does the gradual shift of nature's cycles lull us into the false hope that cataclysmic events will not occur?

especially this time of year in the united states, winter gives in grudgingly. spring approaches, recedes, disappears, and gradually comes again. in fits and starts, it will warm.

also, species migrate slowly. trees become acclimated to new environments over generations and glacially take root (no pun intended) in places miles north or south of their previous population centers. birds winter where they historically haven't, lakes and oceans ice-out earlier, or fail to ice at all. glaciers reposition themselves. but again, unless you've been keeping a journal over decades or centuries, you wouldn't notice these changes at all.

we've accepted that nature moves slowly, perhaps cyclically in some cases. has our acclimation to this idea made it impossible for us to conceive of a catastrophic event, a sudden climatic change, or mass extinction? has it also put the idea of a gradual climate change on the proverbial back burner, due to the lack of immediacy?

how lulled are we? what would be a springboard to action?