C+S 2021 students are blogging about topics that interest them for Applications in Climate and Society, a core spring class.
Your heart alone was not meant to carry the weight of the world. The climate crisis affects all of us, and when we share our terror, our rage, our depression with each other, we realize that we need not carry this burden alone, and that by sharing this grief, there come newly forged connections. We connect with Mother Nature, grounding ourselves with what is at stake.
We connect with our people and band together and create power that cannot exist solitarily. We connect with the communities that are the hardest hit by climate change, because we cannot move forward into a better future without them.
To grapple with the inevitable future of this world is incredibly grim. A world where our food systems become unstable, entire swaths of land become hostile to human existence, and hurricanes, floods, and droughts increase in magnitude and frequency. But this is a necessary part of the collective work to fight against the systems causing climate change and many more injustices. We must face the truth, no matter how searing it may be, because it’s a catalyst to give the work the absolute urgency it needs. The blinding truth of the devastating effects of climate change is as strong as the sun itself, life-giving and life-taking. The truth can blind you, but it can also tug at your soul. It can envelop you in darkness in which you see no way out.
Be overcome by the vast helplessness, for trying to suppress this feeling will only make it stronger. Let it wash over you, let yourself feel the depths of the human heart. Invite the grief in as a welcome guest, for within it lies a gift. The gift of being alive in a time where it’s not too late to make a change. The gift of giving a f*ck about Mother Nature. The gift of outrage against the people that made this world hell. The gift of finding a community that cares as much as you do. The gift of shaking off the dull numbness that entrenches modern life.
Scream in the middle of the woods, sob in a loved one’s arms, let your heart break, shatter, be ripped apart. Then pick up the pieces, and rise like a phoenix, having cleansed your heart and soul of this weight, and begin again. There is work to be done. Individual action has power, not only by being a part of a changing system more in line with your values—but also in how your actions ripple out and affect and influence other people.
You can lower your personal carbon footprint by flying less or eating less meat. You can get involved in your local political scene, volunteer for a candidate that has strong climate policy right in your own backyard. It’s true that we’re going to need large-scale systematic change to avoid the worst effects of climate change, but that doesn’t mean that despair should lead to inaction. Individual actions do matter, especially if you’re rich. What’s important is to not feel shame or to shame other people for not doing enough, we won’t build up a movement that way. Find your way into the climate movement however you can, and know you aren’t alone. You are a drop in the ocean of change against the status quo. Know your power lies within yourself, but also by being a part of the whole. There’s no time to lose.
