are in relation to this new phase we're entering is well taken. Woof! Kiss the pups for me.
Paraphrasing Morgan Freeman in Shawshank Redemption - "It's time to get busy defying and thriving or get busy crying and dying" but also be joyfully defiant. Double down on music, art, wisdom, wonder, awe, learning, wellbeing, Nature and ALL the things make you come alive and soulful in this dark time. Joanna Macy and Howard Zinn had some great advice for these times.
That was absolutely beautiful, Nate! Thank you. Your thoughts on resolving polarities, delivered in that calming deep voice of yours is ever so reassuring. I'm not convinced, though, that most people are hungry, ambitious apes, and that appealing to their better natures is for naught. Many people are literally hungry. Even those who are not literally hungry are too consumed with making a living to take the time to discriminate among politicians. That is a deliberate effect of the economic system we live in. Well meaning, compassionate, caring human beings who were never equipped with the tools to detect when they're being conned have been conned by politicians with reassuring down-home manners. In a complex, bewildering world, where even the politicians who don't stream continual lies in fact conceal important truth, the average Joe might as well believe fairytales. The party that is willing to allow climate into the conversation suffers from major delusions. In that context, we can't blame someone for being deluded by con artists. Perhaps if we can deliver some equity and dignity, and a little more free time, to the sheep, more of them can wake up and move in a better direction even without the border collie. And the sheep and the border collies are not different species. We're all human, even the psychopaths.
To me much of activism is actually re-activism, I prefer pro-activism, just as I consider myself neither an optimist or pessimist but rather a possibilist
Everyone is quite aware of how bad everything always is: your battle is with spiritual motivation, the ideas that win the future will inspire with a better picture of what could be
Immaculate Constellation Document "The official disclosure of the existence of Non-Human Intelligences (NHIs) and their presence on Earth is a pivotal moment in human history."
Everything should be in favor of life, more diverse life, more connections of life, more cycles of life for more and more time. Take a moment to digest the turn of events, listen to the calling of life then work for life. The wind blows stiff away from life- face into the wind
Dear Nate, your Franklys keep getting better. I'm italian but we feel the Eye of Sauron looming from the states with Musk asking to remove our judges like an emperor to a distant province, judges whose fault was only to protect some poor souls from deportation in a lager in Albania. It's really an heavy time to be alive and I begin to feel the pain of It all because of our impotence. Your work helps to cope. Of course Power Is the problem not the solution and being impotent Is a precondition for change. Have a nice day.
The question is: why do you have to say all these things? That should all be instilled in our common objectives. As long as the first goal is to "make money" and claim "freedom" as an egotistical end, the common good is unfortunately going to be the last reason to exist on this planet. As a species we will undergo a lot of suffering in the decades to come since nothing else seems to trigger a response. I do my share in the limits of my capacity: I don't take planes, I don't own a car, I don't produce garbage, I recycle, etc. This should be the least one can do. I live comfortably with very little and cooperate as much as possible to the community for free.
Sometimes I'm losing control of my emotions but during those depressed times I go into the forest and communicate with the trees and the mushrooms and the plants. I think that many humans are lost in a horrible reality. They are listening to the grifters and liars. Thank you Nate.
I follow your work closely Nate and have much gratitude for it, but I find the "battle" language here moving from tricky (as you agree) to simply incoherent as a frame for the many dynamics at play between 'activism' and 'effectivism'. To generalise the former as you do feels to me about as observant as individual activists' dismissing (as many do, of course) brushing off complexity-analysis (etc.) as mere complacency. Of the 25+ nonviolent activists currently sitting in UK jails for bearing witness as they have, I wonder if there is even one who would fit your description, or who really imagines activism alone is going to solve any of this, now or later. To me their ethical resolve is as deeply coherent as what any of us are doing, and separated from effective critique and bridge-building, is about as helpless. The crucial binary here for me is something like 'battleism' versus 'integralism' - though I'm sure you could say that better. Thanks for what you do.
Greetings Nate, Though we have never met, you have been very effective in training me as a "border collie" . In this Frankly you list modulation of autonomic nervous system as a polarity of sympathetic/parasympathetic, which is only roughly true; there is a potent refinement of our understanding of how the autonomic system evolved in mammals called polyvagal theory, developed by Stephen Porges. ( Once your look into this, I highly recommend that you have Stephen on the podcast. These insights are crucial to the wholesome training of border collies.). Briefly, in mammals we have the evolution of a "social engagement system" modulated by a ventral branch of the vagus nerve (the dorsal branch of the vagus nerve being associated with "shutdown" in the face of severe threat). This allows humans to be activated around one another and at the same time feel safe... this is a system that allows humans to co-regulate and cooperate. A great deal more could be said about this but I just wanted to give you enough to whet your curiosity. You will find this extremely important to incorporate into your mission...
Many things to ponder with those lists Nate gave us. After projecting lines on the list to family members and how they might navigate future life, I do a self analysis of my own. Remarkable times indeed with great changes ahead and with change comes uncertainty...
