It's not your fault*

Drowning not waving.

A cartoon

A thought

Do you find yourself feeling guilty about the decisions you have made in the past that have contributed to the mess we are now in?

I do. Unpicking this and allowing myself forgiveness has been an important part of being OK and finding the motivation to move forward in a positive way.

I can’t fix any of this single-handed. There is a blessing in this insignificance - it is freeing.  It has freed me to follow my heart and care for those people and places that I love dearly.  It has given me permission to look after myself and start making art - something that I have wanted to do my whole life but have never given myself permission for.  It has given me permission to release my grip on my career and imagine a different way forward.

While you and I are not responsible, we are all complicit. For me, that is a less judgey lens to explore things with.

How does the idea of “The System” work for you? Is it freeing, or does it make you feel hopeless? I find that the best antidote for hopelessness is small actions that focus my gaze on the world I want to leave my kids. It is a bit like having some superhero X-ray vision - to see through everything that is wrong here and now, to what could be, regardless of how unlikely that seems. As

Marianne Williamson

says:

“You don’t do things only if you know they will succeed; you do something if you know it’s the right thing to do”.

To that end, I am going to experiment by adding a new section here:

Tiny actions

If relevant, I will add some suggestions of things we could do to work with the ideas we are exploring. Steps we could take to bring them into your physical reality.

To kick off this section, in the vein of telling the system what we want, here are a few Aussie, federal climate-related actions you can take today. These have come from Climate Club QLD, Robyn’s latest post, “A Wave of Energy” - well worth a read for her enthusiastic take on the Movement Monitor - a collation of data on climate actions. She writes she is “…inspired, uplifted, optimistic and even a little bit proud.🦚” when she sees the impact collective action is having.

5 Minutes: The Albanese Government has caved to the mining lobby and are scrapping their commitments to environment law reform. Groups around the country are asking everyone to call Environmental Minister Tanya Plibersek and say this is not good enough.

15 minutes: Move Beyond Coal is planning 12 days of action to Rise Up and demand that Labor keeps us safe by committing to no more coal and gas. Check out the map on their website to find an action near you.

If you are overseas, perhaps take this as an invitation to do a quick Google for climate actions near you! See if you can find something that speaks to your heart!

Glimmers and sparks*

My glimmers for today are:

• Connecting with a beautiful friend halfway across the world on zoom. Every now and then I need to pinch myself and remember how amazing that technology is.

• Seeing my son fall in love with Dune and commit to listening to the 20+ hour audio book!

• Seeing our little doggo bean in a new winter jacket - preppy much?

  

Li’l bean is your reminder to pause and ask: What are your glimmers for today?

From your friend and your small, steadfast companion,

*Drawing Li’l Bean helped me navigate out of a period of depression in 2023. A good friend 13, 595km away, helped, too, through a ritual of swapping daily glimmers via text.

A glimmer is a tiny spark of hope, enthusiasm or joy that lifts your heart. By helping me find three glimmers each day, she gently helped me see the joy and beauty already around me.

I’d like to share this practice with you and invite you to reflect on your glimmers for the day when you read this. Think of Li’l Bean as a reminder to notice the glimmers and sparks in your life. We’d love it if you would like to share your glimmers in the comments.