What to do when the world is on fire – Feel, Rest and Rise
How’s your HOPE on the hope-o-meter?
National and international news is heavy right now.
🎨 hope-o-meter Illustration created for Change Makers by the marvellous Edie Murray
The world is on fire - literally - with evidence of a climate emergency, the implications of which our political leaders seem unable or unwilling to grasp.
The peeling away of Reproductive health and fundamental rights in the US with the fall of Roe Vs. Wade and in the UK with the Policing Bill.
Increasing instability, food shortages, displaced people fuelling refugee and asylum crises.
Ongoing racial and social injustice.
Cost of living crisis increasing food and fuel poverty, with use of food banks and rates of homelessness soaring.
I can keep going and you can add to the list …
This is on top of the cumulative impact of the pandemic which we know has disproportionately impacted women and those with other marginalised characteristics.
So no wonder we’re tired. We’re exhausted.
Recent studies suggest 42% of us have experienced burnout in the last 12 months and that rises to 66% for those of us who are parents.
These can feel like dark days, like progress is slipping away, like we’re going backwards, or going forwards to a more disturbing rather than positive future.
It’s a LOT, it’s heavy, oppressive even …
Our hope can feel drained …
My friend Kate tells me the world is always on fire somewhere, it’s just which bit is in your sight line and awareness at any point in time.
We need to stay aware, connected and engaged. AND we also need to prioritise our joy and wellbeing each and every day.
If you’re feeling hope -sapped after recent *events* (means you’re human!) here’s my tips for gently, slowly, in-your own-time re-finding it. This is complex and nuanced, so I’m sharing these 3 dynamics that I’ve noticed for me, and my clients, hoping they help you too.
1. FEEL: all the feelings.
When I try to deny or repress sadness, anger, disappointment, rage, despair … I can get stuck … leading to a sense of hopelessness.
Find ways to feel, express, release your feelings. Cry, rant, scream, dance, run, write, sing, lament…
2. REST: let your body, heart and mind rest and recover.
Come back to your breath, your physical body, get into nature, do small simple things that nurture you, that help you feel like you again, that give you JOY. Be deeply kind to yourself.
3. RISE: our feelings of activation are a FUEL for our response, when you’re ready.
Write to your MP or elected representative, go on a march, give a donation, have a conversation, register to vote, find who’s already working on the issues you’re passionate about, gather your people …. when we follow our anger and activation we’ll usually find others there too, and being a ‘we’ rather than just a ‘me’ is a big boost to our hope.
We feel, we rest, we rise!
What’s resonating for you?
Your next steps
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