My main takeaway from our class is that I have a lot left to learn. I was waiting throughout this course to hit a point of understanding, an epiphany that would reveal to me just what it meant to be a human in the Anthropocene. What do we have to do to reverse this? What responsibilities have we incurred and how do we pay our debts? I have learned that there are few answers to address and an abundance of questions. The epiphany I wasn’t expecting but came upon anyways was that the Anthropocene is what I believe to be the biggest struggle facing humanity. As humans we are not only the biggest factor affecting the earth’s system but this catastrophe that we created is going to affect us just as much. There are hundreds of political and social issues that have plagued humanity from the beginning but this will be unlike anything we have met before.
I say I have a lot left to learn because to be an effective force combating climate change I am going to need a far better understanding of our earth system and just what we are headed towards. This class convinced me to add a climate change minor to my time at the University of Washington, this will be a lot of extra work, but a very worthwhile pursuit.
This is where I come to my final creative project. I painted the earth from space as an homage to the Overview Effect as well as the importance that contemplative practices have played in my personal growth within this course. The Over View effect represents to me a force on humans that is more than the sum of its parts. Astronauts who have viewed the earth from space describe a change of personality and being in the world. We can’t define why this effect has so much weight, but it is the type of change we will have to see in much of humanity if we want any chance at saving the human race and our earth. Producing the painting itself gave me a vital spaciousness to look back on this course, and to visualize my position on earth. Another important takeaway from this class is that sometimes you can learn the most without thinking.
I will move forward from this class using my energy to discover exactly where our earth needs the most help, and how to influence others to give a damn about it.
Thank you to everyone who engaged whole heatedly in our collective learning community, and a special thank you to Karen for fostering a unique environment of spaciousness and deep critical thinking.