My 34 year old son just took himself, my daughter in law and 7 month old grand daughter away from me breaking my heart. We are not Americans. I do not even live in the same Country as they do. There is a poison in the world today spreading amongst us. I hold myself as dear to myself as a I can and people like you Nate give me a measure of encouragement, not hope as that is long gone. So thank you. ❤
Thank you Nate. You are making a difference. With your help I am aspiring to be an effective Border Collie who mentors and collaborates with other Border Collies. Keep going!
I think it's interesting how the language one uses to describe a situation says a lot about one's culture's worldview. Battles is a good example, indicative of a violent culture. I also hear a lot of terminology from economics for describing natural processes, which I think is kind of absurd. But one can't escape one's culture and its language. Which is a shame, because it limits our way of seeing the world to some degree.
Nate, the geology of commodities particularly fossil fuels is well understood. They are far more limited than understood by most. The laws of physics and chemistry can not be changed. Without the leadership of well educated, high integrity leaders the hope of addressing humanities' problems is zero. That US voter just voted for a criminal oligarchy destroys any possibility of human society as we know it lasting more than a decade or so. And the hope of humanity itself lasting into next century.
I have been thinking... that maybe we have "the guardians" just take their role in society. It is like we need a ecological circulatory system of our own..... to build up this group of guardians..... money and politics seems to suck us down in the dark hole. We need a way of transferring and holding regenerative wealth, power and wisdom that stays outside the patriarchal systems. Is a new language? a new currency? new models? new texts?... it seems like we have to stay underground.... like the roots of a tree and spread across the planet.... unassailable by weapons and fear.... We need to imagine almost a different human culture. But we can not fight them.... somehow..... Like aikido.... Maybe they don't even need to know we are here. By how.... how.... dream my dreamers.
Without love, humanity would not last a day. (Eric Fromm). The darkness cannot overwhelm the light...so...let's cherish our values. There is no sustaining life without love, say the wisdom traditions. The Spirit can carry the body now. We just need to plug into the mains and watch as all the batteries around us eventually run out of juice. What I'm not saying is that this is easy. Keep the faith, Nate. I loved and really appreciate your overview. Thank you.
Yesterday I had a medical appointment where they usually do a depression screening. The nurse asked me a new question. "Are you able to tell me what concerns you most in this world?" At first I was taken by the way the question was formed then I thought about this podcast.
Thanks Nate. Frankly, I'm right with you there, it's just word battle which doesn't resonate. What gets on peoples minds when they hear the word battle? Guessable, a mixed bag of low vibrating emotions followed by anxiety. There are no battles in nature. Our minds created the battle to drive our endorphins, and we're fuelling our whole existence on it. It is time the battle becomes the task, then the battlefield offers a creative and purposeful playground whereby our relations and actions remain humane. Artificial intelligence creates artificial humans, which seem to be in constant battle. To face the upcoming seemly unmountable tasks, we need a high vibrational sense together with a balanced holistic perception. Whilst on a positive note, the word battle, will increase the viewing numbers of this podcast on return, it will also fuel the growing urge for conflict. Stay sane all.
I often think of your ending quote from lord of the rings. I am not sure if i should feel comfort from the parallels between now and Token's time or depressed by it. His writings are shaped by his experiences in the great war to end all wars. Unfortunately over a century later the situation hasn't improved for our society.
De-urbanization...towns & villages of ~130, as we evolved. Rural folx are most satisfied, cuz earned in self-sufficiency...also weaves community, e.g., barn raisings, cabin building, etc. The sweet spot🤌
The romanticism of it is overblown. It's nonstop backbreaking work, and the community is like any other -- mostly people you don't like with a handful of good'uns. I don't feel angry every day like I did living in a city years ago, but I'm still plagued by the question: "what is the point of all this?" If I am content, it is only because I am too exhausted to be discontent.
@Corrie-fd9ww Very glad2hear ur "deeply fulfilling" experience!👏🙌🫶 Haven't heard many rural detractors, IRL. If anything, would expect the contrast w/urbanite dependents is getting moreso. I long2become self sufficient...perhaps the foundation of a new self-made man ethos, 4tha fewch@🤔 Have gratitude4the luxury we live in, despite knowing it makes us soft/weak/dependent. Having climbed up the mountain as far as I'm likely to make it, why not take in the fantastic view!😍 The future seems2b rapidly coming2a fork: Little House on the Prarie, or the Matrix. Expect Pareto wud say 80% will choose2b royalty in their coddled imaginations. The 20% survivors, (and they know it, cuz they live it), will be foundational. Congrats!💪 Keep on role-modeling4the future!🔭
I'm reading a fair bit of Joanna Macy these days, but still struggling to understand the "active hope" part, and how to move forward constructively without collapsing into despair and anger. Nate touched on effectivism vs activism and that's helping me understand it a bit better. I'd like more about that please.
I argue that humans and the technology we create is part of nature. Because humans are not separate from nature, we have evolved our tools out of nature. I subscribe to a wholeness perspective. Humans are not separate from nature nor our innovative tool making. What is occurring today is out of the multitude of quantium possibilities for our future.
Would like to hear more about activism v effectivism. Because I have come to the conclusion that marches, letters and calls to representatives, talking to neighbors, knocking on doors (especially!), etc are a waste of time. We have been fighting the good fight for issues of humanity for as long as I can remember (the sixties) and yet where are we now?
