The power of reflection and acceptance in climate action
in canada
many of us are feeling the urgency of
climate change
in toronto a survey showed that 78
of residents are concerned about climate
change
yet we’re not seeing change at the pace
we need to
in ontario the average carbon footprint
per person
is an unsustainable 11 tons more than
twice the global average
this is a paradox we feel that climate
change is an emergency
but we’re not acting like it’s an
emergency
in other words there’s a gap between our
intentions
and our actions why is that
i co-founded a group called carbon
conversations teo
to help individuals find hope in the
climate crisis
our materials are adapted from the work
of rosemary randall
a psychotherapist and andy brown an
engineer
who created carbon conversations in the
uk
we at carbon conversations teo strongly
believe
one of the main reasons for this
intention action gap
is because facing our feelings
can be challenging
hearing information about a complex and
systemic challenge like climate change
can cause us to feel overwhelmed
anxious depressed
angry helpless
guilty shameful
are any of these familiar to you if so
know that these hard feelings are
completely normal
and experiencing them is actually a sign
that we care about each other and the
planet
yet they are often uncomfortable and
quite painful to experience
so our minds help us avoid that pain
to resist that pain by summoning
our defenses our defenses
allow us to rationalize our role in
harmful systems that lead to climate
change
to reject knowledge that challenges our
sense of identity
to repress information that makes us
feel guilty or ashamed
and with these defenses activated our
pain
temporarily goes away but the world’s
pain
is not
us humans are really good at resisting
hard truths
so good in fact that many of us don’t
even know we’re doing it
we resist by saying things like
individual actions don’t really matter
anyway do they
it shouldn’t be up to me it should be up
to government
and corporations to solve the world’s
issues
well the world is doomed anyway so may
as well party while we have time left
it is really easy to feel discouraged
particularly when government and
industry do
often seem to be paralyzed it’s also
challenging to make a lot of personal
changes
especially when layering on the
emotional stress we’re feeling from the
pandemic
so we find ways to resist these hard
truths
here’s what that resistance looks like
for me
i’m a vegetarian and i do so many other
actions already
so this one carbon intensive action is
small compared to everything else i do
i’ll order take out this one time but
i’m not going to make it a habit
i’ll order takeout again but for sure
this time
i am not going to make it a habit
we are in the middle of a pandemic
surely it’s okay that i scale back on my
environmental efforts right now
if you’ve experienced some of these
thoughts you are not alone
these things we tell ourselves are there
to mask a conflict between our values
and our behaviors we try to protect
ourselves from feeling the pain that
comes with having to give up experiences
that we hold
quite dear to our hearts
experiences that help us fit in with the
people we love
experiences that we’ve worked really
hard for
experiences that perhaps we even feel
social or political pressure to
participate in
and this can lead to our own paralysis
in taking climate action
know that this inner conflict is normal
and it’s okay if you’re feeling this way
the climate action aspirations we have
can be really hard to live up to
so be kind and try not to be too hard on
yourself
yet the question remains how can we move
from paralysis to action
i believe it starts with understanding
and accepting
our emotions
accepting our emotions what does that
even mean
when we accept our emotions we are
ending our struggle
against feeling them so when
guilt shame anxiety
helplessness come knocking at our door
we let go of the urge to board that door
up
and instead we open it
and invite them to join us for a cup of
tea
even though we don’t particularly enjoy
their company
we allow ourselves to slow down
listen to ourselves and feel however we
need to feel
okay but how does that lead to climate
action
when we’re able to let ourselves feel
it can open up new opportunities to
acquire knowledge
and take action that we may have
previously overlooked
for me practicing acceptance has helped
me to unlock
a feeling behind the feeling where
another emotion comes up
that i didn’t even realize was there
it’s helped me discover many epiphanies
about myself
it’s helped me realize that it’s okay to
not be okay
and know when to reach out for support
and it’s helped me make tough
climate-related decisions that i was
previously avoiding
like measuring my carbon footprint or
making a commitment to not go on
vacation outside of canada again
and carbon conversations to wouldn’t
exist today
if one of our co-founders hadn’t seen
and felt
the pain that climate change was causing
for her partner
this is a prime example of how action
began
with awareness and acceptance of
feelings
now i’d like to share two ways that you
can practice bringing understanding and
acceptance into your regular routine
first is to slow down and breathe
it’s very easy to speed through a day
without noticing how you feel
here’s a variation of a common breathing
exercise that you can bring into your
regular routine
breathe in for a count of four
hold it for four
and exhale for six
and repeat this three times you can try
it now if you’d like
and if you’re doing the exercise notice
how you feel
what are the physical sensations coming
up
where on your body are they
where do you feel tension
are you able to name the feeling or
feelings that you’re experiencing
try to be as specific as you can for
example
instead of sad do you feel regretful
rejected despair disappointed
second you can practice curiosity
explore your reactions and feelings
ask yourself questions that dig deeper
into knowing yourself
like how do i feel about this fact i
just heard
or what might be causing this reaction
in me
or what is this reaction telling me
about myself
just a few minutes of self-reflection
can bring up different feelings
explore them sit with them
get to know and understand them
environmental scientist and writer
donnella meadows once wrote
feelings like knowledge don’t directly
change anything
but if we don’t rush past the feelings
or stuff them down
if we take time to admit even the most
uncomfortable ones
to accept them share them
and couple them with knowledge of what’s
wrong and how it might be fixed
then feelings and knowledge together are
motors for
change the feelings make the doings of a
technological
cultural economic and political
revolution
inevitable unstoppable
our emotions have important wisdom to
share
and listening to them can unlock
potential that
you may not even know you have
thank you