Ashley Price-Sabate

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and 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 us” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring.

Perhaps a few disclaimers are in order before I begin. This article comes from the experience of one Buddhist trainee, one who sees her life to be inextricably interwoven in a web of interconnection with each and every other part of existence. I believe that climate change is real, that it is the greatest collective challenge facing humanity, and I cannot help but grieve not only for my own children’s future, but for all living beings who are currently and will in the future suffer from its escalating consequences. So, in allowing myself to process this grim reality, I admit that I have found myself sometimes feeling small, afraid and powerless in the darkness, like Frodo in the mines of Moria [the lost ancient underground kingdom of the Dwarves, from The Lord of the Rings] and I imagine I’m not alone in that…

Issue: only available as part of Journal, Spring 2015 pdf to download

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