Like many people, I’ve been feeling strange and despondent lately, watching what’s going on in the world and sensing into where we are headed. Fires in Australia, logging in Brazil, America’s backing out of the Paris Agreements, culture wars and polarization — the list is very, very long. Greta Thunberg’s clear-eyed warnings, from her sixteen-year-old steely heart cut deep. 2020 feels like a come-to-Jesus year. The dominoes feel like they’re begining to fall.

My life in Salt Lake City, Utah is barely affected. The winters seem warm, but the skiing is fabulous, the ski resorts are packed. The city is growing by leaps and bounds. People spend Saturdays shopping at Ikea and watching football and playing with their kids. It’s all good.

But if you scratch just barely under the surface, the conversation is there: Climate change. Cultural breakdown. Where are we headed? What are we supposed to do about it? 

When my heart feels heavy and I can’t sleep, I’ll go have a chat with A Great Someone. Tonight I drew three cards from a deck by The Virtues Project. (My youngest sister turned me on to them a few years ago. At first I thought it sounded passé . . .  virtues, like something from the Victorian era. But they have been a good and true oracle for me.)

I drew three cards with the question of climate change and cultural breakdown in my heart. What virtues might be most supportive for me . . . for us all . . . to practice?

This is what the cards say:

Empathy

Empathy is the ability to put ourselves in another’s place and to understand their experience. We are deeply present to their thoughts and feeling with such compassionate accuracy that they can hear their own thoughts more clearly. Empathy connects us with our common humanity. It protects us from prejudice, blame and judgment— those things that divide us from each other. With empathy, we reflect on how our actions affect others. It moves us to seek justice for every person, even those with whom we disagree. Empathy inspires us to be giving and selfless. Empathy connects our hearts.

Discernment

Discernment is accessing the wisdom of our intuition to discover what is essential and true. Detaching from our desire to rush decisions, we seek to distinguish the true from the false, the facts from our assumptions, and then choose the best path. Reflecting in slience creates space for our deepest perceptions. With contemplative vigilance, we open ourselves to clarity. We listen deeply for the true questions, trusting that the answer will unfold and reveal itself when the time is right. We become alert to the messages that come in subtle and surprising ways. Se hold decisions lightly until the truth emerges. Discernment empowers us to be guided by Grace.

Awe

Awe is deep respect and reverence for the Source of life. It is humility and wonder before the power of God. Contemplating life’s beauty and mystery leads us to communion. Reflecting on our place in the universe, we seem small and insignificant, yet it is awe-inspiring to realize that on one else on earth is just like us. Each of us has a unique potential for reflecting the Divine virtues in our soul. We awaken them by choosing to live them. When we practice awe, we are alert to the signs and wonders placed in our path. We open ourselves to Grace.

Can the practice of empathy open us to listening and hearing the experience of those who hold different values than we do?

Can the practice of discernment keep us from believing everything we hear and collapsing into collective reactivity and blame?

Can the practice of awe open our eyes to the alive intelligence of the living Earth and all her creatures and systems; to awaken to our inseparable belonging and our sacred duty to see what has been invisible and honor all of life?

Gratitude to the cards!

You and I can be, must be, the change we want to see in the world.

Living these three virtues is a damn good place to begin.