Trimming away distraction

What does jumping off of a 3,000 foot cliff in Norway have to do with the melting of ice in the Arctic?  Both events threaten my life and inspire me to find solutions quickly.  In the first instance, I have to rely on my training to deploy my parachute and fly it safely.  I have to deal with any malfunctions appropriately, and navigate to the landing area.  I have a matter of seconds to get all of this right.  If I do nothing, I will die in seconds.

In the second case, the seconds turn into years or decades.  On a cosmic scale, though, this is a negligible difference.  This means that it might not actually be my life that is threatened, directly.  Life is still threatened.  My way of life is threatened.  The problem still requires a quick response and the passionate pursuit of a solution.  If I do nothing, I might not die.  My children might die.  Their children might. 

Truth be told, the universe is a harsh place.  It is a miracle that life exists at all.  The instant life began on Earth, it leapt off that cliff and began hurtling towards its death.  There is no guarantee that life will persist.  It is a virtual impossibility for planets to harbor life.  We must not take this for granted.  We are getting signs that our planet’s ability to harbor life is decreasing, and we have the means to help solve this problem.  We simply must deploy our parachute, or we will die.

In order to solve any problem, a certain level of focus is required.  When you trim away distraction and focus on solutions, you might be surprised what you find.  Sometimes in skydiving, BASE jumping, or flying, the problem is developing too quickly for you to consciously react.  In these instances, your instincts and training kick in and solutions start happening before your eyes.  When it comes to problems like climate change and political divisiveness, etc., we don’t have to rely on instincts -but sometimes that is exactly what leads to the most innovative solutions.