The Wisdom of Doctor Seuss In Our Battle Against The Powers of the Dark Side

In a world that seems to be falling apart, are you, like so many, having trouble embracing a positive outlook on the future and where our world is headed? If so, you're not alone. Depression and feeling down seem to be common feelings these days.

When I published my book "Waiting Is Not An Option; Resilience Requires Preparation Before The Crisis" last year, I knew the challenge would be getting readers to take the message seriously. I wrote about the ominous black and dangerous clouds forming on the horizon! My warning was clear. Massive and dangerous storms are coming, and we need to begin preparing for those storms "now"! I understood it would be an emotional challenge for many of my readers.

I knew the challenge would be two-fold, getting people to embrace the reality that the storms are coming and accepting the reality that those storms will arrive "far sooner" than many believe possible. I understood that taking those storms, and the threats they pose seriously, would require accepting the reality that global, social, civil, and economic collapse are essentially unavoidable! Accepting that sobering reality is indeed beyond discouraging and depressing! I understood the difficulty many of my readers would have emotionally embracing the sobering realities that we face in the world today.

When we add in climate change, flooding, forest fires, droughts, rising ocean water levels, the global impact of the covid epidemic, the war in Ukraine, global supply interruptions, and growing global inflation, avoiding the power of the dark side is all but impossible.

The emotional power of the "dark side" creeps up slowly and emotionally takes over our consciousness. Like many people today, I too, struggle to keep my emotional energy positive. I find myself compulsively overeating ice cream and way too many potato chips. Having watched many Star Wars movies over the years, I should have known not to eat my feelings. Had I been paying closer attention; I would not now be working to shed those extra pounds today.

Fortunately, the universe has a way of sometimes unexpectedly offering a new path forward. For me, it was the opportunity to watch Rev. Dr. Steven Koski's Easter Sunday sermon that helped me rekindle and recover a more positive energy and sense of hope.[1]He reminded his congregation on Easter Sunday that when things get too dark and overwhelming, it's often helpful to go back to the simple wisdom of our spiritual teachers. Of course, he was referring to Dr. Seuss and his book "Beyond Z."

If we take the storm clouds and the high likelihood of social collapse that I wrote about in my book seriously, it's almost impossible not to succumb to the powers of the "dark side." So having a reminder of Dr. Seuss's wisdom was an important gift! His message was so helpful for me that I wanted to share the essence of his message with you in this blog, hoping that it might help you reinforce your faith in hope! 

In the words of Dr. Seuss in his book "Beyond Z:

A is for Ape

B is for Bear

C is for Camel

H is for Hair

Onto Z is for Zebra

I know them all well

Said Conrad Cornelius Odona O'Dell

From beginning, to end

From the start, to the close

Everyone knows Z is as far as the alphabet goes

But he almost fell flat on his face on the floor

When I picked up the chalk and drew one letter more! 

A letter he'd never dreamed of before

In the places I go and the people I see

I couldn't survive if I stopped at Z

So I'm beyond Zebra

It's high time your shown that maybe, just maybe, 

you just don't know all there is to be known.

Rev. Koski reminded his congregation that we need to talk and share our struggle to embrace the threats and changes that are coming with others, and we need to remember who we are! We need to remind ourselves that the dark side's power can render us powerless. Love, healing, compassion, and empathy for ourselves and others will suffer when that happens. And most importantly, the "dark side" has the power to make us forget that Z is not the end! We need to remind ourselves that there is a future beyond "now." Stated simply, now is not the final word. 

In the words of Dr. Seuss, “maybe, just maybe, we just don't know all there is to be known”. And maybe, just maybe, that "future" beyond "now" will depend on just how well we can embrace hope, and work with those around us, to create that unknown "future" beyond "now."

As I said in my book, "Waiting Is Not An Option," my hopeful vision of the "future"beyond "now" will be a world that embraces the creation of self-reliant local communities; communities that are based on "wellbeing," not profit and unlimited growth. Waiting to begin creating those self-reliant, self-sustaining, local communities is not an option. We need to begin “now”.

[1] Rev. Dr. Steven Koski is an amazing and gifted preacher at the First Presbyterian Church in Bend, Oregon . I listen to his zoom messages as often as possible.