Effectivism goes unnoticed, when noticed it gets capitalized on. To avoid capture, human beings use ingenuity to witness collapse, yet maintain sobriety while avoiding or gluing the wheels of the machine. History is only written of victors and semantics, journalism is a threat to the dismantling of sovereignty. (Free market oppression)
I could hear you getting choked. Many of us weep with grief for what's happening, but you truly are a beacon of light in these dark times with your compassion and wisdom. Thank you 🙏
Need these kind of thinkers
❤
I am glad that Trump won. I am glad that you weep. Had Harris won you might feel triumphal. You probably would have felt that you have done enough. Harris was never going to save us from ourselves. That is something we have to do. A year ago I started a journey and a commitment to become a steward of a forest. We spent everything we had and it is hard. A year on we cannot imagine the idea of going back. We rarely leave the forest. We are still working on being able to sustain ourselves. We are trying. What are you trying? Do not ask a politician to save the world for you. They will not. Ask of yourself; if this is what I believe then why do I continue to live this way? Then Google Bill Mollison, the global gardener. There is hope within his rage. Access your rage and get to work.
th-cam.com/video/6RD1GW-vOHg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=cUJk_B4MENiQq7ct
I am glad that Trump won. If Harris had won you might feel triumphal. A politician was never going to save the planet for you. That is your job and mine. A year ago my partner and I began our journey to become stewards of the forest and learn how to be self-sustainable while doing it. Neither of us can imagine going back. What are you doing? If these are your beliefs why do you continue to live the way that you do? The beautiful thing about taking personal accountability and letting go of false hope for modern civilization is that it is really quite freeing. You must walk away from the dystopia in order to escape it. The longer that you cling to hope within it the more likely you are to be caught up in its wrath. Access your own rage and let it guide you to action. Walk away from it. If I can do it then so can you.
Natural introvert and screen addict here. My favourite day of 2024 so far was helping a lost dog find its owner. It pushed me to interact with people in my local community that I'd never met before. We all bonded over a common cause based on values and moral duty. It was a wholly uncharacteristic way for me to spend the day, but it has stuck with me ever since as probably the most meaningful thing I've done all year.
There absolutely are bad faith actors lured by power, but I'd like to think that the majority of the populace are just listless and apathetic. They need an inciting incident like this to be shaken out of their complacency and reminded that the most rewarding aspect of life is not that of wealth accumulation or intoxicating entertainment, but of being in service to and in presence with others. Sounds like cheesy, softy leftist nonsense, but rather miraculously, it's true.
Love this.
What about getting a homeless dog from the animal shelter? Lots of bonding ... and you would be out in nature more often 😀A friend of mine did this and has now more interactions with people in the local community than ever.
Not only is the dog happy, there is also a neighbor's child with developmental difficulties who is reassured and enjoys petting the dog and sometimes taking care of him. Win-win-win situation 😀
And while this happened, countless people were murdered in Gaza, Ukraine etc. So it's very good that you could help a dog, but it doesn't change the completely violent and life-threatening status quo. It doesn't change the fact that for politicians and their overlords, who we cannot vote for or against, see us as cattle and flesh for their meatgrinder called capitalism, society, etc..We are nothing in their eyes.
@@adambazso9207- you must be a riot at parties!
@@adambazso9207 You’re right of course, but fully concentrating on the macro-level systems effects 24/7 can lead to disillusionment and apathy. This was me for a while, and it serves nobody. Some of us are Roger Hallams, others are just trying to pick themselves up and get through the day while causing as little harm to the planet as possible. I’d like to be in a position of influence to affect social change at a greater scale, but it’s not my reality at the moment. I’m building towards it, but it doesn’t happen overnight. In the process, we shouldn’t neglect to acknowledge the small acts of kindness we experience, nor should we be blind to the beauty in our everyday interactions with the non-human and natural world.
To solely see ‘the forest’ is to ignore the bewildering beauty and complexity of the tree. I seem to recall a podcast guest mentioning a walk in the woods with Daniel Schmactenberger, and she was getting frustrated with her planned discussion about the metacrisis being constantly curtailed by Daniel excitably fawning over fungal growths and the other natural wonders around them. He told her that we need to make time to look around and appreciate life and remember what we are fighting for. If a mind of that capacity and depth is insistent on it, I’m inclined to agree.
Nate, seriously, bless you. There are those that care but don't have the intelligence. There are those who are intelligent to a specific focus but they don't have the care. You have the care, the intelligence and the articulation, but beyond that, you have true humanity. Your grounded, calm, curious and always humble delivery within these intensities is stoic and it feels like sitting next to a warm fire. I get guidance from spending time with ancient redwoods, or full body nature immersion. In this distorted human world. you are among only a few which I feel are having the courage and conviction to speak the unspoken. You are very very strong Nate. Thank you for continuing the highest relevance zoom-out conversations. I appreciate the Effectivism word. YES to THAT as we move consciously forward.
100% Andrea, love your expression 🙏
Thank you so much for writing this, Andrea. You put into words how I feel as well.
Yes - our work is just getting started. We couldn’t start until we got clear on what we were dealing with. Now we know and we are with you and all the others like you - you’ve lit the way- let’s go! We were made for these times. Sending much love and gratitude.
