How do we cultivate hope for all we can save?

Read the following for context: The climate and ecological crisis is one of the greatest threats facing humanity today. How we engage with it, talk about it, and act in its wake shapes our present and will shape our future. In the face of such a large-scale issue, we may hear people expressing that we are in need of hope. Tikvah — hope, in its most active sense, is the ability to trust that, through action, a more just, livable world may yet come. In the context of climate change, active hope is a necessary and strategic practice that can help counter feelings of helplessness and despair. The difference between the worst outcomes and the best ones are huge and we can help make those better outcomes possible, but there are times when the issue can feel too overwhelming or scary to even think about, let alone know what to do about it. How do we balance what might be our natural inclination towards hopelessness at what we see before (the reality) us with an active sense of hope and possibility for what could be (the ideal)?

SEEDS OF POSSIBILITY: Standing or sitting in a circle. Pass out one seed to each participant. [If you are meeting online, screenshare an image of a seed.] Read the following out loud: We are constantly given “seeds” in life – packets of possibility. It’s really about what we do with them. We could plant it, we could let it rot, we could cook and eat it now… or wait for it to grow many more.

• What is this to you right now?
• What could this possibly be in the future?

Explain the activity by reading the following out loud: In a word or sentence, each person will get a chance to tell one of the many possible stories of this seed’s future. Let’s go around the circle a few times (depending on the size of the group). Facilitator starts and the group follows, one by one re-naming the object…: “This is a…(e.g. seed) ______“ (e.g.      seed,     .) This is a …(e.g. Game piece) Facilitator continues: Looking at something in front of you now and imagining what it could be, stretches the muscle of possibility, and gets you to think about that tension between “real” and “ideal.” Let’s think a bit more about how you might characterize yourself on that spectrum: Facilitator explains the spectrum exercise: Imagine there is a line across the floor. One side is “idealist” and one side is “realist”: [Point to both ends of this imaginary line and be sure participants can access the space in-between. If you are meeting online, set up a spectrum line using Jamboard or another shared visual platform where participants can place an icon or type their name on a line.]

Facilitator reads for context: Contemporary Jewish author and climate activist Rebecca Solnit teaches and writes about hope. Watch this clip to hear her thoughts on idealism, realism, and what can stand in the way of cultivating “active hope.” WATCH:

Scan the QR Code or click here to watch a few minutes (minutes 3:00-6:36) from “Sustaining Activism in the Long Run with Hope" - Chigudu, G, Rebecca Solnit and Rhetta Morgan on the 350.org YouTube channel
Print transcript if visual learners in the room would find it helpful. A full transcript can be found by scanning this QR code or at this link.

WHAT DOES HOPE LOOK LIKE FOR YOU? Facilitator prompts the group:

1. Find a picture (one of your own images, online or take a new one) of something that gives you hope. • Think to yourself, why you selected it, and then make it your screensaver/ backdrop for at least a week.
2. Research a climate organization in your country or region and find out what hopeful action they are taking to combat climate change. • Consider following them or joining their list to hear about action in your area.

Facilitator read out loud: In the exploration we just experienced we thought about how to remain hopeful in a climate-changing world. We listened to a talk by Rebecca Solnit on balancing idealism and realism as a way to engage with the tensions that surface. Later in the same Rebecca Solnit talk, she says:

I want to leave you with a reminder that we already live in an impossible world. Only a few decades ago, a world powered by renewables [solar, wind, etc] was impossible. These were weak, inefficient technologies then, but we are at the inception of an energy revolution far greater than the Industrial Revolution and its steam power. Go back further and women having the vote or slavery ending were wild far-fetched things whose advocates were told they were naive dreamers of impossible things. … Unimaginable is not impossible. Looking back, we can see how stubborn idealism built the best parts of the world we are in now.

Both idealism and realism can help us face climate realities and take action at the scale that this challenge demands. Thinking about hope more deeply allows for active engagement, either stemming from the real world we see or the ideal one we imagine. Facilitator prompts the group:

• What is one commitment you will take in the coming week as a result of this exploration?

Facilitator read out loud:

In the exploration we just experienced we thought about how to remain hopeful in a climate-changing world. We listened to a talk by Rebecca Solnit on balancing idealism and realism as a way to engage with the tensions that surface.

Later in the same Rebecca Solnit talk, she says:

I want to leave you with a reminder that we already live in an impossible world. Only a few decades ago, a world powered by renewables [solar, wind, etc] was impossible. These were weak, inefficient technologies then, but we are at the inception of an energy revolution far greater than the Industrial Revolution and its steam power. Go back further and women having the vote or slavery ending were wild far-fetched things whose advocates were told they were naive dreamers of impossible things. … Unimaginable is not impossible. Looking back, we can see how stubborn idealism built the best parts of the world we are in now.

Both idealism and realism can help us face climate realities and take action at the scale that this challenge demands. Thinking about hope more deeply allows for active engagement, either stemming from the real world we see or the ideal one we imagine.

Facilitator prompts the group:

• What is one commitment you will take in the coming week as a result of this exploration?