Sparking Joy!
(No, don't worry I'm not going to make you organise your sock drawer ala Marie Kondo...)
One of the things that I don't think we're good enough at doing in the climate space is communicating just how much better things could be, if we get this transition right.
The climate narrative in the media is focussed on the problems in terms of extreme weather events and their solutions, and then when solutions are discussed the framing is often focussed on the things that will be taken away: 'They're coming for your cars, your holidays, your burgers. Oh, and by the way you'll have to find space for 7 bins.'
The picture that is painted is of a grey, austere life, where all the joy has been sucked out of life by the bureaucratic tree hugging (pretty sure that's an oxymoron) greenies, who want to deprive you of all the things you enjoy.
And that's just not the case.
There is SO MUCH JOY to be found in making more sustainable choices!
And we need to celebrate them and get better at shouting about them.
To quote Louisa Ziane from Toast Ale “To change the world, you’ve got to throw a better party than those destroying it.”
Look for the joy.
Really notice those moments - tiny everyday moments through to big old life changers.
Notice the joy.
Here's a couple of examples I heard just in the last couple of days:
- Mel in The Sustainable(ish) Clubhouse shared how she went to the bakery and got chatting to a lady, telling her about the things she saw out of the train window on a recent trip to France, and the lady said that sounds like a wonderful way to travel and she's putting it on her bucket list!
Someone followed up on the same thread with the comment "The flamingoes from the train in France!". Come on now, who isn't now wanting to jump straight on that train?
- Nikki on my Carbon Literacy course last night talked about the joy (and she literally used that word!) she feels when she opens the front door in the morning to collect her milk, freshly delivered in glass bottles by her local milkman!
Not only is this a much more inspiring and inviting narrative, it's so much better for our own mental health too. Once you know about the state of the planet you can't unknow it, and you can't not make the changes, but challenging the status quo of a society and media obsessed with more can just occasionally feel a teensy bit challenging..!
So, how about if we re-framed it?
We're going to do this stuff because we simply can't not. Let's see how much fun we can have and joy we can find along the way!
What do you reckon?
How has making more sustainable choices sparked joy for you?
Do share!
Let's create a joy-filled thread of stories that shift the narrative,
and get people excited about joining our party!
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