How can we navigate our unravelling world? That's the question I've been wrestling with since I graduated university in 2016.
I began by facilitating workshops to help people find purpose in their work—ironically, I also found my purpose. This evolved into coaching and a focus on sustainability and activism after I attended my first Heading For Extinction Talk by XR in 2019.
🔥 But since then, the world has only got worse.
Challenging a toxic system with minimal results is exhausting. I'm an optimist, but I'm losing hope. And I can only imagine how it is for people on the frontlines of these crises around the world.
The only thing we can do is continue. Not because we believe we'll succeed, but because it's the right thing to do.
🌊 That's why my life's work is to nurture changemaker's capacity for resilience.
I define resilience as moving through the storm while maintaining our balance and determination to make a positive impact. That's the story of my new brand name, Waves of Resilience: positive energy flows that help us adapt and persist in the face of massive global challenges.
We develop resilience by connecting to ourselves, each other and the non-human world. In connection, we find balance, meaning and support.
🙅🏼 In connecting to ourselves, we learn to respect our boundaries.
We mitigate the risk of burnout - the Achilles’ Heel of passionate changemakers whose sense of urgency ignores their bodies cries to slow down. In developing our self-awareness, we also discover our unique combination of gifts. And when we contribute what we're good at, we're likely to feel recognised for who we are. My daily meditation practice, regular therapy and psychedelic journeys are critical to nurturing my relationship with myself.
✊ In connecting to each other, we build solidarity in our shared struggles.
We hold each other in our pain, being empathetic witnesses. This is key to supporting emotional regulation, helping us move through the difficult emotions that arise when navigating an unravelling world. Find your community of like-minded people. My activist friends and 10-year relationship with my life partner are where I find love and belonging.
🌍 In connecting to the non-human world, we find strength in being part of a magnificent web of life.
We are nature defending itself. We allow the powerful energy of life to flow through us, transcending our individual limitations. We fill up with awe and wonder. I'm trying to take one day in nature every week, even if it's just with my laptop on a park bench.
What does resilience mean to you? How are you creating waves of resilience for yourself or others? Comment to share your thoughts.
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