blue1887:

It’s not self-pity that keeps me returning to that sad place. It’s the conviction that there is something valuable in the body-memory of slamming up against a biological limit – of running out of second, third, and fourth chances – something we all need to learn. Hitting the wall didn’t dispel my belief in healing and recovery. It just taught me that these gifts require a special kind of nurturing, and a constant vigilance about the limit beyond which life cannot be pushed.

Because the truth is that humans are marvelously resilient, capable of adapting to all manner of setbacks. We are built to survive, gifted with adrenaline and embedded with multiple biological redundancies that allow us the luxury of second, third and fourth chances. So are our oceans. So is the atmosphere.

But surviving is not the same as thriving, not the same as living well. And as we have seen, for a great many species, it’s not the same as being able to nurture and produce new life. Just because biology is full of generosity does not mean its forgiveness is limitless. With proper care, we stretch and bend amazingly well. But we break too – our individual bodies, as well as the communities and ecosystems that support us.

Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate