My personal dance with climate grief. And what to do next?

These days, the term “climate grief” seems to appear everywhere – in newspaper media, on social media streams, part of many every day conversations. But 10 years ago, it was hardly spoken about. And it was at this point, when I had just started my part-time Masters in Sustainability Leadership (https://www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/education/graduate-study), that the dawning reality utterly steamrolled me. At that point, the science was telling us that we had 5 – 7 years to make decisive change. And so I returned from my first residential module at Cambridge, full of dread fear – seeing what needed to change, seeing the future unfolding, with no sense of agency to change our devastating trajectory. The subsequent months sent me into a spiral of despair and growing disconnection from those I loved most – I could think of nothing else, and most of my loved ones either could not relate or felt that my fears were over over-exaggerated. By the end of 2010 I was desperate. And so it was, at the turning of the year, in the depths of my despair that I began to ask the question of how we might face what might be coming towards us courageously, without blinkers or buffers, but in a way that doesn’t destroy or completely incapacitate us in the process. And so a personal and academic exploration began that lasted more than a year. It culminated in my Masters thesis, and a published article (https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/glbj/jcc/2013/00002013/00000049/art00011) and a TEDx talk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzfJxw2QaPY), but more importantly it helped me to find the answers to my own questions. This process and journey was literally a life-saver, and set me on my vocational path, of working with Reos Partners (https://www.reospartners.com), which is my institutional home and tribe, doing the most incredible work, learning and growing every step of the way.

At the same time, I let this work and my insights go dormant – it did not seem to warrant my energy and attention. But recently the questions of what I might do with these insights, which helped me so much, have surfaced again. As I hear how many teenagers and adults suffer climate grief, and as I hear in these stories and anecdotes the despair and desperation that I first felt almost 10 years ago. I am considering putting together some kind of offering – possibly a set of workshops on the topic, and would greatly appreciate any thoughts or discussion on where and how I might take these ideas forward. Please message me if you are interested.