The most powerful response to the climate crisis

The most powerful response does not involve the climate (or it doesn't start there, at least).

Most articles with this title will explore what change you can make including

• changes you can make in your personal life
• an exploration of the systemic causes of this (and what, therefore, needs to change)
• what your organisation can change

If you have a background anxiety that you should be 'doing' something then you are not alone.

Many people are feeling guilty and wandering what they can tell their children when they ask

what did you do about the climate crisis?

A subtle but powerful question can trigger a switch in perspective which changes everything.

Do you consider yourself part of or separate to nature?

Many recent prominent writers and modern-day philosophers have explored this question and how it is at the root of today's multiple crises.

Charles Eisenstein was the first author I read who woke me up to the idea that we are part of nature in The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible.

Giles Hutchins and Laura Storm shared this idea (and the different levels of separation) and how businesses can behave differently in light of this in Regenerative Leadership.

(we now have a growing number of successful businesses in the 'regenerative' space with Vivo Barefoot and Faith in Nature being two obvious examples).

So coming back to the theme of this article and the switch in perspective, what does this mean?

Firstly, if you accept that humanity is part of nature then you start to view yourself as being similar to other natural beings. You have no choice but stop treating humanity as a 'special case' to which the normal rules don't apply.

So if you are part of nature, what does that mean in practical terms?

Well, at the heart of the multiple crises (including the collapse in biodiversity which relates to growing water and air pollution, forever chemicals, microplastics etc) is a failure to honour and respect the natural world.

It is treated as a dumping ground (and when the dumping takes place out of sight this makes it easier to pretend it isn't happening).

So if you want to change your life to honour and respect nature what does that mean if YOU are nature?

What does it mean to honour and respect yourself?

I shall write some more about this in the future and what that meant for me to make it more tangible. If you look at past articles, however, you may not have realised but I am writing abut this ALL the time!

I will leave you with one thought to reflect on which connects you back to the climate crisis

If you want to behave in a way that honours and respects the (non-human) natural world surely you must start by honouring and respecting your own nature