This is honestly the biggest thing I’ve ever gotten stuck in a truck tire. And my thought for the day is: When happenstance derails you, don’t let it derail you. And also: If you need help, ask for help! We need to teach our children how to surf the uncertainties of life. It’s the best tool they will have as our climate changes around us.
A Climate Change Allegory
I stopped at the bank and deposited a check. As I pull away I notice the tire pressure light is on, and we are obviously driving on the rim. Whuuut?!
Now, I make men’s jewelry, but I am a woman.
A woman in a linen dress, with a 5-year-old and a dog in the truck and very little “jacking up a truck” experience. Okay, none.
I called around, and my brother-in-law was able to leave work and pick up a mechanic friend. They got the spare tire on for me. So slick! And while we waited my 5-year-old son fretted about whether his uncle would ever get there and what an awful thing to have happen to us. So I made it fun by playing I-Spy games with him and letting him know by my words and attitude that this was no big deal and we were totally safe and okay. And we were!
Why am I telling you this?
Because Earth is the tire and climate change is the spike.
It’s not that we shouldn’t worry, and it’s not that we shouldn’t fix it, and it’s not that it doesn’t totally suck. But, to quote Amanda Palmer, “It’s just a ride.” And it will be a wild one no matter how quickly we act. Our children need to know how to surf the choppy waters ahead or else they will drown. This was my version of a small home-school lesson in how to surf.
My husband chided me for calling for help instead of changing the tire myself. He explained all about tire changing while I tried to tell him I already knew HOW to change a tire, and I also knew it was a task that is way out of my wheelhouse.
And so why not ask for help?
We are stronger when we think and act out of togetherness. The community ties and friendships we build today are the surfboards of climate change. We need to reverse climate change immediately but we also need to gather up as many surfboards as we can get. Relax and ask for help. This is going to be a wild ride, but we are learning to surf. Teach your children to surf.
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Originally published on https://authenticmensjewelry.com/2019/05/17/our-planet-is-the-tire-and-climate-change-is-the-spike/
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