“i don’t want your hope. i don’t want you to be hopeful. i want you to panic, and act like the house was on fire
// greta thunberg

Where do I even begin with this introspection debrief?

Because it has been a while since my last post; close to six months to be exact. On my last introspection post I let on how disappointing and chaotic the first half of twenty-nineteen had been. The second half proved to be even more difficult. It just felt like every turn I made, a new negative obstacle lay await. So without warning I felt myself needing to disconnect from blogging and social media. Hence such an absence. And while I had hoped to have rejoined the social world with a clear and refreshed mind and armed with an abundance of blogging ideas and a new, fancy layout, this is not the case. But I decided to post regardless, because one can’t wait for the “perfect” time to press forward. If I did, I’d probably have waited an eternity for the stars to align – if indeed, they would ever.

As comes with the start of a New Year, better yet, when it comes to a brand new decade, I decided I wasn’t going to set goals or resolutions. I’m still reeling and healing from the chaos of last year. One which I’m not entirely sure has ended. Hello eye of the storm? Instead I know that I’m going to try my hardest to ride this out and make the most of it. One thing I do know is that I am fiercely determined to be even more focused on my footprint on this planet and to live more sustainably. Especially considering the horrors of bushfires and after watching “Drowning in Plastic“. It’s one thing to see images of decaying carcasses bursting with plastic trash, it’s another to watch incredible humans helping baby birds regurgitate those plastic filled bellies to give them a chance at life.

There is also the unprecedented and catastrophic horrors occurring in my home country right now. Australia is burning and the full extent and impact is still unknown. Not just to us, but globally too. So far smoke has painted the Glaciers in New Zealand pink, and just yesterday reached the shores of Argentina and Chile. Not to forget how much carbon dioxide has been released back into the atmosphere because of these fires too. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so emotionally distressed over such a tragedy. Ever. While I thankfully I am not impacted and sheltered in my slice of suburbia, it is still saddening to see so much devastation. There have been times I’ve began feeling anxious over images of souls confined to the safety of waterfronts; red skies painting apocalyptic scenes. The utterly atrocious and disgraceful lack of action and empathy by our “leaders”. But most of all I am hurting so bad for our precious wildlife; an estimated figure of one billion lives lost. And of course that includes one of our countries icons, the beloved Koala, whose numbers have been decimated to the possible point of needing to be classified as endangered. Images of wildlife and farm animals burnt to a crisp are heartbreaking. This is their home too and the undeniable fear and pain they have experienced over this is unfathomable. They have nowhere to go, unlike us humans. Someone described photos of famers finally able to return back to their farms, only to find a graveyard of animals, or having to put them down akin to those scenes on Chernobyl of army personal having to scout the area for surviving pets and animals.

This is a truly terrifying sign of things to come if we do not act on climate change. The quote above from Greta Thunberg sums up my sentiments exactly. No more ignorance. No more hope and prayers. We need REAL ACTION. And we need it NOW. A considerable thank you and debt is owed to the incredible firefighters who have been bravely battling these fires for weeks on end. I can’t begin to imagine the exertion and trauma such a catastrophic event has caused. Especially when it comes to the latter. These fires are like nothing we’ve seen before. Ever. If you’d like to help out in some way, financial support is now what counts the most. You can do so via Celeste Barber’s incredible fund raising efforts on Facebook, which actually has exceeded 46 million dollars (from date of this post) in a mere few days! And while there has been an outpouring of donations and support to NSW wildlife both locally and overseas, Victorian wildlife centres are desperately in need assistance. You can directly help Victorian wildlife rescue by donating to Zoos Victoria or to Wildlife Victoria. Every little bit counts.

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