Love in the Age of Ecological Apocalypse

Book excerpt: Given the daunting, dire predicament in which we find ourselves on this planet, what is described by social critic James Howard Kunstler as a "Long Emergency" may in fact become a "Last Emergency" for humanity. Whether we encounter a "long" or a "last" emergency, Carolyn Baker seeks to offer inspiration and guidance for inhabiting our remaining days with passion, vitality, empathy, intimate contact with our emotions, kindness in our relationships with all species, gratitude, open-hearted receptivity, exquisite creations of beauty, and utilizing every occasion, even our demise, as an opportunity to invoke and "inflict" joy in our world. Love in the Age of Ecological Apolcalypse addresses an array of relationships in the Last Emergency and how one's relationship with oneself may enrich or impede interactions with all other beings. Drawing upon her deep experience as a life coach, Baker writes of the specific need to understand our key relationships in a society in collapse, and how to navigate through differing levels of acceptance of collapse, trauma, and grief. Key relationships include those with our partners, children, friends, neighbors, as well as relationships with our work, our bodies, our natural resources, food and eating, animals, future generations, Eros, and indeed, the powers of the universe. Baker's writing is engaging, inspiring, and often beautiful in its depth and candor. She introduces a variety of spiritual practices facilitate our developing a relationship with the deeper Self. With these practices and giving and receiving support from others who are walking a similar path, we begin to live more frequently from the deeper Self, or at least are able to access it more quickly when we find ourselves becoming embroiled in the ego. Table Of Contents • Introduction • Chapter 1: Living, Loving, and Preparing With A Reluctant Partner • Chapter 2: Children And Collapse • Chapter 3: Friends, Neighbors, and The Community • Chapter 4: Work and The Creative Soul • Chapter 5: Our Relationship With Resources • Chapter 6: Loving The Body As The World Falls Apart • Chapter 7: Our Relationship With Food: Mindful Eating As A Spiritual Practice • Chapter 8: Loving The Time Of Your Life • Chapter 9: What An Animal You Are! • Chapter 10: Darkness Matters • Chapter 11: Ensconsed In Eros, Bathed In Beauty • Chapter 12: Our Relationship With The Powers of The Universe • Chapter 13: Near-Term Extinction And Waking Up To Death • Chapter 14: Empire, I Wish I Knew How To Quit You • Chapter 15: Grief And Love In A Culture Of Congestive Heart Failure • Chapter 16: Our Relationship With Future Generations