Town Down The Urgency
Introducing SLOW into the Climate Conversation
In the early spring of 1991, a little girl was born with more willpower than a horse on hormones. Yes, that girl was me. I came into this world with a fire engine roaring inside me, and I knew what I wanted from day one. A typical Aries, I am simply not one to sit around waiting for things to happen. I take matters into my own hands to make sure they do!
That’s why what I’m about to tell you is just as much a reminder to me as it is to you. Although a lot of what I share in this book has somehow been channeled from inside me (many times while gazing at the horizon from a mountaintop I just summited), this message came from without, almost as a plea for me to change my ways. Had I received it in person, instead of over the phone from a friend, I’m sure it would have come with two sturdy hands on my shoulders and two eyes piercing into mine. That message was:
Slow down.
I’m not good at slow. I like things at speed. I like to see things moving! Being the “go, go, go!” person I am, this lesson has been the hardest one to learn. How can I slow down when I know how much the world needs my actions? How can I “chill” when I know climate change is rapidly speeding us toward our demise?
The anxiety that kicks in every time I try to give myself a break is difficult to handle. That is why it’s easier to fill my time with stuff. Even sharing a post on social media to educate others about the problems with plastic makes me feel better because at least I’m doing something. But what am I actually doing? And is the planet better off with yet another post circling the internet for a day or two before shortly getting buried in the feed?
Truth be told, I crave slow, and I think the world craves it too.
We are dying to breathe more deeply, to see the world more clearly, to better understand ourselves and the deeper wisdom whispering from within. The world doesn’t need faster. It needs more space, and that space can only surface when we allow ourselves to slow down.
When it comes to a sustainable future, we need it more than we can know, but it’s time we start toning down the urgency on climate change.
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We are in such a critical situation right now that we don’t have time to rush into the next thing. We must begin by slowing down so we can move with intention and clarity toward a world that is not just different, but better. If we don’t slow down first, how will we know if our actions will lead to better outcomes or continue to fuel new problems down the line?
To solve the climate crisis, we need to find a deeper connection to our hearts. Charles Eisenstein explains this beautifully in his book Climate: A New Story:
Rational reasons are not enough; the ecological crisis is asking for a revolution of love. If there is another way, then the habit of fighting becomes an obstacle to victory. In the case of ecocide, the mentality of war is not only an obstacle to healing, it is an intimate part of the problem.
For many of us, fighting climate change seems like a war, a battle we must continue to fight. We get frustrated when elected officials don’t do enough, and we happily shed that frustration on the people around us. Tired, hopeless, and sometimes even a bit resentful, we feel as if there’s no way in hell we will ever get this right.
That is the fighter in you talking. Beneath that fighter lies a powerful soul powered by a strong heart that can’t wait for the chance to say a few words. That heart knows of wisdom so strong and so powerful it could change the world.
We don’t need more fighters in our world today. We need wise hearts moving forward with one goal in mind—a beautiful world for all to thrive in. People aren’t selfish in their thoughts and actions because they don’t care about other people; they are selfish because they carry fear in their hearts—fear they won’t have enough, fear of rejection, failure, and pain.
With a wise and powerful heart, there isn’t room for fear, only love. It may sound cheesy, but the simplest and most profound things usually are—it’s time for a revolution of love. Let’s tone down the urgency and get to grounded, guided, and intentional action.
These were excerpts from Chapter Twelve: Tone Down The Urgency. The book consists of a total of 75 chapters, broken up into 6 different parts. If you want to feel inspired and empowered as a climate activist, let your journey start here:
