Have been in the non-profit space for a while now and, more recently, the sector focused on poverty reduction and all that goes with that such as the United Nations Social Development Goals (SDGs, climate remediation, housing etc) I have begun to wonder about something.

I am wondering if we, as a species, have entered palliative care, and no one told us.

You know how this can happen. An older family member has later stages of dementia and is barely hanging on. The hospital has recommended that they be moved into palliative care beause the inevitable is nearing and so we do this.

We may not inform them, or, more likely, we do but they are beyond the place where they can comprehend what is happening.

There are times when I beleive as a species we have the advanced stages of dementia manifest in some of the unreal choices we are making with no concept of the devestaing impact on ourselves. We are told again and again to change our ways but seem incapable of recollecting these warnings.

The work that people like me are doing, as wonderfully, back-pattingly great as it all is, feels like emptying a rapidly sinking boat of water with a teaspoon.

More thoughts to come.