To Solve Climate Change, Rest is the Only Solution We Really Need
We are all so tired, and we don’t have to be
What if the whole point of climate action work is to make room for rest in our lives?
The Great Exhaustion is real. We are all tired.
A big part of our fatigue today is pandemic flux syndrome— this state of being that feels like an endless waiting for a “new normal.” We’re in a tunnel with no end in sight, and it’s driving us crazy: blunted emotions, spikes in anxiety and depression, and an ever-unfolding mental health crisis.
We are social beings. Pandemic lockdowns and anxiety about contracting the virus have robbed us of many of those important social interactions and activities that make us human.
But the truth is, we’ve been exhausted for years, generations even.
The pandemic has just exacerbated this exhaustion, while taking away many of our coping mechanisms.
Pre-COVID, we were already burning out.
Hustle-porn, overworking ourselves in the pursuit of “financial freedom,” poverty wages, rising job insecurity, the rolling back of the welfare state, and benefits.
