CONNECTING TO OUR ROOTS: CLIMATE EMPATHY
When one has empathy towards a person or something, it shows an innate sense of feeling and awareness, and the desire to help that person or thing become better than it was before. Empathy signifies emotional awareness, understanding, and connection to a particular person or situation. In the world of today where climate change has become a constant topic of discourse and concern, it is essential for us as persons to have empathy for the constant and consistent changes in climate and the atmosphere and the impact it has on our planet. It is this reasoning that gave birth to the topic for our February webinar- ‘Connecting to our roots: Climate Empathy’. We tend to focus on the physical aspects of climate change while paying little to no attention to the psychological effects. Climate change, particularly its various environmental impacts, has a psychological impact on people’s mental health and emotional well-being, leading to eco-anxiety. While the Western world has identified these critical issues and has been working to address them while telling its stories, Africa lags far behind. This is why it is critical to understand African stories about eco-anxiety, how we feel these emotions, and how we can share our stories to help our people connect to their roots and develop empathy.
The event began with a meditation exercise led by the Network of Empathy team to help people let go of their anxiety and stress, have awareness of their surroundings, and be in the present for connectivity and positivity. The discussion was led by two storytellers, Angelou Ezeilo, an environmental activist who doubles as the VP of Empathy Ashoka and Founder of Greening Youth Foundation; and Hilary Isaac-Osaghae, a biomedical engineer, social justice activist and intersectional feminist.
According to Angelou, “Empathy is a foundational skill for every person especially young people to have to be able to thrive in this current and dynamic world of today.” Because climate change and empathy go hand in hand, this will assist us in developing innovative solutions to today’s social and environmental challenges. Empathy is more than just putting oneself in the shoes of another and understanding their point of view; it also catalyzes for individuals to act in vulnerable communities, particularly those affected by climate change. Furthermore, we cannot solve climate change without providing young people with skills and ‘green’ jobs in environmental fields, as well as funding to encourage them to take action and provide support while also providing for themselves and their families.
One effectual way of solving eco-anxiety is by ‘doing something’. As persons, we should take action in whatever way we can, whether it is small or not. We can start from our homes, our communities, and our surroundings and this will encourage us not to give in to eco-anxiety. In other words, when we take small actions like this, we are showing climate empathy and helping ourselves feel better whilst making changes in our communities and eliminating eco-anxiety. Furthermore, we cannot protect the environment without empowering people and helping them understand that the resources belong to them and they must protect them. Empathy solves the question of ‘What can I do?’ with the answer of ‘I need to do something’. It helps us become unified in our resolve to help the environment and people as well.
Hilary, our second storyteller, shared through poetry how increasing her capacity for experiencing and enjoying self-care increased her empathy. She emphasised the importance of having a world that prioritises well-being and allows people to be there for one another. Self-care is taking care of our minds and bodies so that we can help others. We do not live in our world, but in a community where the health of individuals affects the health of the larger population. That is, self-care equates to ‘others’-care’. Also, Self-care rituals should not be ostentatious. Our acts of self-care must be sustainable because we care for our bodies not only for our sake but for our community, especially the environment. We should extend grace to ourselves when we are unable to care for ourselves and give other people the opportunity to do that for us. Empathy is synonymous with self-care because when we take care of ourselves, we are taking care of ourselves as well as the people around us, and even our communities at large.
Finally, holding community discussions is essential to fostering empathy in people and enables us to feel a connection to our ancestors, both of which will motivate us to take action on climate change. We also need to rediscover how to connect with nature and the environment because we need to appreciate how beneficial it has been to us. it is not just about saving the planet, but also about saving the human species.