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Good morning. Like many others, I’m baffled and mesmerised by quantum theory, which science writer Carlo Rovelli describes as ‘profoundly mysterious, subtly disturbing’. I don’t pretend to understand the science, but Rovelli’s lyricism inspires in me a deep sense of wonder about the mystery of creation, offering release from the numbness that can be induced by too much gloom and catastrophe. Psychoanalyst Sally Weintrobe argues that we need to examine the destructive impact of modern politics and economics on our psyches as well as on our planet, if we’re to understand the roots of the climate crisis. We must learn to break free of the self-absorption and sense of entitlement that result from a culture which over-emphasises personal gratification, often at the expense of others. That means learning to care anew for one another and the environment and also accepting that grief, frustration and lack are part of life. We can’t have everything we want. In the Bible, when Job is overwhelmed by suffering and rages against God, he’s invited to see how small he is amidst the wonders of creation. Out of that realization comes his capacity to rebuild his shattered life. I find it interesting that it’s the youngest of Job’s friends, Elihu, who speaks for God, insisting that ‘it is not only the old who are wise’. Elihu is angry with Job for being so aggrieved by his sense of injustice that he’s oblivious to the world around him and the inscrutable mystery of God which it reveals. He says that Job ‘speaks without knowledge, his words lack insight.’ By drawing attention to Elihu’s youth, the author of Job is challenging the idea that wisdom comes only with age. Young people such as those campaigning on the issue of climate change have a particular ability to reawaken us and inspire us to act, because they haven’t yet become cynical and disconnected from the world around them. Like Job, we too might discover that when we allow our muffled sense of wonder to emerge, we find the energy to respond creatively and positively to the challenges we face, unleashing what Weintrobe calls ‘the lively self’. This means seeking a reality which is both cosmic and psychological, for it can refer to the quantum marvels of the universe and to the inner dynamics of our sometimes destructive desires. By making such connections we might rediscover our place within a creation which Rovelli describes as ‘a world with a fine texture, intricate and fragile as Venetian lace.’ What a thought to take through the day.