"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take - Wayne Gretsky" - Michael Scott
I feel different about this every day. Sometimes I have an immense amount of clarity and understanding behind how I am going to go about this and then I have days like today where I wake up feeling completely devastated and confused.
Greta Thunberg is a 16 year old climate activist from Sweden who is currently on her way to the United States via sailboat (versus airplane) in order to reduce her carbon footprint. She's coming here for the UN Climate Summit. If you don't know who she is, she went viral from this first video I have linked on my "Watch" page. Yesterday I heard The 1975's first "song" on their album which is to be released mid to late February of next year - it's a political statement made by Greta. Listen. Maybe cry a little.
Sometimes I feel incapable of being able to speak my truth. I live in Indiana - very conservative, very unwilling to change, very "we do it this way because we always have and that's how you're supposed to do it" ......even though it's clearly not working? The content I am able to put out into the world online sometimes feels very different than the message I am able to share in real life. I feel like I have to tone it down a bit. I started a group chat on Instagram (@jordaniellle), for those of you who may not have seen my original post & would like to join - DM me! In that group chat I was recently asked how I go about discussing these issues with people without making them feel bullied or belittled and that is a topic I have been internally struggling with for a long time now. A lot of people are not understanding the severity of the crisis we are in and many days it's difficult for me to not just .... have you seen the bowling meme - the "climate change will wipe us out if we don't act right now" ? Look it up. I'm pretty sure whoever made it knows me personally.
People may not be understanding the depth of the disaster we are in, but the more we talk about it the more they will. As long as we are trying. On an interpersonal level I may be more gentle with my words. Online? Globally? Speaking to the general public? Speaking to corporations? Watch out. I caught a bit of the Amazon's fire & I'm not letting mine go out. We cannot do this without individual changes just like we cannot do this without political, corporate, manufacturing changes. I'm not holding back anymore. I'm angry.
Climate change has become a common topic. Now it's time for us to make action against climate change common. Real, immediate, large scale action. We can start small as individuals and build up. So many people I talk to about this tell me, "What am I supposed to do?" - first and foremost, stop thinking of yourself as an average being. Acknowledge your worth. You are magic. Demand respect. Demand change. Demand more for this world of ours. Use your power for good.
Vote with your dollar. It won't fix everything, but it sure will help. Think about every single purchase you make. Where is that money really going? Does it plug back to child labor? Deforestation? Sex trafficking? Racism? Unequal pay? Unfair working environments? Download the app "Buycott" for some guidance, maybe stop by your local farmer's market too. We have tons and tons here in Indy.
They want us separated. We are weaker that way. We must unite.
This is real. This is happening now. This isn't about "doing our best" anymore. We're past that.
It's uncomfortable. Guess what? Growth is uncomfortable. Healing is painful.
