It’s been a while since I wrote a Create + Climate missive.
I took a lot of the summer to reflect on how I want to use my creative energy going forward, the changes I’m going to be making to my business to free me up to focus more time on climate activism, and resting up after a mild bout of COVID.
All of this made me feel oddly mute on the very topic I am most committed to and passionate about–helping people raise their voices and change the climate story.
Sometimes when you care so much, it’s harder to speak up.
As you have heard me say before, despair is our biggest common enemy when it comes to the climate crisis (and most any systematic change).
I was talking with two dear friends this summer and when I raised my most recent climate concerns (the U.K. experiencing temperatures that weren’t expected to be reached until 2050), both my friends waved their hands at me and said,
“No, no I can’t talk about this, it’s too late, there is nothing we can do..”
I replied, with as much calm loving energy as I could muster,
“Please don’t believe that. This is NOT game over. It is not too late. Think of climate change, not as a cliff we have gone over but as a minefield we are walking through. There are millions of ways to back out. There is progress happening every day and we HAVE THE SOLUTIONS we just have to keep applying political pressure and keep raising our voices. .”
(Maybe when I spoke in all CAPS it wasn’t so calming…)
And they both said,
“Wow, thank you. I haven’t thought about it this way.”
This is where you come in!
Every time you raise your voice or your paintbrush or your music or your words to share a message of “We can do this” or “Look at the progress we are making” you could change someone’s mind.
And that is HUGE!
That doesn’t mean you aren’t terrified. Of course, you are.
You look at pictures from the floods in Pakistan and you see the future for billions of people.
You read this article about billionaire preppers and your whole body clenches.
You know the “Inflation Reduction Act” has many VERY good things but it also has side provisions that are environmentally horrible.
And you also know this
And here’s a great example of a river guide–not a water expert– raising her voice and having a huge impact.
Also check out Artists for the Climate!
It’s by holding both our fear and our hope, our despair and our idealism, our rage and our levelheadedness that we keep on making a small consistent beautiful difference.
One way to hold both is by journaling.
Here are two prompts from UBC’s Doom to Hope resource – you can download the whole thing for free here.
Take 3 mins to write a candid stream of consciousness letter to yourself about how you feel about climate change. There is no right or wrong way to do this. Just write about how climate change makes you feel continuously for 3 mins.
***
Now take 3 mins to finish the letter by letting yourself dream of a climate future that feels joyful, nourishing, supportive and just.
What does this future look like, feel like and function like?
***
You could share your letter with someone you love or share your vision for a better future on social media or take your vision into your creative medium of choice and make something that expresses your vision.