A year ago, my son Raphaël, also known as the activist IggyFox, died suddenly of an undiagnosed heart condition. Here’s what I have learned in #grief, and what he has taught me.
Even in the depths of despair, we are hard-wired to survive.
So if you are overwhelmed by loss of any kind, remember this: a new seed of new life is in you, germinating.
This is the seed of Future You. You won’t feel its growth for a long time. I didn’t. But it’s there. Trust it.
This is the seed of Future You. You won’t feel its growth for a long time. I didn’t. But it’s there. Trust it.
There are many ways to live well. But the most powerful is to cherish, protect and nurture the most precious thing of all: life on the only planet we have.
As a wildlife biologist living in an era of biological annihilation, that’s what my son did.
campaigning to his last breath to save creatures and habitats on the brink of extermination, it brought him what so many of us are seeking in these spectacularly hard times: a sense of meaning.
He didn’t live to see all that can and must be done, but he pictured it vividly. And he believed in the power of ordinary people to effect the paradigm shift that I believe is now beginning.
In his notebook I found these extraordinary words. They seem to anticipate his death - yet they are full of hope.
“Nothing has ever inspired me so powerfully. Nothing has ever given me so much hope or such a sense of purpose. Nothing has been so clear to me as these visions that I have for the future.
I call them visions, because unlike hope or dreams they feel solid, tangible, traceable, catchable, possible, achievable – reality in the making.
What I am planning is nothing short of revolution. What I’m expecting is an entirely new era for humanity and for life on Earth. But I’m not foolish enough to think that this can be done alone.
While people are the source of the endless destruction we must put a stop to, they are also the key to reaching our goals.
So spark, shelter, and nurture the flame of passion until it roars. That energy, that power, can be harnessed to change the world.
Perhaps we’ll reach this brave new world in a decade, perhaps we’ll still be moving towards that long after I’m dead.
Perhaps we’ll reach this brave new world in a decade, perhaps we’ll still be moving towards that long after I’m dead.
But I know it doesn’t matter whether I’m here or gone. What matters is that we keep moving on until we get there. When the light leaves my eyes, and I pass on, do not weep for me, for I am not dead.
All that I ever was and ever will be lies in the flame of passion that consumed me. The same flame that burns in all those who believe in what I believed. I’ll not be dead until my dream is. I’ll not fade away until my vision does. I’ll not be gone until all my hopes are.”
If his words stir you, please share this message. And if they inspire you to action, start by joining the movement extinctionrebellion.uk
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