“Frodo: I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”
-J.R.R Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
Reflections. Pentax MX. Kodak Pro Image 100, Mar 2026.
Humanity is sailing into uncharted waters. With each day, the highly interconnected network of media brings me news that are equally concerning and unfathomable. A slow yet unstoppable collapse of our civilisation as we know it to continues to unfold: unprecedented natural disasters, awful decisions by world leaders, a growing inequality, the nearly unavoidable distraction from all that matters by technology, the inevitable participation in the all-consuming capitalist model with its fairy tale of sustainable infinite growth; amidst these overwhelming realities that are brought to me day by day, what can I, as a human being caught in the tumbling chaos of reality, hope to accomplish?
Perhaps all previous civilisational collapses felt like unprecedented times to the people who lived through them. While history does seem to repeat itself through a series of cycles, each cycle is somewhat different.
It is difficult to gauge the objective seriousness of our current predicament, but the stakes do seem quite high this time. It seems almost certain that the fairy tale of endless growth and solving all of the world’s problems through technology, innovation and gdp growth is bound to meet a harsh reality check, most probably within my lifetime. At least this is how it all seems to me.
I have no doubt that humanity is going to have to negotiate a major upheaval in the coming decades. Famine, fire, flood and the resulting mass migrations is what I’m expecting to see. It seems to me that the writing has been on the wall for some time and we have been very good at ignoring it. There was a time when we could have acted and done something. I think that time is long gone now. In my mind, I have no doubt that the wonderfully convenient global supply chain of every imaginable physical good we could possibly need to make our lives better is going to collapse in my lifetime. Or at least reduce in its complexity dramatically. I think most people are in denial about this inevitable outcome. To me, it is a question of when, not if.
Can I do anything to stop this impending societal collapse? Absolutely not.
So what can I do?
Faded Creek Line. Pentax MX. Kodak Pro Image 100, Mar 2026.
There is only one thing that will save humanity during what is bound to be a chaotic and tumultuous century. It is love towards each other and towards the planet which is our home. The tiny blue dot, as Carl Sagan called it. Planet Earth, and all its inhabitants.
Love implies kindness, understanding, care and cooperation. Love implies treating all humans as our brothers and sisters, regardless of their world views or belief systems, or previous history. Loving the planet means caring for all life, not just the life that has a direct effect on our own life.
I cannot change the trajectory of humanity. But I can choose in each moment how I respond. I can choose to be hateful, cynical or I can choose to be kind and understanding. I can choose to take vengeance for the wrong that has been done to me, or I can choose to forgive and love anyway.
The choice is mine, regardless of what happens from here.
Trickling River. Pentax MX. Kodak Pro Image 100, Mar 2026.
Smell of snow
On the wind,
Pink sunrise.
-A.S. 4/7/2026 Brushy Creek