It’s been another record-breaking summer. Rivers drying up around the world, wildfires even in Europe? The term eco-anxiety was coined a few years ago to describe the fear people experience related to climate change. While anxiety is a reasonable reaction to imminent threats, this term doesn’t encompass the many other feelings tied to our global future, such as despair, anger, apathy and grief.
Our society has a lot to grieve, and our inability to effectively address these collective losses is keeping us stuck. We are losing a way of life that existed comfortably for many decades, so it’s not surprising that we’re hanging on for dear life. I’m speaking of the ‘building out the suburbs requiring everyone to drive everywhere’ culture. Granted, transportation is not entirely to blame for carbon emissions, but it is one where individual choices have an impact. Not to mention the Western disposable consumption epidemic. Can we at least admit how plastic-dependent we are?
In EFT we use the phrase “I accept myself anyway”, and in the case of the planet, we need to first accept the problems. This isn’t about politics or convincing others about science. Let’s accept that we have severe weather events now. Flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes. We’re living through it in real time and it brings real pain and suffering. We need each other’s compassion more than ever to meet these challenges. Let’s also acknowledge and accept that we’re all a little burned out after the pandemic, with empathy stretched-thin.
This reality is precisely why we need to process our feelings of loss so we can more clearly see the solutions and actions needed to address these world events. Taking meaningful action is one of the antidotes to eco-anxiety, and we need to pro-actively develop climate resilience as we move forward. We are living through tough times, and we can choose to see how much stronger we are because of it. Living into a more turbulent future will require courage and hope and learning to work together and rely on each other. That might seem like a huge ask given today’s ‘us vs. them’ culture, but we can only move forward one step, one conversation, one action at a time.
My climate tapping script was recently listed as an International Tapping Month resource, and I invite you to tap along to address some of the feelings related to the climate crisis. We’re all in this human experience together and we can make a difference as we collectively heal and support each other.
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