You’ve probably heard the idea that a frog that gets dropped in a pot of boiling water will jump out immediately, while a frog that is placed in a pan of cool water heating on a stove will stay as the water continues to get hotter and hotter, gradually adjusting its body temperature to the new normal until it dies.

This is not a particularly hopeful story, you might object, stumbling upon it in The Daily Dose today, and given that California is alight with fires in the middle of a pandemic while the powers that be celebrate their fictional successes from the white house–illegally.

But here’s the thing. Climate Crisis is uncomfortable. Pandemic is hell. Racist Patriarchy destroys lives. Sure, we are all doing the best we can, and some days–heck, every day–that’s impressive, that best, not from the inside, but as we see each other through. And still, it’s sinking us, isn’t it? It’s not really okay.

But here’s the good news: when we know it’s NOT OKAY, when we know that the environment is scorching, unliveable, we tense all our muscles, we push hard against the surface we find ourselves on, we resist the rising force of the boiling water: we jump!

Right now, this means vote. Get others to vote. Donate money if you can. Make calls. Write letters. Hang signs. Go on marches. Speak up. Jump.

This means we continue to learn about being anti-racist, even when it’s no longer the headline news. It means we are climate activists because we are human beings who want to pass on a liveable earth to those who come after–and while we’re at it, we wouldn’t mind a liveable earth for the rest of our lives. It means we find each other, we join together, we rise up, we say, change is difficult, challenging, forces us to become more than we knew we could be, but we are going to do this thing. We are going to hurl ourselves out of the flames, out of the unbearable hot temperature of the waters surrounding us. We are not going to adjust and adjust and adjust to the new normal. We are going to say their names. We are going to vote. We are going to live to see a new day.