It might seem like the world is falling apart, but...

This past Friday we had an Earthquake here in New York. Nothing crazy, at first I thought it was the wind that had suddenly gotten very intense, but a second later my Whatsapp group pinged in ensemble as all my friends texted “Dude, did you just feel that?!”

It didn’t take long for the Internet to explode. Memes, reels, and mocking from people in other parts of the world *hrm, Los Angeles, mainly* who weren’t late to point out that Earthquakes aren’t out of the ordinary.

Point taken, but — earthquakes in LA are normal. Earthquakes on the East Coast do happen (as we’ve noticed) but not as frequently and for different reasons than those out West. Since 1950 there have been about 20 quakes with a magnitude above 4.5, according to the United States Geological Survey. That's compared with over 1,000 on the West Coast. I love how my friend put it in our group chat:

“LA b*tches, you chose to live on a tectonic plate. You actively purchased violence. We out here on a sinking island, we live different.”

So, of course, the question was raised - was it caused by climate change?

The answer is no. Climate change does not affect Earthquakes, which goes to show that not everything abnormal in this world is caused by climate change.

East Coast quakes like Friday's are caused by compression over time of hard, brittle rock deep underground, according to Robert Thorson, an earth sciences professor at the University of Connecticut. “It’s like having a big block of ice in a vise and you are just slowly cranking up the vise,” he said. "Eventually, you’re going to get some crackling on it.”

— NBC Network

Another naturally occurring but rare event this week was the total solar eclipse that swept across North America on Monday afternoon. Rare, to say the least, as we won’t experience the next one until 2044. But again, nothing to do with climate change, just a magnificent natural occurrence that drove people to parking lots and parks to look to the skies.

To my point:

Although we have to live through a lot of unnatural events, irregularities, and uncertainties, some things are simply a part of nature’s rhythm. Yes, it might seem like the world is falling apart, and in many regards — it is! But not every abnormality is caused by climate change, nor is it even something we need to be concerned about.

So let’s take a deep breath together (yes, right now) and, as you exhale, let your shoulders drop into place.

Change is occurring, weird things will continue to happen, and that is OK. Sometimes (a lot of the time) it’s caused by climate change, but sometimes it’s not. And regardless of the event, sticking to our inner compass and staying grounded in our light is so important!

To quote myself from the keynote I gave last Tuesday night at Human Rights First and the Emerging Leaders Advisory Board’s (ELAB) Annual Women’s Panel:

“It might seem like the world is falling apart,

but there's resistance in claiming our inner peace,

there's resistance in seeking joy and standing in our light,

and there's resistance in being clear on the future we want to see and actively participating in pulling that future closer."