"Stay parasympathetic" is my new email sign-off :) Thanks for this Nate. I feel your heart in it. The truth of the world is hard, but somehow it helps me to hear it laid out like this. Somehow, some of us need to keep the big truths in our minds, and not fall unconscious, not numb ourselves with consumption, but also not be suffocated by panic and grief.
Oh, God Nate, I love you, and you're work, but I really do have to force myself to focus, tune in, and digest some of the more esoteric side of the great struggle discussions. Whereas It is conversely very easy for me to devour 1 5 hr + PCs with energy and geopol experts or permaculture practices.
Sometimes, I just can't. Sometimes, personal problems win, and other times, I must physically move or flounder.
One thing that has happened without fail since I began listening a couple of years ago is that when I listen, I come away not only feeling better and more calm, but actually knowing that I've learned something useful about myself and others. I'm reminded every time that what I personally do in my life is more important than any amount of worry or struggle over the larger picture.
Thank you, Nate!
thank you - and never fear - there are some energy/money etc analyses coming...!
@thegreatsimplification
I commented early on in the vid, before you mentioned elitism. I didn't want to use that word and seem offensive, but I love that you brought it up and how you explained it. I always hope to see your viewership rise, but dread what I've seen happen with the community and comment section when viewership numbers take off. So extra happy on that! Thanks again. Peace✌️
Let us all begin to plant the many seeds of what we might become. Thank you for that Nate
You take good care too! I’m in tears as well. Nate, you and DJ feel as father and grandfather figures for the world. This is true care, true Love - the message you both have studied, created, and shared. It provides guidance and space to grieve and then to brainstorm how to act effectively. I’m gathering the tools and incubating to become one of those border collie humans. Know you both continue to fulfill your goal of raising and nurturing children/young adults who are not your own. I’m one of them.
Who is DJ?
@@ricos1497 DJ White (see EarthTrust). They wrote “Reality Blind” together. They are long-time collaborators, and I take a lot of inspiration from them.
@@ricos1497 DJ White, founder of Greenpeace, co-author with Nate of a couple of books.
@robinschaufler444 Ah, of course, thanks!
Apparently someone asked Simone Weil, “Where was your God during the holocaust, uh?” To which she replied “Where were you during the holocaust? Where were we?”
‘God’ isn’t there unless we bring God into the world; then Grace fills the vacuum, the empty spaces, and the heart of a human being when it’s being purified. We can make a difference with our work in Presence.
Bless you for this channel, one can feel a great soul brotherhood around here. Greetings from Florence, Italy
King, you dropped this. 👑 For real though that was incredible. You, and you alone, have built an entire school of thought. An axiom by which all other decisions can be evaluated. And you've done it out in the open for all of us to join you. And for that I thank you. You may never know how much your ideas have changed the lives of others, but i truly think you can lay your head down at night knowing that you've already changed the course of the human enterprise. It's just too soon yet to know how.
What is the axiom?
Thank You Nate…I did not want this horror in the country to happen in my time as an elder but it has…and your video of opposites clarified my direction that aligns with your conclusion and has brought me some parasympathetic peace. I have let go of the hope of influencing the populist power agenda after this election and I making my way to my small rural community to create the collective to weather this coming decade in a supportive community of “sheepdogs” renewable energy and my Aladdin oil lamps…much aloha my friend and to all my like minded fellow peeps
May the peace of the country be upon you 🙏🏻
In our part of the Pacific Maori call it 'aroha'. May all our lives be filled with it in these distressing times! ❤
I'm/we're staying tooned, Nate. No time to abandone any battle. Even almost blind as we sometimes are because all the difficulties of our times, we're already having the intuition of possible seeds, can even imagine them, desire them. That's already a lot. If this is our time, let's not waste any minute. Keep talking and doing your job, you're spreading seeds, helping others to spread theirs. Thank you, Nate, deep thanks from the heart.
Fabulous, awakening, inspiring….your work/passion is much appreciated!
Thank you, Nate. These are powerful messages at a time when it’s tempting to succumb to apathy, despondency, or, at the other end of the spectrum, hatred and violence. Your content is a beacon of light and inspiration (both intellectual and spiritual) in this era of growing insecurity and upheavals. Wishing you many breaths of calming peace as well 🌍🌏🌎
Thank you, Nate. Continue to be the beam of light for this world.
I needed to hear this. I haven't been my higher self the last few days. I left my city life behind. I now live happily with less, I and surrounded by nature. I feel so fortunate. Understanding the science history and knowing that most do not does help me be more compassionate. It's been a challenge this month. Your calm and thoughtful presentation is a good example of how to communicate and continue to grow. Thank you for everything you do.
I keep thinking I need to quit my gardening jobs and run away to a rural area...many are considering leaving the country. I would be more brave with like minded people nearby to work with
@GabrielLaValle-ex3sk I didn't know anyone here at first. I am a bit of an introvert. The first people I met were not so pleasant. I have been here for a few years and now have found some fabulous friends. I enjoy solitude, so the lack of local friends wasn't a problem. Also, I live in Navajo and Pueblo country. I love going to town. The first time I went to the grocery store on the Rez, I was pleasantly shocked by the experience. I ended up dancing and singing with the produce guy. In the city, I just kept to myself. For the most part out here, I am not a stranger. I am a new friend who hasn't been introduced yet.
Thank you so very much. I too weep for all that is and all that could be. I am committed to creating a haven, for nature and humans. Namaste Nate ....
Me too.
Dear Nate, the problems you are talking about are NOT IN THE FUTURE. Believe someone who has lived through the 2019-2020 Australian wildfires, immediately followed by gigantic floods, which have repeated themselves every year since. This was at the same time as the start of COVID. I have had to evacuate my home in thick smoke under a shower of carbonized debris, I have been stuck in my house for a week due to landslides and floods, which have destroyed my $10,000 irrigation pump and that of many other growers. And all the while, I have to witness the daily relentless destruction of forested and agricultural areas around the city of Sydney, Australia, at the hands of the construction and real estate lobbies who control the corrupt Australian federal, state and local governments. The problems you are talking about are NOW.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR MERITORIOUS WORK.
This "Frankly" really got me. Thank you, Nate 🙏
Hi Nate
Definitely train the wise sheep dog.
Truly grateful for you.
💜
The chessboard in the thumbnail leads to the conclusion/assumption that this is a game where someone will win and someone lose. Life is not a game and there do not have to be winners and losers. The cattle farmer does not lose if he switches to more sustainable plant agriculture neither does the unborn or unkilled cow or the consumer that now has healthier food.
The billionaire/millionaire losing his/her fortune that was never really his ( money is a shared psychosis) does not lose, he just realizes the truth before his death, good for him.
Thank you so much for this one Nate. My wife and I just listened and we’re in tears. We appreciate you & are big fans of this podcast. We’re working to spread the message of caring for each other and our planet to children through music.
This was very therapeutic. Thank you.
Always great to hear some sane words of wisdom. Keep up the good work.
Thank you Nate for all your dedication. To give us some tools to navigate the complexity of our time. To stay authentic and caring about life!
Thank you, Nate. Looking forward to hearing your conversation with Dougald Hine when it's ready!
Thank you Nate...It is hard to even imagine how we might move forward in these times...I find myself wanting to withdraw, to just completely give up...Your message here is helping me to formulate a plan on how I might effectively in my own small way become more of a part of the solution....Thank you for your persistence...
You dropping that Gandalf quote was pretty moving! Thanks for that. Time we get to work.
Wow. Weeping quietly in collective grief and our commitment to do the right thing. Thank you Nate. I really needed to hear this particular Frankly today.
Of course, one might ask: has the collective ever known or done the"right thing"? If memory serves, from the mini-series "Confession" there is this observation from one of
the principle characters between a duality of plotlines. "It's not hard to DO the right thing. It's hard to know what the right thing is." Another question is "college educated" for what purpose and to what end? Also, using the term "elite" without qualification is pointless. Which elite and what is the source of the "eliteness"? The game of life has not changed...
and "everyone gets it"...which is why things are the way they are...so the fear here for Nate is that the majority won't get whatever this "collective" is, vs the rest. Just curious, but what other form of life has been concerned or directed at the "collective we" imagined here?
Any group over 100-125 people ends up in conflict.
@@dermotmeuchner2416 Not necessarily...and Dunbar's number applies to pre-agricultural tribes. Conflict would be dependent on the required resources, the scarcity involved, territories, etc...largely circumstantial. The number does not exclude internal conflict, also circumstantial. Tribal affiliation is not restricted to this number, so while tribal members might be without a population center exceeding this number, thereby forced to live in separate villages, they would still be members of the same tribe...and this can be seen throughout the world, throughout history.
I love your work, your contributions Nate. I have been following you since your OilDrum days (we've exchanged emails too!). You are probably the most influential thinker in my life, and not just in an abstract and intellectual sense, but in the way I live my life. Thank you.
All I can say, over and over, is thank you. And take care of your heart.
I was waiting for this.
Me too.
Thank you for your ‘morning after’ intro. The image of harmonizing or integrating these polarities is far more comfortable for me. I am battle-weary, and increasingly convinced of the ineffectiveness of the battle approach. It’s a difficult habit to break, this turning to the ancient survival tools of attack and defend, especially in a world so on fire right now with mistrust, anger, fear and casual greed.
But they have not served us well.
We need new tools.
♥️🙏🏽🌏
I was born just before the midpoint of the 20th century. At the start of the industrial age circa 1750 until the time I was born, a period of 200 years, concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere rose from 260ppm to 340ppm, a rise of 80ppm. In the time since I was born, it has risen a further 80ppm to 420ppm, a concentration not seen in the previous 800,000 years. If anything is of a concern, this is it.
I'm deeply moved... yet again... by your heart and wisdom and ability to clearly state what is coming. Blessings!
So we keep on singing and joining voices…. And learning new songs sung by life in her endless wisdom
La. La. La????? Let's come together / we are all one. La la???
I hope you don't meant that.
Western countries don't wanna pay
This was brilliant Nate,as are you, so glad you’re using it for good, downloaded, will watch again, wow! You definitely got me following, love you brother 🇨🇦
Welling up at the end! Bless you Nate, and all the other mitochondria of the future. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Thank you for your consistency, common sense and compassion.
