Learning to accept the climate and ecological crisis
My journey of learning to accept what's happening in the world so I can unleash more energy, creativity and action to contribute to solutions
“Can you back out of your own expectations of how things should be into the actual way things are, all the while staying compassionate towards yourself and others”
This is a quote from Jeff, from the Calm meditation app (he’s awesome).
I had to replay it back a few times to let it sink it.
Acceptance can apply to everything in life whether that’s your relationship status, money, your work or friendship troubles, or how you relate to the climate and ecological crisis.
Acceptance is about accepting the way things are. Because there is no way things could be any different than the way they are.
Acceptance is not a future prediction, it’s not a resignation, it’s not liking or rejecting what is happening.
Acceptance is allowing things to be as they are, to be in the present moment, and to allow the sensations, thoughts and emotions to be present.
I have been practicing the concept of acceptance and letting go as a useful part of everyday life and dealing with personal issues. It’s a core principle of mindfulness.
It has taken me longer to accept that I need to accept what’s happening in the world.
But I am learning to accept what is happening - the climate crisis, ecological crisis, injustice, mass extinction, water pollution, and more.
Acceptance doesn’t mean I don’t care.
Acceptance doesn’t mean I won’t do everything I can to make a difference.
Acceptance doesn’t mean I think what’s happening is ok.
Acceptance doesn’t mean I’ve given up trying.
But it does mean that I accept things the way they are.
Because things are the way they are, and nothing I can do or think will change that.
When I spend my time and energy on resisting what is, complaining, blaming other people, wishing things were different, I have no energy to focus on what I can do and what I want to create.
I speak a lot about the importance of processing our emotions. The difficult emotions that can come with knowledge about the climate and ecological crisis include anger, anxiety, powerlessness, hopelessness, grief, sadness, loneliness.
To process these emotions it’s helpful to learn to name, describe and welcome them.
It’s also helpful to know that any difficult feeling you have means you are resisting what is.
When I learnt that, it blew my mind.
Have a think about a difficult emotion you felt recently and consider what you were resisting to accept that was already happening/had happened (did you feel angry because someone cut you up in traffic, did you feel lonely because no one’s around or you don’t feel listened to - in both cases were you resisting what has/was already happening?).
The quotes “It is what it is” and “What you resist persists” ring more true to me now than they ever have before because I realise the cost of not thinking that way.
Whenever we have a difficult thought or feeling we are creating pain and suffering for ourselves and it’s rarely useful. We can welcome the emotion and then learn to let it go.
The rest of the world is suffering, if I am creating pain for myself by thinking about how bad thing’s are going to be or how sad and depressed I feel, then how can I be useful?
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve felt all these feelings strongly. I have cried myself to sleep, I have walked around high streets like a zombie in dismay at the consumptive nature of the world. I have felt hopeless, alone and scared. I’ve felt angry and sad.
These feelings left me incapacitated, I was trying to pour from an empty jug. I felt overwhelmed in my work, trying to make a difference, whilst knowing the scale of disaster coming, often left me feeling like ‘what’s the point?’
Yet learning to accept what’s happening in the world has helped me to let go of the attachment to those feelings and that way of being, so that I am more energised, present, motivated and joyful in the way I live and work.
It’s not something I found I could just do - to accept what’s happening. It’s a moment to moment practice and it takes more conscious awareness of my thoughts. More ability to process my emotions. And it is a choice - once we are aware of our thoughts (and we know that we are not our thoughts), we have a choice whether to spiral down with them or to choose more positive thoughts and spiral upwards.
Acceptance also requires presence. It’s not thinking about the future and what disasters might happen, it’s not thinking about the past or other people’s actions, it’s being present in your moment to moment experience and being ok with what is.
What’s happening in the world is bigger than all of us, we cannot control what happens.
All that we can control is what we do in every moment and I know I can do more when I’m accepting what is and doing what I can do with positive energy, creativity and present moment awareness.
I’m curious how the concept of accepting what’s happening in the world sits with you, so drop me a message with what you think.
Reading/listening recommendations
Calm meditation app has a lot of wisdom in their daily practices
Book - Zen and the art of saving the planet by Thich Naht Hanh (The Way out is in podcast too)
Book - A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (he also has a podcast)
Books by Joanna Macy (or any podcasts with her)
Podcast from Let’s Talk about Mental Health on Acceptance