e70 one step at a time

• 'We make choices by not making choices And we live with unbearable consequences We hear alarm bells, but do not respond We cling to uncertainty like a sad song We act as if unaware and innocent We are cognitively dissonant' 

Claude Schryer, September 28, 2021, Duhamel, QC

one step at a time

(September 28, 2021)

We make choices by not making choices 

And we live with unbearable consequences 

We hear alarm bells, but do not respond

We cling to uncertainty like a sad song 

We act as if unaware and innocent 

We are cognitively dissonant

We write feeble poems, like this one, to lessen our pain 

We accept our fate and wait for the last day 

We know that exploitation is the cause

And we know that we are it’s children

We try to change our ways but the draw is too strong 

We are so comfortable, so selfish and so tragically wrong 

We know that one day soon we will have to tell our kids

That we knew far too much and did far too little

We think that art can change the world if only we listened 

But we know that listening is an inconvenient truth

We made a choice by not choosing 

And now we live with the consequences 

And yet, we know that it’s never too late to start a new

We know, deep inside, that this, is true 

One step at a time 

One step at a time

Stop, listen

One step at a time 

One more step at a time

Stop, listen more deeply 

One step at a time 

One step. Stop. Listen.

Me recording a monologue while I walking in the forest...

*

END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES

Note : I'm currently 'pressing pause' and am not producing new content until further notice. 

Hey conscient listeners, 

I’ve been producing the conscient podcast as a learning and unlearning journey since May 2020. It’s my way to give back.

This Indigenous Land Acknowledgement statement was developed by members of the Algonquin community for my former employer the Canada Council for the Arts. I have adapted slightly to make it my own.

• I acknowledge that my studio, located in Ottawa, is on the unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation whose presence here reaches back to time immemorial.
• I recognize the Algonquins as the customary keepers and defenders of the Ottawa River Watershed and its tributaries. I honour their long history of welcoming many Nations to this beautiful territory and uphold and uplift the voice and values of our Host Nation.
• Further, I offer my respect and affirm the inherent and Treaty Rights of all Indigenous Peoples across this land and honour commitments to self-determination and sovereignty that have been made to Indigenous Nations and Peoples.
• I acknowledge the historical oppression of lands, cultures and the original Peoples in what we now know as Canada and fervently believe the Arts contribute to the healing and decolonizing journey we all share together

In parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and its francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I I publish a free ‘a calm presence' monthly Substack see https://acalmpresence.substack.com.  

Your feedback is always welcome at claude [at] conscient [dot] ca and/or on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Threads, BlueSky, Mastodon, Tik Tok, YouTube and Substack.

Share what you like, etc

I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible. 

Thanks for listening. 

Claude Schryer

Latest update on March 21, 2026