Eco-Anxiety in the Stars: Holding on to Joy While Advocating for Climate Action

Originally published at heatherwhite.com on October 13, 2020

My #onegreenthing is watching Montana sunsets and stargazing.

Night Sky: Photo credit: Wix, Inc.

We saw four shooting stars Friday night. The Milky Way expanded across the horizon. We were on common hunting grounds of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.

We saw more stars than any of us had ever seen. Looking into the heavens made us feel simultaneously small and connected to something larger than ourselves. It was a beautiful experience.

But the weekend in this stunning spot wasn't easy.

The kids aren't excited about hiking. So we had more forced family time during a pandemic. Lots of eye-rolling combined with moments of sweetness and joy.

And - that's life, right? We must cling to those magic moments and slog through the rest.

That type of tenacity is what we need to address the climate crisis, too. There will be moments of triumph, terror, and frustration. But we we will persist.

We'll hang onto to each moment of joyful connection, focus on daily actions to fight for climate justice, and create the culture change necessary for systemic climate solutions.

And let's remember to look up every now and then for some much needed perspective.

#climatecrisis #genZ #ecoanxiety #actonclimate