I had just returned from a year in Asia. The global patterns Forrester was discussing weren't just numbers to me, they were the faces of villagers and the feel, smell, and sound of shrinking forests and ballooning cities. I had to leave the room in tears. I think it's impossible for anyone to understand the state of the earth without feeling these emotions. In our controlled culture, we're not welcome to act them out in public, but we do need to let ourselves feel what we feel.
Strong emotions are appropriate.
And, if we don't sweep them under the rug, they could be a force for reversing the gloomy trends, which are, almost all, reversible. The only way we will ever engage in a shift to new, sustainable ways of living is by caring and feeling. I don't know about you, but when I really let myself experience the state of the world, my first reaction is bottomless, unutterable sorrow. That moves quickly into outrage. Now I use it to give me courage.