I cannot give gratitude enough for your channel in this present moment. Equanimity with
ALL THAT IS, is the only way forward.
The shaman lives outside the village. ♾️☠️
As per usual Nate delivers the truth of our times with clarity, humility and care ♥️. The only comment I would make is that it’s not purely a lessening of the masculine but a rebalancing of masculine and feminine energy that needs to occur. Masculinity is equally as important as femininity and we need to value both equally instead of wildly swinging from one to the other. The masculine “role” historically and biologically speaking was that of protector and provider and we need to reaffirm the place for and importance of positive masculine energy (and I say this as a woman).
I think you could also add: the battle of our times is realising who we are.
Another great frankly Nate, thank you. I like the way you explain the range from micro to macro and I suspect that can’t be easy. Please look after your brain, a lot of us are agreeing with you and learning from you and your guests.
No doubt, if the tree falls new ones will grow and hopefully they get to hear your podcasts as they do. I reckon in time our orphan species will learn its place, let’s just hope we don’t destroy too much more in the process.
Brilliant. Thank you Nate. I really needed the focus.
Great insights Nate. Speaking from Wales here, a little closer to the action in Europe, however I prefer to look at the bright side of what's coming in January. To change things, we must break them, and there is no better change agent than the "great" orange one. The status quo has not served us or the planet well. He knows not what he does, and that chaos will lead to change. Sometimes things need to get worse before they can get better.
I agree with you. Let's choose not to be in fear.
In Wales too!
Tolkien was fascinated with Welsh Myth and language, it was the coal wagons rumbling past his house on the railway when he was a kid that encouraged that interest. But we have stopped mining coal (although the narrow guage steam railways do not like the foreign coal) and I saw a Red Kite over Wrexham, and that lifted my heart as they make a comeback from near extinction.
Thank you for this seed in my own sense making - it’s so rough here in the states right now. And yet the organizing and learning to resist authoritarianism are the same that are needed for the great simplification… so perhaps this is how we go to school en masse.
Completely silly reasoning. Would you let a drunk drive you around just to shake things up?
I'd pick a sober person to drive me 10/10 times.
Yes - Well done. Much to agree with here, and a useful quote from Professor Tolkien rounded it all off very nicely. :)
Thanks, Nate. I really appreciated your comparison of activism v. effectivism -- it helped me to better understand where you're coming from in some of the remarks you make. At first I wasn't feeling too pleased with your linking the idea of activism to backwards-looking thinking, but I have to acknowledge that under any definition of what one would call success in terms of being effective, activism as we've defined it increasingly just hasn't cut it, especially these last 30 years -- which has brought me no end of frustration. Big clue! Your suggestion that we fully acknowledge who we really are in relation to this new phase we're entering is well taken. Woof!
Kiss the pups for me.
The ongoing battle of extraction vs regeneration is set to escalate right away... At the end of January to be exact.
It has been in an escalation spiral for the last year. Just look at satellite photos of the middle east today compared to 2022.
Paraphrasing Morgan Freeman in Shawshank Redemption - "It's time to get busy defying and thriving or get busy crying and dying" but also be joyfully defiant. Double down on music, art, wisdom, wonder, awe, learning, wellbeing, Nature and ALL the things make you come alive and soulful in this dark time. Joanna Macy and Howard Zinn had some great advice for these times.
Nate, you are a great seeker and sharer of wisdom for our time ! Thanks Rick
"This story is grammatically correct".. That is a very gentle way of putting that.
My preferred scale for "the collective": 🌏
So well thought out! Thank you.
Thank you for your thoughtfull thoughts, Nate! I' m with you, too.
That was absolutely beautiful, Nate! Thank you. Your thoughts on resolving polarities, delivered in that calming deep voice of yours is ever so reassuring.
I'm not convinced, though, that most people are hungry, ambitious apes, and that appealing to their better natures is for naught.
Many people are literally hungry. Even those who are not literally hungry are too consumed with making a living to take the time to discriminate among politicians. That is a deliberate effect of the economic system we live in.
Well meaning, compassionate, caring human beings who were never equipped with the tools to detect when they're being conned have been conned by politicians with reassuring down-home manners. In a complex, bewildering world, where even the politicians who don't stream continual lies in fact conceal important truth, the average Joe might as well believe fairytales.
The party that is willing to allow climate into the conversation suffers from major delusions. In that context, we can't blame someone for being deluded by con artists.
Perhaps if we can deliver some equity and dignity, and a little more free time, to the sheep, more of them can wake up and move in a better direction even without the border collie. And the sheep and the border collies are not different species. We're all human, even the psychopaths.
Sending love and hugs
To me much of activism is actually re-activism, I prefer pro-activism, just as I consider myself neither an optimist or pessimist but rather a possibilist
Well done! Very powerful.
Everyone is quite aware of how bad everything always is: your battle is with spiritual motivation, the ideas that win the future will inspire with a better picture of what could be
Immaculate Constellation Document
"The official disclosure of the existence of Non-Human Intelligences (NHIs) and their presence on Earth is a pivotal moment in human history."
"Hopium"!
