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Breaking Out Of The Immediacy Loop
It must be possible to see beyond what seems so urgent
It is evident we are much better at reacting than acting. It is no surprise because any animal behaves this way: throw a ball, they’ll chase it; spot prey, they’ll pounce it. Unlike most animals, humans can pause and reason, plan and execute. To an extent, we are masters of our circumstances rather than their slaves. We can understand the world, predict it and wait for the right moment to do the right thing. Of course, this process requires time, effort and patience, and these assets are tragically scarce.
A world leader recently stated climate action wouldn’t be serious until global warming started claiming lives in the West. In other words, we will have to wait for climate reaction. In a way, we have already been reacting — quite inadequately — for a couple of decades. Too little too late would be a fair summary of humanity’s reaction to a human catastrophe in the making. It is tempting to blame foolishness and greed for our incapacity to cooperate and tackle the problem. Indeed, stupidity and avarice are significant elements in the equation. However, our innate inclination to react is at the heart of it.
We don’t have to be heroes in an epic story to see our reactive nature in full display. I daresay anyone reading this experiences it daily…