I find the parallels between how some investors refuse to

Hear the solemn words of Jeremy Grantham, a seer of markets and a watcher of the earth: “I find the parallels between how some investors refuse to recognise the trends and our reaction to some of our environmental challenges very powerful. There is an unwillingness to process unpleasant data.” In this saying lies both rebuke and revelation. For Grantham does not speak merely of money, nor of nature alone, but of the blindness of the human heart—a blindness that prefers comfort to truth, silence to warning, and delay to action.

The meaning of his words is plain: men turn away from what they do not wish to see. Just as investors, clinging to old hopes, deny the signs of market collapse, so too do nations and peoples deny the gathering storms of climate change, of poisoned waters, of dwindling forests. To admit the truth would demand sacrifice; to process the unpleasant data would require courage. And so, many cover their eyes, thinking that what they refuse to see cannot touch them. But history teaches otherwise: the unacknowledged truth is the most dangerous of all.

Consider the tale of the Great Depression. In the years before the crash of 1929, wise voices warned of reckless speculation, of markets bloated beyond reason. Yet the investors laughed and ignored the signs, unwilling to abandon their easy profits. When the collapse came, it tore through the world, leaving hunger and despair in its wake. So too with the environment: the data stands before us—melting ice, rising seas, burning forests—yet many turn away, unwilling to admit that the feast of endless consumption must end. Grantham’s parallel is clear: the blindness of greed repeats itself, whether in markets or in nature.

The ancients also told this story in their myths. The people of Troy were warned not to bring the wooden horse within their walls, yet they ignored the signs, enchanted by hope. In their unwillingness to process unpleasant truth, they welcomed destruction into their city. So it is with us: we see the signs written in the earth, but like the Trojans, we choose denial, and in so doing we prepare our own downfall. The wisdom of the past cries out to us across centuries, but we have yet to learn.

Grantham’s words strike not only as warning, but as a call to courage. For to face unpleasant data is to grow stronger. Just as a physician must face the signs of illness before healing can begin, so too must societies confront their wounds before restoration is possible. The farmer who ignores the rot in his grain loses the harvest; but the farmer who sees, accepts, and acts may yet save the field. So it is with humanity: our refusal to see truth condemns us, but our acceptance of it may yet redeem us.

The lesson for us is plain: train the heart to prefer truth over comfort. Seek the facts, even when they wound your pride. Listen to the warnings of science, even when they demand change. Do not turn away from the environmental challenges before us, for they are not distant storms but present trials. In your own life, honor the data: reduce waste, guard the soil, consume wisely, and support leaders who act with courage rather than denial.

Therefore, let each one act as both wise investor and wise steward. Recognize the trends that shape the future, and align your life with them, not against them. Refuse to be lulled by false comfort, and instead take strength from the clear sight of reality. For only those who face the truth can shape it; only those who accept the wound can heal it.

So remember Jeremy Grantham’s words: “There is an unwillingness to process unpleasant data.” Let them be a mirror and a warning. Break this cycle of denial. See clearly, act boldly, and teach your children to embrace truth, however hard it may seem. For the future belongs not to those who hide from reality, but to those who meet it with open eyes, steadfast hearts, and willing hands.