Reaching Out about the Climate Emergency
I sent the e-mail below to several friends and colleagues who are working on the climate emergency:
Dear (Friend),
I appreciate being side by side with you, facing the climate emergency with concrete action!
And I find that I need frequent opportunities to share my fears and despair about our dire situation so that I can stay energized and keep going.
I hope you can join me January 19 at 7:30 p.m. to meet two of my colleagues who lead powerful work with Sustaining All Life—the type of work that has sustained me for many years as a climate leader. [* Sustaining All Life is a project of Re-evaluation Counseling focused on addressing barriers to organizing effectively to end the climate emergency.]
They are holding a one-hour meeting on Zoom to introduce the tools of Re-evaluation Counseling (a type of peer support practiced internationally) to people working to end the climate emergency.
A flier is attached, and below is an excerpt from it:
Climate change has caused grievous damage to the Earth and all living beings. As we become more and more aware of this damage, and the inadequate human response to it, we are left with a range of feelings.
Unreleased pent-up feelings of grief, fear, and frustration tend to interrupt our initiative and dim our hope for the future.
These unreleased painful feelings can drain our energy and interfere with our thinking well about what is to be done and acting appropriately and effectively—in this case, to end the climate emergency.
Re-evaluation Counseling (also known as RC or Co-Counseling) is a well-established theory and practice that people of all ages and backgrounds can use to exchange effective help with each other to free themselves from the emotional harm of oppression and other hurts.
By taking turns listening to each other and encouraging the release of emotional pain, people can heal old hurts and become better able to think, to speak out, and to organize and lead others in building a world in which human beings and other life forms are valued and the environment is restored and preserved.
Please tell me if you plan to attend, and I’ll make sure you receive the link!
I highly recommend taking advantage of this opportunity to hear from two terrific, personable leaders. It’s wonderful working with you, and I would love for you to experience some of what has kept me in action.
With hope for a vibrant future,
USA
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list for leaders in care of the environment
(Present Time 207, April 2022)