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“Humanity is in the hot seat”

~Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General.

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Hi from Mich

How are you? And how is the climate crises showing up for you this week?

I’m getting straight to the point there, as we’re all being affected by what’s going down in the natural world these days. And the message is clear - climate inaction is causing a meltdown!

Lots to ponder and it can be tricky not to feel overwhelmed with eco-anxiety.

Yet, we cannot afford to be ostriches. There is no time for complacency.

And, while we still have a will to act, there’s always another way!

(that’s also a motto in my book)

It’s also good to remind ourselves of why we must fight for our world’s survival.

Considering Andy's apt observation... if we are nature, then damage inflicted to nature (aka the environment) is an assault on humanity too.

Committed by... ahem... us!

Yes, we can point fingers and blame others, but that is not going to change where we are.

The hot seat.

It’s time for solutions in big and little ways from everyone in whatever capacity we can help.

Personally, I don't think throwing paint at masterpieces and glueing ourselves to the tarmac is an effective form or activism. We need more pragmatic and positive approaches that involve cooperation, connection and collaboration.

This idea of our nature connection and responsibility has been floating about in my mind for a while, and then a few things happened this week that got me thinking about it even more... and raised a burning question.

What does "We Are Nature" mean to me?

This week, I came across Andy Goldsworthy’s quote. Then, I read Marsha Stopa’s lovely pro-nature, eco-forward and digital-health focused newsletter The Unplugged Club.

Marsha shared emotive reader feedback to questions she’d posed about our relationship with nature, and how that connection has the power to transform us.

Then, a few nights ago, for the first time ever, I caught a glimpse of the International Space Station crossing the night sky (confirmed by my Skyview Lite app).

The experience was transformational!

I got goosebumps and then I got teary eyed. It was such an awe-inspiring moment!

You see, my love of nature extends to the cosmos. I’m in love with the universe too!

I get excited by witnessing the planets, stars and satellites of our milky way traversing our skies and astrological charts across the seasons.

From views of twinkling stars, magical galaxies and fascinating black holes beamed back by the Hubble and Webb telescopes, to the escapades and outcomes of the various Mars rover expeditions. I'm also a "trekkie" and grew up watching Battlestar Galactica, and I love it all!

These experiences of space fuel my creative imagination.

They give me hope as to what's possible.

And they also reaffirm my connection to nature.

You see, in essence, we are all stars.

We’re made of space dust. (This is science, not fiction).

This includes all those beautiful, amazing, incredible, teeny, tiny building blocks of life that have combined in magical ways over eons to create what we find in nature.

But we don’t often think about how inextricably connected we mortals are to all the other elements that make up life, space, our environments, etc.

We are too wrapped up in our heads.

The more I read about how wounded our world is, the more I contemplate the complex integration of species and matter in this immense and intricate ecosystem, yet how out of touch we are with our role and the impact of our involvement.

So, back to the challenges at hand.

We may all be doing our bit recycling, cutting our meat consumption, reducing fuel use and avoiding fast fashion purchases. Some of it is out of our hands, as some big actions by big players need to happen to help us change the direction of this hair-raising journey we're on.

That may feel daunting, when we are mere people on the street.

At times like this, I remind myself that it's ordinary people like you and me who have helped to do extraordinary things.

We've built the technology that has enabled space exploration to the moon, Mars and beyond, we've deflected an asteroid, and closer to home, devised an ingenious way to collect gargantuan loads of plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

If we can do that, then we can figure this out too!

But first, how do we first unfreeze ourselves from the eco-anxiety, so we can face our future head on with a level head and cool thinking, despite being in the hot seat?

SOME IDEAS:

It's all about the energy!

What we put out, we get back. In both big and little ways.

Where we place our attention, is where our energy flows. Whether we think about a glass that is empty, or a glass that is full of possibility.

Energy is a key influence in creating cadence, too.

It's about being open and curious as to what is possible and approaching problems with a solution-oriented mindset, knowing that there is always another way.

So, here are four suggestions of ways to unfreeze yourself, so you can start taking considered action:

1) Practice Gratitude

​According to neuroscience, it reduces stress and anxiety. We don’t now how much time we have left to live our lives as we currently are, so embrace what you have, be eternally thankful for every interaction you have in and with the natural world. Utilise every precious moment to acknowledge the beauty of nature.

2) Practice Grounding

Embrace a tree, walk barefoot on the grass, smell the lavender, draw your hand through a running stream. Earthing helps to heal the earth as well as yourself. Give your positive energy back to your environment as much as you take from the experience. And be kind to all if earth's organisms.

3) Practice Giving Up

Stop buying shit you don’t need! Stop supporting the toxic capitalist culture of "stuff" that is polluting our natural world. Step away from the console. Let go of the phone. So you can look up. You want to be able to see what’s coming in real time, to avoid being blind sided.

4) Practice Getting Real

Face your fears. Educate yourself on what is happening. Arm yourself with knowledge. Have your say and spread the word. Problem solve rather than doom scroll. E.g. Listen to The Big Green Money Show, read The Carbon Almanac. Support organisations that are finding and implementing solutions.

How are you helping yourself and your loved ones to manage the overwhelm of our situation and find sensible ways through it?

Start small, and take one step, while keeping the end in mind.

Thank you for reading.

IN OTHER NEWS:

July has been a full month with lots of exciting things happening.

WRITING BITS:

I’m super thrilled to have had the opportunity to write a guest post for Brian Clark’s Further, which is one of my favourite newsletters, ever. You can read about how noise pollution affects our health, wellbeing and productivity in The Quiet Power of Intentional Silence.

PROMO BITS:

I had a branding shoot with the lovely Christina Davies and I’m so pleased with how they turned out. These pics will be making their way onto my websites and socials in coming weeks. What do you think?

BOOK BITS:

The eBook version of The Cadence Effect is now available on Apple Books. I’ve also built an audio cave in my wardrobe in preparation for starting to record the audio book in August. Wish me luck!

I'm slowing the cadence this coming month, to make more time for nature and myself.

Hope that the pace of August helps you to nurture your body, mind and your part of the natural world, too.

Until next time, keep moving forwards, with courage, curiosity and cadence!

Mich x

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