Let the good win.
“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors. We borrow it from our children.”
Hello,
First off, I need to admit that I have zero authority. I hold no credentials. I have no background in this field. I am simply, human.
The reason I am even writing this, is because I am pregnant with my first child due in March of 2016. The process of becoming a mother is a bewildering one that I am still en route to. However, I do know that I think about the future a lot more than I did before.
"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors. We borrow it from our children."
A sobering truth.
So:
Did we preserve their future or did we fail?
What are your hopes and fears for the upcoming generations?
How will their lives be different because of what happened at the Paris Climate Talks?
These are the questions we are prompted to answer in this letter. And here is my attempt:
Dear Future People,
I don't know if we preserved your future or failed. And I don't know how your life will be different due to the Paris Climate Talks. To be honest, I doubt I will hear much about them or their outcomes. But here is what I do know: my fear is that we did fail. My fear is that we have left you with a world that is not better than what we started with. As your ancestors, we have a responsibility to sustaining life in the most environmentally friendly way that we can. I hope that we did it, but I doubt we did.
Yet, my letter to you is not one of sorry, fear or worry. It is advice to cope.
Take what we have left you and do the best that you can with it. Scorn us or thank us, it won't matter- we're dead. We did what we did and you can write the history books however you see fit.
Now it is time to move on. Fix what needs fixing. Improve where we came up short. Do better. Try your hardest. Don't let yourself be jaded. Forgive. Forget. And LIVE. I promise you- you can find inspiration. Find those who persisted in making the world a better place. Let them be your role models. There will always be bad people. But when the good outnumber the bad, there will be success. Just let the good win.
Sincerely,
Julie Audell
