#Seed019: Healing From Climate Anxiety
Anxiety and the fear of death
I can’t recall a day that goes by without hearing about the climate crisis. Whether on the news, social media, or at work, we are consistently bombarded with images of ecological degradation. The American Psychological Association conducted a survey and found that two-thirds of American adults said that they felt a little “eco-anxiety,” defined as anxiety about climate change and its effects. This isn’t surprising. It takes a hardened heart to feel apathetic towards the potential annihilation of our world. That said, our response to the potential (may I say inevitable?) annihilation of our world should be one that leads to inner peace and contentment, not inner turmoil. Let me explain.
Just over a year ago, my friend Ken Victor published an essay on the subject. The Opposite of Hope Isn’t Hopeless is a humoriously sober look at mortality and the climate crisis. Instead of worrying about solutions to the climate crisis, Ken invites us to “fall in love with our mortality.” Reading this, I was struck by something familiar. I’ve also witnessed my father take his last breath. And in that moment, I truly fell in love with mortality.
Our Lady Aisha taught, “if you remember death frequently, your heart will be softened.” The softening of the heart is a universal purpose of any spiritual practice. I would argue that those who are anxious about the climate are halfway there. Their hearts are soften because they are concerned for the well-being of those around them. But that concern is only a part of the journey. The next step is to “fall in love with our mortality.”
It was a known custom that philosophers and theologians would keep a skull on their desk to remind them of their mortal fate. In fact, I’ve heard many people argue that sometime in the last century, there has been a reversal of taboos. Death replaced sex as our social taboo. We organize “celebrations of life” instead of funerals where mourning is simply a private matter. The anxiety we feel towards humanity’s demise is, at its root, the fear of death and dying. Acceptance, not of the status quo, of injustices or oppression, but rather at the grandeur of a Divine Plan, instills a sense of contentment. The British Muslim scholar, Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad writes, “activism will only succeed when it remembers that history is in good hands.” This shift in mindset reprioritizes our relationship to the world. We have always been anxious towards the things we cannot change. The apocalypse, the climate crisis, and nuclear war are just a few of the global events that we’ve imagined are nigh. Though there is always work to be done, accepting that things inevitably come to an end, reframes where we ought to put our concern. What can we change? What can improve?
In my own experience, my understanding of activism and community engagement has shifted in the last decade or so. Instead of fueling a desire to change the world with angst and anxiety, I fuel with love and concern for my neighbour, my brother, my sister, my family, and my community. That is not to say, that I do not wish good for everyone, but rather that I will not allow myself a delusion on grandeur and think that I can stop a Divine Plan. This is how I accept that we are all terminally ill. We will die, inevitably. But as we check out, we can ask ourselves, is the world a better place for having had me? This is where we ought to put our concern.
Drawing Inspiration
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Video
I’ve recently discovered Goethe’s scientific method which I think is worth exploring even further, especially for those interested in the world and our relationship to it. Goethe writes, “We conceive of the individual animal as a small world, existing for its own sake, by its own means. Every creature is its own reason to be. All its parts have a direct effect on one another, a relationship to one another, thereby constantly renewing the circle of life; thus we are justified in considering every animal physiologically perfect. Viewed from within, no part of the animal — as so often thought — is a useless or arbitrary product of the formative impulse.” For those interested, I invite you to watch the following lecture that gives a brief introduction to his method.
> But as we check out, we can ask ourselves, is the world a better plan for having had me?
I think you meant *place?