@Stupidityindex I am so spiritually motivated by that
@treefrog3349 thank you Schopenhauer.. very constructive
the people i talk to have no idea how things are. i wish people knew.
and i can not tell them.....
Well, Nate, you're my better angel. Thanks
Big love nate. Big love. ❤❤
Everything should be in favor of life, more diverse life, more connections of life, more cycles of life for more and more time. Take a moment to digest the turn of events, listen to the calling of life then work for life. The wind blows stiff away from life- face into the wind
Dear Nate, your Franklys keep getting better. I'm italian but we feel the Eye of Sauron looming from the states with Musk asking to remove our judges like an emperor to a distant province, judges whose fault was only to protect some poor souls from deportation in a lager in Albania. It's really an heavy time to be alive and I begin to feel the pain of It all because of our impotence. Your work helps to cope. Of course Power Is the problem not the solution and being impotent Is a precondition for change. Have a nice day.
The question is: why do you have to say all these things? That should all be instilled in our common objectives. As long as the first goal is to "make money" and claim "freedom" as an egotistical end, the common good is unfortunately going to be the last reason to exist on this planet. As a species we will undergo a lot of suffering in the decades to come since nothing else seems to trigger a response. I do my share in the limits of my capacity: I don't take planes, I don't own a car, I don't produce garbage, I recycle, etc. This should be the least one can do. I live comfortably with very little and cooperate as much as possible to the community for free.
As long as you feel important.
Sometimes I'm losing control of my emotions but during those depressed times I go into the forest and communicate with the trees and the mushrooms and the plants. I think that many humans are lost in a horrible reality. They are listening to the grifters and liars.
Thank you Nate.
I follow your work closely Nate and have much gratitude for it, but I find the "battle" language here moving from tricky (as you agree) to simply incoherent as a frame for the many dynamics at play between 'activism' and 'effectivism'. To generalise the former as you do feels to me about as observant as individual activists' dismissing (as many do, of course) brushing off complexity-analysis (etc.) as mere complacency. Of the 25+ nonviolent activists currently sitting in UK jails for bearing witness as they have, I wonder if there is even one who would fit your description, or who really imagines activism alone is going to solve any of this, now or later. To me their ethical resolve is as deeply coherent as what any of us are doing, and separated from effective critique and bridge-building, is about as helpless. The crucial binary here for me is something like 'battleism' versus 'integralism' - though I'm sure you could say that better. Thanks for what you do.
Wait! I'm still back here enjoying the image of the giant flying neon pink Tesla-eating sharks...
This was very uplifting - Thank you
Excellent Nate. I'm going to copy this as it needs watching a few times.
Greetings Nate, Though we have never met, you have been very effective in training me as a "border collie" . In this Frankly you list modulation of autonomic nervous system as a polarity of sympathetic/parasympathetic, which is only roughly true; there is a potent refinement of our understanding of how the autonomic system evolved in mammals called polyvagal theory, developed by Stephen Porges. ( Once your look into this, I highly recommend that you have Stephen on the podcast. These insights are crucial to the wholesome training of border collies.). Briefly, in mammals we have the evolution of a "social engagement system" modulated by a ventral branch of the vagus nerve (the dorsal branch of the vagus nerve being associated with "shutdown" in the face of severe threat). This allows humans to be activated around one another and at the same time feel safe... this is a system that allows humans to co-regulate and cooperate. A great deal more could be said about this but I just wanted to give you enough to whet your curiosity. You will find this extremely important to incorporate into your mission...
Thank you. Will prioritize looking into this!
thanks, Nate
Thank you for all you do. This helped today.
Thank you Nate❤
Many things to ponder with those lists Nate gave us. After projecting lines on the list to family members and how they might navigate future life, I do a self analysis of my own. Remarkable times indeed with great changes ahead and with change comes uncertainty...
Thank you for making me think.
My 34 year old son just took himself, my daughter in law and 7 month old grand daughter away from me breaking my heart. We are not Americans. I do not even live in the same Country as they do. There is a poison in the world today spreading amongst us. I hold myself as dear to myself as a I can and people like you Nate give me a measure of encouragement, not hope as that is long gone. So thank you. ❤
This is therapy ❤ thank you
Thank you Nate. You are making a difference. With your help I am aspiring to be an effective Border Collie who mentors and collaborates with other Border Collies. Keep going!
I think it's interesting how the language one uses to describe a situation says a lot about one's culture's worldview. Battles is a good example, indicative of a violent culture. I also hear a lot of terminology from economics for describing natural processes, which I think is kind of absurd. But one can't escape one's culture and its language. Which is a shame, because it limits our way of seeing the world to some degree.
Deeply moving talk Nate
Bertolt Brecht had a lot to say about times like this
Nate, the geology of commodities particularly fossil fuels is well understood. They are far more limited than understood by most. The laws of physics and chemistry can not be changed. Without the leadership of well educated, high integrity leaders the hope of addressing humanities' problems is zero. That US voter just voted for a criminal oligarchy destroys any possibility of human society as we know it lasting more than a decade or so. And the hope of humanity itself lasting into next century.
