Climate optimism means that we shift the narrative on climate change and put yourself in control. Climate change can be very overwhelming and it’s easy to lose sight of hope. When you do, you might give in to despair, while finding that it’s really hard to act on anything positive. This introduces many problems. Not only is it bad for your mental health, but you are also not showing up for the important (and may I say exciting?) work that can guide us all into a better world.
To be a climate optimist means that you tell yourself a different story; one that is infused with curiosity and courage rather than urgency and fear. You don’t act because you’re sure everything will work out, you do because you’ve realized that doing whatever we can is the only thing we have left.
It is, however, important to act from a place of awareness and selfcare. Trying to ignore all the negative and only focus on the good is not what being a true optimist is, I learned that the hard way. The only way to stay optimistic is by actively being that change and embodying that courage and optimism as often as you can. I call it being an Optimist In Action.
If I could only say one thing I’d say that people need to slow down. When we slow down our minds, we start to realize we have so much right here, right now. Gratitude grows and from that, we need less to feel happy and fulfilled. As climate activists, we tend to feel like we need to do “more more more”, that the urgency is too great. However, in order to do more, we need to start by first doing less. It’s in moments of slow that the answers may come to us and where we get a chance to act intentionally moving forward.
I also want to mention composting because whenever I give the slow answer, people tend to get a little frustrated – give me something concrete! For that, I’ll say composting. Did you know that if food waste was it’s own country, it would be the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases? At the same time, if you start composting foodwaste and use it as nutrients to add back to the soil, you enrich the soil and help it sequester CO2 back into the ground. Carbon isn’t bad, we’ve just put it in the wrong place! So let’s help nature do it’s thing and pull it from the atmosphere where it’s doing damage, and back into the ground where it belongs. A simple of an act as composting puts you back into the circle of life and you get to be part of the solution. You’re not just miminimzing your negative footprint, you’re increasing your positive one!
I’m afraid there are too many on that list. However, I think we need to recognize that shifts are happening across industries. We may not be able to see them yet, but we are moving in the right direction.
One industry I’d like to see more action in is banking, especially when it comes to transparency towards the customer of where their money is being funded, and to what projects. I don’t think most people are aware that their money is fueling climate by funding fossil fuel projects and other harmful industries. But if you put your money in a bank, chances are that money is out doing some dirty work on your behalf!
First off, we need to start recognizing what an incredibly exciting journey we’re on here together. This time in history is so big, so monumental, so important. All of us alive right now get to participate in the creation of a whole new world! How often do you wake up and tell yourself that?
I don’t think it’s any of our’s responsibility to figure out climate change and heal the world.Tell yourself that and you’ll be overwhelmed by day three! Instead, remind yourself that this is an incredible opportunity. You get to partake in writing history and witness as humanity goes through something we’ve never gone through before, and in a very short amount of time. We get to be here as history is made!
If you’re worried your time on Earth won’t matter, think again! Since we live in the time that we live in, all of us matter!
When you wake up tomorrow morning, ask yourself: What would I do today if I had the opportunity to co-create a better world? What choices would I make? What things would I like to learn? How can I get excited about a future we haven’t seen before, but — who knows — might be so much better than we know now? More beautiful than we could even dream of…
Start there and then commit to being an Optimist In Action, whatever that looks like today. What is one thing you can change about your life today? Who is one person you could reach out to? One small step might seem simple, but you never know the path you unlock when you introduce yourself to the world of positive change
There are no reviews yet. Be the first one to write one.
A whole world on the tip of a pencil. The story of an artist who proved that true art has no limits and that it is never too late to start all over again.
International fashion icon and symbol of Parisian style, Ines de la Fressange is one of the most famous women in France.
Anastasia Pilepchuk is a Berlin-based artist with Buryat roots. She creates masks and face jewellery inspired by the nature and the culture of her beautiful region.
A whole world on the tip of a pencil. The story of an artist who proved that true art has no limits and that it is never too late to start all over again.
