Bearing Witness

Susan Porter • November 7, 2023

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.

– From 'The Second Coming' by William Butler Yeats


These words by Yeats, written in 1919 after the first World War, create a dark picture of a broken world that is familiar to us still in this time. I can often feel overwhelmed and powerless in the face of all the disasters appearing in my social feed day after day. What can I do that will make any difference?


I can bear witness.

Bearing witness can transform us all by helping us be seen, heard, and cared for, no matter what else is happening in the world around us.

Bearing witness has power because it allows us to be real and connects us to each other in a meaningful way. When we bear witness, we share the truth of our lives with others and affirm all that is meaningful to us.


One of the best ways to address the brokenness and divisiveness in our society is to listen to each other’s stories. Sharing our stories builds mutual trust and understanding across social and political boundaries, helping us to heal and build emotional resilience.


Bearing witness can transform us all by helping us be seen, heard, and cared for, no matter what else is happening in the world around us.


In Collapse Club meetings, we create a welcoming space for people to be heard and validated. Please join us in bearing witness!


Image: "Whirlpool", watercolor painting by Susan Porter. Prints of this image and other paintings are available on her website: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/whirlpool-abstract-watercolor-painting-susan-porter.html

These stories contain the opinions of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Collapse Club members or conveners.

Discuss this post!

If you would like to comment on or discuss this post with others, please join the Collapse Club Facebook Group.

Visit our Facebook Group for interesting links and light-hearted discussion. Check out the Glimmer Chat!

Small and large starfish next to each other on beach.

The Kids Are Alright

By David Baum • March 31, 2025
In a recent Collapse Club meeting, I had the chance to hear from some “young people,” which in this context means people in their mid-30s. This is a different demographic than the mainstream of our participants, who tend to be in their 50s and older.
Photo of young people dancing at a concert.

Response from a Collapse Aware Young Person

By Shyla • February 22, 2025
This article on young folks, from an old folks’ perspective, doesn’t capture my experience or that of my peers. My crew & I, young and old, are grieving the losses but more interested in creating what we can from the shell & bones of collapse. We don’t have the luxury of dying before it happens, unless we die by suicide or natural disaster, so we’re skill-building on how to build community and coalitions of like-minded people; adapt to & filter out fast-moving news streams; breathe through & transmute pain; serve as death doulas, nurses, Community Health Workers (CHWs), facilitators, and artists; continue to sing & dance together like humans always have.
Photo of large, old tree stump with sapling spouting out of the middle of it.

Why Young People Will Not Be Joining Us

By Robert Mitchell • February 16, 2025
Having participated in groups like Collapse Club and Death Cafe, and having run my own group Planet Titanic Human Extinction Café, it’s hard not to notice how few people under the age of 30 join us in these forums. After all, like us, many if not most of them are aware of the societal collapse and human extinction which are close at hand.