On the first day of the course, after being asked to consider my motivation for taking a class on the Anthropocene, I stated my desire to gain new perspectives that would inform the way I approach life. I am pleased to report that this course has completely and utterly satisfied this goal. At first, I hadn’t the faintest idea about the existence of the Anthropocene or its ramifications. In the comfort of my privileged life, I acknowledged but did not truly internalize or comprehend the dire state of our planet. I have since been heaved from my torpor into a state of awareness.
Prior to the course—in the spell of excitement and anticipation that followed high school graduation—I truly thought I was content. As I steadily completed my goals from adolescence, as I entered an unseen environment, as I began to establish my independence, I went about life with jubilation.
Then, about a month into the quarter, a feeling of emptiness began to burrow into me. One day, on an excursion to downtown Seattle, I was crushed by the tremendous weight of the Anthropocene. In the panorama before me, diesel exhaust spilled out of an oversized truck and obscured a distant billboard while scores of consumers cradling their plastic cups with plastic straws populated the chain of businesses and filled their plastic bags with imported products. Despondency ensued.
How could we justify our lifestyles—our happiness—while others were bearing the consequences of our actions?
Later, during a contemplative practice in which we were asked to envision our ideal environment, my sense of the possibility of a good Anthropocene began to return. In my vision, the world was constructed around my memories of experiences I had shared with other people. It became apparent to me that the material aspects of life are but shallow substitutes for what we truly seek: connection. We belong to one interdependent body of life, the Earth, and possess a fundamental bond to one another; our relationships with other creatures are what give our existence meaning.
As I reevaluated the sources of my happiness, I came to recognize that we do not need to abandon our sense of joy but rather work to spread it. We must enable our bliss to propel us in the direction that the Earth’s suffering requires.
The Anthropocene is not humanity’s death bed—at least not yet. Rather, it is a test of our resilience. It is a call for coalescence.
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While not part of my final project, I have compiled several songs that characterize my experience in the class.
Playlist Link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLk1EK_ggZYk6K114oUOkuEArVk1-Uzphp
Innocence:
Beautiful Day- U2
Comfortably Numb- Pink Floyd
Nowhere Man- The Beatles (Not on Youtube)
Awakening
Society- Eddie Vedder
Down in a Hole- Alice in Chains
Dazed and Confused- Led Zeppelin
All Apologies- Nirvana
Action:
Fix You- Coldplay
Dancing Queen- ABBA
Get by with a little Help with my Friends- The Beatles (Not on Youtube)
Forward:
Float On- Modest Mouse
Everlasting Light- The Black Keys
Living on the Edge- Aerosmith
Part of Me, Part of You- Glenn Frey
Life- The Avett Brothers