Burnout

I’m not going to start this post by saying, as I usually do, that I’ve been far too busy to update my blog. There’s been enough time that I could have written something. The real problem is that lately I’ve been feeling overwhelmed by the fatalistic climate news, the horrible weather and the sinking feeling that nothing is going to change. My Instagram feed is full of it, and I also subscribe to several email lists that keep me in the loop on local and global climate issues. There has been a general trend towards emphasizing the “urgency” of the climate “crisis”, fueled I think by the UN report stating that there are only 12 years left to address global warming before severe consequences.

I don’t use the quotations because I disagree with these statements but because I keep seeing them OVER and OVER again constantly, and while I understand that they are being used to kick people into action, I find that they have the opposite effect. The fear and negativity feel like walls closing in, making me want to give up instead of try harder. The problems seem too big for me to deal with. There are a million things that need to be dealt with, and I don’t know where to start. Sure, I can reduce my own plastic use, but will companies learn to reduce their packaging? I can buy clothes and toys secondhand, but when things go out of style, do entire fashion lines end up in the trash anyway? I could join in the marches and the petitions and the events, but is anyone listening? The world is built around consumerism and it doesn’t seem like 12 years is enough time for a paradigm shift.

So I’m feeling a bit of burnout. I’ve started to let some things slide, and that makes me sad, and then I want to bury my head in the sand even more. And there’s a little voice in my head saying “if the world’s going all to shit anyways, might as well relax and treat yourself.” I am still making an effort, but I am definitely putting in less energy than I should be, and I’m disappointed in myself.

This isn’t a post with any answers; I don’t know what to do. Do you know what to do? I do want to send love to my wonderful friends who have told me they read this blog and have been inspired to make positive changes. That warms my heart. I hope that all of the small changes we are able to make as individuals will add up to enough to change the direction the world is taking.