Author Archives: Annie

Hope in Life and Death

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My group and I were paired with the University of Washington WashPIRG chapter. We were able to dedicate our project to their – Break Free From Plastics Campaign. Navigating our action project while also engaging in the course material, helped my group and I to determine what exactly we wanted to get out of our project and how we would achieve that. We centered our project around holding multiple clean-ups near the University District. We felt as if the area itself was so highly targeted for littering due to how many students and people populate this area. By taking the time to pick each piece of trash up, I felt frustrated and reminded that collectively we all contribute to the waste we see before our eyes. My group and I felt that the implementation of contemplative practices would help us to feel more grounded and in tune with ourselves and the project we took on. 

For our group, these practices were experiments at first. We had just met in person for the first time and were asked to sit, breathe, and feel the weight of the world upon our shoulders. However, in the end, we all benefited from taking this time and feeling this shared sense of responsibility and collective action towards change. Throughout this course, I personally struggled with discussing the ecology of death. I had never before faced head-on my feelings and acceptance of death. It was until I had read Joan Halifax, Being with Dying, that discussing this topic became easier to wrap my mind around. She recalls that “accepting impermanence and our shared mortality requires loosening the story knot: letting go of our concepts, ideas, and expectations around how we think dying ought to be.” I felt so strongly tied to the idea that I should avoid discussing death, that I myself was afraid to accept that change is inevitable. 

And through this group project, I could share in the mortality of others, and see firsthand the waste we have accumulated in our neighborhoods. Our fear of death should be intertwined with the ecological crises we face in the near future. Instead of choosing to build characters and cultures that shield ourselves from our helplessness, we should consciously choose to break this cycle and be driven to protect what is left of this Earth. 

Contemplative Practices, Healing Through Self-Awareness : Annie’s Reflection

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I had never used contemplative practices as a daily routine in my life – up until I began this course. I never was the type of person to prioritize the transformative experience of focusing on oneself. I was skeptical at first, not knowing if I was going to gain a deeper understanding of these practices. I still nonetheless enjoyed taking time during class to fully give myself space to be. Once I became comfortable, with being uncomfortable sitting across from newly acquainted people I began to look forward to this time. I first experienced a sense of observation, as I counted each inhale and exhale from my breath. I felt connected. 

I began to reflect on Wendell Berry’s poem, “The Law that Marries All Things”, and specifically his line, “the cloud is free only to go with the wind.” This freedom to be, and become who we are has stuck with me as we delved deeper into contemplative practice. A freedom I often took for granted. But for me, my understanding of freedom also connected my heightened awareness of death. Our course material has helped bridge the gap between life and death. I think specifically of our reading by Mark Lynas,  “The God Species: Saving the Planet in the Age of Humans,”  How we as individuals have crossed the planetary boundaries and entered into an egotistical system that rules above all other life. I found myself feeling rage after reading this piece. Through this feeling, however, I was able to find inspiration. Contemplative practice has helped me fuel my anger. By enforcing the idea that we do need to check with our individual self. This could be impactful towards making substantial environmental change. We must analyze our physical and emotional connection to the Earth. 

Once in class, we were asked if the course material had begun to weigh on any of us. I felt strongly that I had noticed a change in my emotional being upon starting this course. It was until we had read “Gravity’s Law” by Rainer Maria Rilke, that I felt as if I could deeply accept this weight I was feeling. “If we surrendered to earth’s intelligence we could rise up rooted, like trees.” The fire inside of me felt sparked once again, to enact change and find healing amidst the inevitability of our dying system. 

Understanding the Anthropocene: A Reflection By Annie Lyons

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Starting in-person courses again at the University of Washington after a year of Zoom has proved to be an unfamiliar and interesting time. Not knowing what we as students were getting ourselves into is what made me most drawn to this course. I was most intrigued by the title because quite frankly I was unaware of what exactly “the Political Ecology of Death” referred to. Especially after a period of time in which we all were going through loss, instability, and misdirection, I decided to register for this course. I believe that not enough of us coherently think about our political decisions as a matter of life or death. It is interesting to see how strangers who are just meeting for the first time deal with the fear of and acceptance of dying. 

To grasp the fact that we inevitably will all die unbeknownst of our actions, weighed on me as I begin exploring the concepts of this course. Although the topics we have discussed these first few weeks resonate with my personal life, all I have been coming back to is our lack of awareness for organisms other than ourselves. As we get sucked into the day-to-day routine of life, it’s easy to justify the “small things”. This could simply mean, taking an extra-long shower or grabbing your favorite take-out in its styrofoam container. Our mentality towards living has now led to the destruction of our environment. So far, this course has shown me that rather than fearing death, collectively we all should bear the responsibility of trying to understand and accept living while dying. 

As a political science major, environmental law has always been one of my areas of focus. I believe this course will be a great bridge to the other courses I have taken throughout University. What has stood out to me the most since beginning this course, is our focus on contemplative practice. Taking the time to check-in with yourself and how you are feeling has always been something that I value. This is the first course where I have encountered a Professor who has carved out a specific time for students to do this. This being my first blog post of the quarter, I am excited to see how much growth and awareness I gain as we navigate living within the Anthropocene.

James, Frances. “Strengthening Climate Change Literacy to Combat the Climate Crisis.” QS, Publisher Name QS Quacquarelli Symonds Publisher Logo, 8 Dec. 2020, https://www.qs.com/strengthening-climate-change-literacy-to-combat-the-climate-crisis/.