An Opportunity for Connection
Preparing for the New Normal
Last week's essay focused on ways communities come together during environmental catastrophes. Communities unite resiliently and generously, forming spontaneous networks critical to getting through the disaster and rebuilding.
These networks of connection are critical to offset the impact of climate change. How do we personally prepare to live purposefully with the real challenges? How do we worry less and develop coping mechanisms for this existential threat? We can prepare ourselves for resilience and connection in disaster. How we think of climate change and ourselves within it shapes the world.
The strategies I’ll offer for a more resilient and engaged response to climate change can be divided into three categories: “Curate”, “Imagine”, and “Simplify”.
1. Curate What You Read and Watch
Being intentionally selective with what and how much information we take in about climate events is needed for our psychological well-being. Ignoring reality doesn't prepare us and, also, denial comes at a psychic cost. Getting hooked on the news cycle that streams constant imagery of climate disaster can overwhelm or numb us. As I mentioned in last week’s piece, news stories often portray people as victims of disaster rather than resourceful members of communities.
Occasionally reading long-form articles that keep us informed helps reduce anxiety about the uncertainty. For example, I read articles about the climate threat and what people try to do about it. Good publications to refer to include National Geographic and Sierra, the magazine of the Sierra Club. The Sierra Club also has local chapters nationwide, and their websites are a great source of ways to plug into efforts in your area.
2. Imagine Ways to Show Up
Connection to others can protect us against having a traumatic response to catastrophe. Being there for each other feeds community identity and belonging during both the anticipation of future events and the events themselves. What might this look like concretely?
Individually, we can reflect upon the strengths and skills we can bring to our communities. With friends, we can also talk about our feelings about weather-related events that impact us and how we can be proactive to be better prepared. We can have these conversations in a way that empower us, and not as if we are assuming the worst about what might happen.
Of course, we can't know when, where, and how a climate event will manifest. But we can know what environmental risk factors exist near where we live. Having conversations and taking small steps as a community can make us more flexible and resilient.
For example, where I live in Vancouver, Washington, an immediate threat is fire and smoke from distant fires. This past year, smoke from Canadian fires blanketed the entire country, sending a clear warning that none of us are immune.
Those who have experienced unhealthy air quality know how it can keep us inside and feel oppressive. We might imagine creative ways to get together with our neighbors indoors, which would help offset the discomfort we feel while waiting for skies to clear. We might imagine ways to be of service to others. For example, do we know others who are at heightened risk from unhealthy air? We can inquire whether they have high-quality air filters. If they are financially strapped, we might work together as a community to help them secure them, either buying them or reaching out to organizations that have resources to share.
3. Simplify, Simplify, Simplify
The more we accumulate, the more energy we put towards maintaining. Accumulating triggers a scarcity mentality when climate conditions threaten what we have. Having less frees our time and energy. And consuming less is a good practice for lifestyle changes that benefit the planet. We need a serious alternative to a consumer society to avoid ecological collapse. We all have a part to play. The naysayers who explain why our efforts to consume less won't make a dent are part of the problem.
Changes can include eating a more plant-based diet and not wasting food; buying far fewer clothes every year; keeping electrical products longer; flying or driving less or switching to electric vehicles or even getting rid of personal vehicles; and moving to green energy in any way we can. Taking practical steps to align with reality is not only part of the solution, but it also helps us emotionally cope with our concerns.
The healthy middle path is to be present with what is without becoming paralyzed by it. Indeed, denying or minimizing the threat of climate change keeps us from living fully. At the same time, reality, however uncertain and at times frightening, need not take away from experiencing meaning and joy when the opportunity presents itself.
It's important to know that should we personally experience climate catastrophe, we can still find ways to live collectively in profoundly caring ways. Extreme weather does necessarily lead to disaster, especially if we change the circumstances of grotesque inequity that make many people vulnerable. If we choose to do so, we can make something of climate disaster, creating a language of the kind of civic connection that has atrophied. We can come together in our communities and suspend everyday concerns, engaging proactively and finding purpose in collectively working towards change.