I have been thinking... that maybe we have "the guardians" just take their role in society. It is like we need a ecological circulatory system of our own..... to build up this group of guardians..... money and politics seems to suck us down in the dark hole. We need a way of transferring and holding regenerative wealth, power and wisdom that stays outside the patriarchal systems. Is a new language? a new currency? new models? new texts?... it seems like we have to stay underground.... like the roots of a tree and spread across the planet.... unassailable by weapons and fear.... We need to imagine almost a different human culture. But we can not fight them.... somehow..... Like aikido.... Maybe they don't even need to know we are here. By how.... how.... dream my dreamers.
Without love, humanity would not last a day. (Eric Fromm). The darkness cannot overwhelm the light...so...let's cherish our values. There is no sustaining life without love, say the wisdom traditions. The Spirit can carry the body now. We just need to plug into the mains and watch as all the batteries around us eventually run out of juice. What I'm not saying is that this is easy. Keep the faith, Nate. I loved and really appreciate your overview. Thank you.
14:40 As an (occasional) activist, thats a brilliant insight and is definitely making me rethink a lot of things. Thank you Nate. 🙏🌍🌱
Yesterday I had a medical appointment where they usually do a depression screening. The nurse asked me a new question.
"Are you able to tell me what concerns you most in this world?"
At first I was taken by the way the question was formed then I thought about this podcast.
Beautiful, thank you.
Thanks Nate. Frankly, I'm right with you there, it's just word battle which doesn't resonate.
What gets on peoples minds when they hear the word battle? Guessable, a mixed bag of low vibrating emotions followed by anxiety. There are no battles in nature. Our minds created the battle to drive our endorphins, and we're fuelling our whole existence on it.
It is time the battle becomes the task, then the battlefield offers a creative and purposeful playground whereby our relations and actions remain humane. Artificial intelligence creates artificial humans, which seem to be in constant battle. To face the upcoming seemly unmountable tasks, we need a high vibrational sense together with a balanced holistic perception. Whilst on a positive note, the word battle, will increase the viewing numbers of this podcast on return, it will also fuel the growing urge for conflict.
Stay sane all.
Profound. And what so many others have commented below. Thank you!
~All My Relations~
🙏Thank 🌎 you 🙏
❤❤❤it's a fuk up....on many levels.
What a fabulous podcast.
Remember to hug your local trees.
I often think of your ending quote from lord of the rings. I am not sure if i should feel comfort from the parallels between now and Token's time or depressed by it. His writings are shaped by his experiences in the great war to end all wars. Unfortunately over a century later the situation hasn't improved for our society.
thanks for what you do, Nate. helps us mid-wits make sense of the world.
Powerful wisdom, this really frames the reality were in. But with some hope and a map you're giving us.
Like so good, man. Thank you for this. Very powerful.
De-urbanization...towns & villages of ~130, as we evolved. Rural folx are most satisfied, cuz earned in self-sufficiency...also weaves community, e.g., barn raisings, cabin building, etc.
The sweet spot🤌
The romanticism of it is overblown. It's nonstop backbreaking work, and the community is like any other -- mostly people you don't like with a handful of good'uns. I don't feel angry every day like I did living in a city years ago, but I'm still plagued by the question: "what is the point of all this?" If I am content, it is only because I am too exhausted to be discontent.
@Corrie-fd9ww Very glad2hear ur "deeply fulfilling" experience!👏🙌🫶
Haven't heard many rural detractors, IRL. If anything, would expect the contrast w/urbanite dependents is getting moreso.
I long2become self sufficient...perhaps the foundation of a new self-made man ethos, 4tha fewch@🤔
Have gratitude4the luxury we live in, despite knowing it makes us soft/weak/dependent. Having climbed up the mountain as far as I'm likely to make it, why not take in the fantastic view!😍
The future seems2b rapidly coming2a fork: Little House on the Prarie, or the Matrix. Expect Pareto wud say 80% will choose2b royalty in their coddled imaginations. The 20% survivors, (and they know it, cuz they live it), will be foundational. Congrats!💪
Keep on role-modeling4the future!🔭
Fantastic.
I'm reading a fair bit of Joanna Macy these days, but still struggling to understand the "active hope" part, and how to move forward constructively without collapsing into despair and anger. Nate touched on effectivism vs activism and that's helping me understand it a bit better. I'd like more about that please.
I argue that humans and the technology we create is part of nature. Because humans are not separate from nature, we have evolved our tools out of nature. I subscribe to a wholeness perspective. Humans are not separate from nature nor our innovative tool making. What is occurring today is out of the multitude of quantium possibilities for our future.
Thank you Nate
Would like to hear more about activism v effectivism. Because I have come to the conclusion that marches, letters and calls to representatives, talking to neighbors, knocking on doors (especially!), etc are a waste of time. We have been fighting the good fight for issues of humanity for as long as I can remember (the sixties) and yet where are we now?
Effectivism goes unnoticed, when noticed it gets capitalized on.
To avoid capture, human beings use ingenuity to witness collapse, yet maintain sobriety while avoiding or gluing the wheels of the machine.
History is only written of victors and semantics, journalism is a threat to the dismantling of sovereignty. (Free market oppression)
3:30 The battle between 'the elites' and the common man has been raging for millennia. This is close to the root of _all_ the challenges we face.