Wheels of change

Reciprocal Climate Action with Betje, Gillian & L’il Bean

Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed at the state of the world? Not sure where to start some positive action? My friend Betje and I cooked up this collab to help you work out your next steps - in this case, for climate action but you could apply the model to any issue you care about. If you are reading this in email, you may need to click through to read the entire message :) Enjoy!

Gillian & L’il Bean: It turns out Betje and I both have a passion for creating a better world. In a wonderful online interaction that became a Zoom in-real-life meeting we enjoyed a long chat to work out what we could cook up together. Unfortunately, it had to be Zoom, as we are about 16,600 km apart!

Despite the distance we are fascinated by many of the same things. Especially how we can spread some joy and laughter all while inviting people to lean into their agency and contribute to building a beautiful future.

We started with Ayana Elizabeth Johnson’s Venn diagram for Climate action.

Betje: When I first saw the venn diagram, I loved it because it helped me see that I’m allowed to pick something I enjoy. My sense of guilt around climate change made me feel like my contribution to solve the problem had to be at least a little bit unpleasant.

Gillian & L’il Bean: Yes, I also feel a weird obligation to take dramatic visible actions but then feel guilt when I chicken out. We have been sold a clichéd picture of what climate action looks like. I also get so uninspired when I am told “this is the decisive decade we have to do everything we can” and then am presented with a list of “use a Keep cup, recycle, write to your politician” as the list of things that will save us. I think the cognitive dissonance of the predicament vs the suggested solutions leaves me feeling despair, so the thing I love about AEJ’s diagram, is the permission to be joyful.

Betje: When reflecting on it a bit more, I discovered that for finding my climate actions, this diagram is not all that helpful to me. What’s more, I don’t even fully agree with it!

• There are about a million things I enjoy, so as a compass for finding ‘my thing’ it’s not helping.

• The same thing goes for all the things that need to be done; the list is endless!

• I can’t volunteer my professional skills without hurting my business (and possibly other cartoonists too), and apart from that, I’m not sure what I’m good at. I do know that I’m not good at gardening, but it’s the one climate action I have never doubted as useful or something I want to continue. 

Gillian & L’il Bean: Ah, I think you have hit on our assumption that the things we are good at are limited to our professional skills. I think it can be so much broader than that – are you good at making people laugh? Are you good at making connections? Or perhaps you prefer to read and draw (like me!). The thing I don’t love about the diagram is it doesn’t really acknowledge capacity - if you are a single mum of two young kids your capacity and resources are entirely different to a retired engineer with time and money on his hands. It is worth remembering that when we feel like we want to judge someone (including ourselves) for how much they are or are not doing. So I’d make this first change:

How would you change it?

Betje: You’re so right to add capacity! I would rephrase it like this:

What is needed? What is your vision for a better world? Or... what solution excites you? I get really fired up when I think about adding more nature to our cities and communal gardens. 

What are your skills? What do you have to offer?

I think this encompasses both your skill set and your circumstances/capacity. Meanwhile, it doesn’t exclude gardening for a rookie like me.

What brings you joy? What would you like to have in return?

I don’t like the transactional sound of this, but I’ve come to believe you should get something in return for your efforts or you won’t endure. And it could be anything: finding like-minded people and feeling less alone, learning some new skills, feeling needed or appreciated...

If I put that in a diagram, it could look something like this:

The last two are the wheels that allow you to carry out your vision!

L’il Bean: Yes, the wheels that move it forward! I also get the giving and the receiving, it needs to be reciprocal to be sustainable, just as everything in nature is reciprocal.

The venn diagram also implies that there is only one right action for each of us. I have at least three and many smaller ones that don’t warrant a diagram of their own. One of my main ones is caring for the endangered ecosystem where my farm is located:

What does your climate wagon look like?

Betje: Yes, you can have multiple wagons! I also like that it doesn’t feel so permanent; you can park one of your wagons for a while to ride something else. And the two wheels give me permission to use my professional skills for a monetary reward. Not all good work has to be volunteering!

Gillian & L’il Bean: Beautiful! Just imagine all our wagons heading in the same direction! Each of us joyful and fulfilled in the contribution we want to and are able to make.

From your friend and your small, steadfast companion,

And with love

P.S. Be sure to subscribe to Betje’s comics for more climate comic fun:

P.P.S.

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