Last weekend I went along to my first Extinction Rebellion meeting. I arrived and was immediately welcomed and invited to join a group of rebels who were discussing the emotional impact of the climate emergency, and thinking of ways to self-support. I was impressed that this movement understands from the get go the importance of resilience, self-care and wellbeing for those fighting climate change.
Later, I was invited to attend ‘lock-on’ training, and I started to feel waaaay out of my depth. I realised that Extinction Rebellion are fighting this crisis through civil disobedience, and attaching yourself to buildings or bridges and being arrested is one of the key approaches to getting the government to listen and change. And I found myself thinking, I don’t know enough about the facts to be willing to put myself in such risky positions.
And so, I bought this book, and went home to watch this youtube video, and I started to realise why so many people are willing to take the risk.
After reading and watching, like many of us, I started to feel both terrified and paralysed. The climate crisis feels like such an enormous challenge for us. An insurmountable challenge that is out of our control. And so it’s understandable why so many of us don’t even really want to go there. Prior to last weekend I didn’t want to go there either, I didn’t want to face the truth of the situation.
But reading and watching helped me to see what’s here now, which is not dissimilar to how we work with clients 1:1 or in our workshops. We invite people to acknowledge what’s coming up now, and then, to look at how we could see or approach the situation differently.
And so, about two days ago, something started to shift within me. Somehow, I managed to start seeing a different perspective. I started to see the climate crisis as an opportunity for everyone to come together, to unite over something that is a risk to all of us. I also started to see it as an opportunity for us to collectively move away from some of the ideals I, and Bird have always pushed back against (prioritising material and financial gain, working for cash rather than purpose, focusing on economic growth rather than gross national happiness).
I started to feel more hopeful. I started to recognise that the situation is hard, but it’s a huge invitation to us all to come together, to become a community again, to bring ourselves back from our siloed lives enabled by social media. There is a way to come through this.
As I was reflecting on these new perspectives, I remembered the title of a new book by Marie Forleo. The book is called ‘Everything is Figureoutable’. Now I haven’t read the book yet, but the title alone has helped. Yes, the situation is dire, AND, it’s figureoutable.
Tomorrow, us Birds are having an away-day, and as part of it we’re going to get involved in the Global Climate Strike. We’re going to go and do what we do best: we’re going to support, we’re going to champion, we’re going to show up and get involved. We’re going to connect with others to find a way through this.
We’re going to remember that there is always a way, that ‘everything is figureoutable’, and we’re going to unite with others to try and tackle the greatest challenge of our lifetimes.
So, will we see you on the streets?
With love, Hannah and Team Bird