A carbon-induced lament

Our denial is a sign of the pain we are feeling and anticipating. Life feels unfair and we want it to be otherwise.

So I want to invite us to get on with expressing our grief so that we can then get on with dealing with the reality that now confronts us. During experiences of grief and loss we can become indignant and angry, so let's express our indignation and anger. Let's rail at life, let us express our feelings in the form of good lament. Lets us mourn the threat to independence, acknowledge our denial and even be a bit bitter. Let's resent the fact that the world should operate in such a way that invisible carbon dioxide, a simple natural compound, of itself harmless, should cause such a disturbance to our lives.

And then as we climb out of our grief let's see if we can remember and apply the life lessons we learnt during our toddler years: we can't do something just because we want to; we can't have all that we want; and that life isn't fair. And then let us move together into the new life, where climate change is taken seriously, and where action replaces paralysis.

Perhaps our next Prime Minister needs to have a psychology major.