Expert view: recognising the size of the climate crisis

It took me a while to recognise that I had not been taking the climate situation seriously. As often happens, it was my work with individuals and organisations that presented me with the challenge that led me to a new evolution.

In 2020 I was asked to help members of a climate-based organisation. Their work was taking a heavy toll. People were stressed, fatigued and burnt out. I believed in their cause, and knew I could help them. My work is based on the realisation that people’s clarity, well-being, energy and resourcefulness is available under any circumstance. It is my job to help people recognise and access this underlying potential of the mind. 

Finding this potential of mind is much simpler than you might expect. The most challenging part of my job is making the discussion relevant to the people I am trying to help. In this case, I needed a better understanding of the climate situation.

Realising the seriousness of climate change

I was surprised when I realised that I had not looked more deeply into the climate crisis before. It was not for lack of caring, so why had I not taken more of an interest before? As I started reading I quickly saw how horrifically serious the situation was. I assumed I was already aware of climate change and I was committed to doing what I could to help – reducing waste and plastic, buying less and eating differently. However, it was not until I took an interest in finding out more about the situation that I realised just how stark the picture was.

Clarity is always helpful. As I learned more about the situation, I saw that I had not previously understood it at all. As a result, my attempts to contribute were out of sync with the actual situation. This was incredibly clarifying but, just before my mind could properly calibrate this information, the emotional impact hit me. 

I was clear, then I was stunned, then I was devastated.

The insights I had gained became world destroying. All my thoughts and assumptions about the present and the future, about my life, but more importantly, my children’s lives, exploded. I was totally overwhelmed. 

There were intense and inescapable feelings of devastation, hopelessness and grief

I am not sure how to describe the experience other than to say there were intense and inescapable feelings of devastation, hopelessness and grief. In terms of my state of mind, I had only one thing going for me…I knew the feelings I was experiencing were not those of a clear mind. I knew I was capable of having a clear mind, without any effort, in any circumstance, because that is the essence of our work at One Thought. Not only would I feel better with a clearer mind, I would also see better, think better and act better. That one piece of understanding saved me and allowed something profound to happen.

Dealing with a disturbed mind

Knowing my distress was the tell-tale sign of a disturbed mind did two things for me. 

First, it allowed me to experience these emotions whilst also knowing they were only part of the truth. I knew upsetting thoughts would have to run their course and I would feel better and things would look different. 

Second, and this is really important, I was careful not to attribute my distress to the dire environmental situation, because this would have made my feelings inevitable and unavoidable. The situation did justify these feelings, but it did not determine them. As bad as I felt, I wanted to see what things looked like when my mind was undisturbed and clear again. 

Needless to say, the emotional storm did break and I did return to a clearer state of mind for which I am grateful. Not just because I feel better, but because I am able to feel better without pretending the situation is less serious. Because I know that the climate situation we face, and the state of mind we face them in, are independent, I can have a clear mind no matter how serious the challenge faced. 

Because of this, I do not have to solve situations to feel better or ignore them or pretend they are not so bad.

Becoming more resourceful

Once my clarity returned, not only had the distress diminished, but the added resourcefulness of a clearer mind had returned. The result of this has been profoundly enabling. I feel more able to understand the situation without getting lost in my own distress and as a result I am more able to see and investigate how to contribute better. Whereas before I felt I had no real understanding of the issue and felt better because I was not giving it much attention, now I feel able to face the issue as it is and see what ideas and solutions make sense. 

As a result of this experience, I am much calmer, understanding the situation better and actually taking the full problem on. How can we ever help solve a problem we have no clarity or understanding of? 

Also, I can see that we have a problem much bigger than that of the climate crisis: And that is very few of us are interested to understand or face the challenge of climate change. I cannot see how we can make any significant progress until this changes. 

To that end I hope my experience helps people feel more confident that it is possible to come through disturbed emotions to a clearer mind, no matter how serious the situation we face. They will  end up with the twin benefits of feeling better and being able to prioritise and address the most pressing issues head on.

More committed, engaged and interested

For me, having clarity whilst taking the situation seriously, made me feel more committed, engaged and interested. I have been motivated to find out more which drives my understanding and my choices of how I can best contribute. Personally, my lifestyle choices are less complacent and the environment is something I think we should all be talking and thinking about. 

Professionally, One Thought has shifted its focus to supporting the clarity and impact of those working to solve the climate crisis. I could see that very few people were recognising and engaging with the situation so it made sense to help and support those that are. I know I am late to it, but I am happy to be focussed on what really matters most for us all right now.