Climate grief to action
To piggyback off of my previous post about the 5 stages of grief, I want to explore sustainability through this lens.
But I don’t want to stop at the grief.
When it comes to sustainability, sitting in our grief forever won’t help.
Here are a few we can move from grief to action, so we can make a difference.
Let’s take them one at a time.
𝟏. 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐥 -> 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬:
Scientists and leaders agree that the climate crisis is real and serious. Denying it doesn’t help. To turn toward awareness, we can:
🌱 Follow some positive and true accounts like Solitaire Townsend and Futerra, World Economic Forum, UN Environment Programme, Future Earth, and more. Add your favorites in the comments.
🌱 Research which individual actions will create the biggest impact flying less, eating less meat, etc.
𝟐. 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 -> 𝐅𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
Those of us who are aware of the problem and see the lack of action from governments and big business are likely angry. But we can turn that anger into frustration.
Frustration leads us to act. It’s when we say, “ok, not enough is being done.. what can I do?”
𝟑. 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 -> 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
In grief, the bargaining stage is where we want someone back. We promise to change our ways.
When it comes to sustainability, it’s where we take action. We can change now to make a difference, so start to take small actions in your own life.
🌱 Read about the Sustainable Development Goals and choose your priorities. You can’t do everything.
🌱 Commit to eating less meat. Try vegan before 6 or going vegan a few times a week. Alex Robinson recently posted some creative ideas about this.
🌱 Embrace curiosity, playfulness, and slow living. Get creative so it becomes fun and restorative, not a chore.
𝟒. 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 -> 𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞:
When you empower yourself to take action, you’ll inevitably notice other people doing it too and that will give you hope. It does for me.
You’ll begin to see that big businesses are taking imperfect action, and you might find smaller businesses that are committed to doing things right.
𝟓. 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 -> 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
Every job is a climate job, so look for ways to weave sustainability into your career. Form a committee, educate your colleagues, present a plan to leadership.
Focus on long-term solutions and lifestyle changes for a sustainable future. Every little bit helps and it creates a demand for thoughtful solutions.
Embrace the sense of community and shared responsibility for the planet.
🌿 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
Seek out success stories and positive impacts of sustainable practices. You’ll find small wins everywhere and begin to recognize a sense of community and shared accomplishment.
This is an emotional journey so go easy on yourself. It’s ok to slip back into grief sometimes but try to pull yourself into positive action.
