How to stop fear overwhelming you Earth needs you to keep going
[Applause]
we have to build each other up
in the face of uncertainty
in a world that’s designed to knock us
down
we live in a world that’s full of issues
and
in today’s age of technology it’s almost
an all-or-nothing choice whether we want
to be overwhelmed by the world’s
problems
or just ignore them
and in spaces like activist groups that
are dealing with these big and scary
topics it can be very
easy
to prioritize effectiveness and
achieving the same old things numbers on
a piece of paper volume of speech
because ultimately we don’t have time to
be trialling new things in this state of
emergency right
and like
what value do we have as individuals
when we’re trying to save the world
anything goes right
well i think that’s
where the problem becomes most apparent
that’s where we need to stop
and change our behavior because if the
only thing we have to lose is our
humanity
then we have everything to lose
the simple fact of the matter is known
ways of organizing and change-making
haven’t worked
the fact that we haven’t seen action on
issues like the climate crisis
is symptomatic not only of the deeply
rooted systemic issues at play
but also
of that whatever has been done up until
this point however amazing it has been
has not been enough
and so because we know that known
methods haven’t been working and because
we know what is at stake
we have to keep going
and here’s how
the first thing that we need to do is
prioritize communication
authentic communication and active
listening
i think this is the number one thing
that spurred me into action a couple of
years ago when i started organizing
climate strikes the fact that i wasn’t
being listened to on the issue of the
climate crisis and so it’s pretty
logical then to say that i didn’t just
want action on climate but also a shift
in the way we communicate and listen to
each other as a society
and simultaneously that if i felt like i
was going unheard in the broader
community i didn’t want that to be the
same in change-making spaces
we as humans do inherently connect and
communicate we’re pack animals
but the system that we live in
is conditioning us not to have that
basic need fulfilled properly for so
much of our lives starting from our very
foundational years
so yes that’s one of the first things
that we need to actively and consciously
work to doing better
but let me ask you
how often
do you feel listened to
as a young person i spend a bunch of my
day sitting in a classroom being told to
just be quiet and listen but where is
the communication and collaboration i
should be learning as i grow up
even in a nuclear family unit can i
express my despair at the state of the
world i’m growing into
or will i just be brushed off as going
through that phase instead of
being given the opportunity to be heard
and given hope and support
or going back to a political setting i’m
not 18 yet i can’t vote i don’t have
that one tiny bit of political power
that everyone is supposed to have
and that’s just me as a relatively
privileged person in society so we can
see that change is necessary
and it can be hard in the face of things
like collective anxiety and despair when
the urgency of the situation hits
when i sit for hours reading articles
about how we have two years left to act
five years left to act 10 years left but
then we’ll have crossed a tipping point
and there’s no going back the last thing
i want to do is empathize with people
about how scared they are because i feel
scared enough for all of us
i just want to do something and do it
now but known ways of doing things and
changing things
haven’t been working this time in fact
when i
stopped and thought about it after a
year of going full steam
i realized that i was really resigned to
this concept of just getting lost in my
fear and blindly following a template
whenever a new paper was released or a
new fossil fuel project was announced it
was a mad dash to make our voices heard
but at some point it just felt like
shouting at a brick wall and i couldn’t
figure out who i was trying to talk to
or what i was trying to say and it kept
going and got worse and worse until when
people asked me what i did for fun i
would mumble reading instead of saying
community organizing because it didn’t
feel like that’s what i was doing
anymore
we can’t let the fear and urgency
overwhelm us
we have to consider our next steps
carefully as well as quickly have to
incorporate different voices and
perspectives because the flip side to
this whole listening thing is equally as
important we need to make sure that
we’re also practicing accountability
and there’s a couple of ways in which we
need to do this but the first is simply
being accountable to each other
we need to make sure that yes we’re
hearing people and valuing their voices
but we’re also following through and
acting on that because ultimately
listening without action never actually
leads to solutions
and the truth is
we can’t afford to do this without
everyone’s input
if we want to make a world that isn’t
ruled by the same problems we’re seeing
today
and we need to be accountable to
ourselves
need to make sure that we’re taking care
of ourselves so that we can take care of
others
i went
a really long time
thinking that i was the least important
part of my own equation thinking that
because there was so much urgency to
create change i just didn’t have time to
take care of myself and it didn’t end up
getting me anywhere
i dropped out of school and then the
pandemic hit and i was forced to stop
and think and i didn’t start
going again
for months
i was so burnt out from constantly
working that i didn’t know who i was
anymore at least not without my work
and i’d forgotten that often the most
you bring to any space
is you
and your communication style and your
perspective and your ideas i was still
bringing my skills and my networks but i
wasn’t bringing me as an individual
and it
showed we can’t work towards a world
where everyone is valued inherently
by burning ourselves out in the process
but finally here’s what i’ve learned
after almost three years in the climate
space now and it’s that we have to be
accountable
to our situation
we have to take an opportunity that we
see and act on it but it needs to keep
going
we’ve done it once we’ve done it more
than once but if we’re talking climate
we got 10 000 people in the streets two
years ago in sleepy old perth with the
climate strike we know we’re not
starting from scratch
and i used to feel really down after
something like that because it felt like
a win but i didn’t know where to go to
next but the trajectory is clear we have
to do it again
and again and again and we have to keep
going
take a moment
and consider where you’re at
living in the relative bubble of perth
we’ve been sheltered from the worst of
the climate crisis thus far and the
pandemic too while we’re at it while the
rest of the world has been in lockdown
we’ve pretty much had business as usual
and let me tell you i know
that it’s really really easy to just
click off your phone or your social
media feed and just ignore the news
but with that privilege and capacity
comes opportunity we have the
opportunity to work together right now
to organize and build powerful spaces
and mass movements and do it in a way
that’s true to the better world we’re
fighting for
because ultimately
i could do this
for the rest of my life and it wouldn’t
work without you
without all of you
that’s the beauty of community
organizing that it’s never just about me
or about you
but about
us it’s the conversations we have it’s
the people we meet it’s the ways in
which we connect and collaborate
it’s the momentum we build it’s the
driving forces that connect us
so i urge you
to take a step
whether it’s the first one in your
journey or maybe it’s just another one
out of thousands
take a step
to listen
understand communicate take
accountability all of these things
that are only possible
if you’re in the space to begin with
so step out of your comfort zone
get on the streets and demand change or
just reach out
because together
we can change the world
thank you
[Music]
you