People who care about the environment might be feeling a little down in the dumps these days. On top of the pandemic, we now have the most recent IPCC report - against the back drop of heat waves, heat domes, flooding and wildfires (plus more wildfires).

The latest IPCC report essentially declares there is no doubt about human caused climate change - and its impacts are already here. I can remember president after president (well, not the one from 2016 . . .) talking about climate change and wanting to consider our grandchildren’s lives. It seemed too many to be distant. Something that we had time to deal with - or if we ignored it, maybe it would go away.

So why am I talking about climate change, which I like to also refer to as Epic Environment Destruction - because our issues are little bigger than just climate -but I digress - why would I want to talk about JOY while writing about Epic Environment Destruction?

Here’s the thing - I think our Acts of Epic Environment Destruction come from a deep lack of joy in the average person. Acts of Epic Environment Destruction are things like: Excessive consumption, Excessive waste, Unhealthy food creation, Excessive attraction to that which is convenient, Excessive Lack of Time, Excessive One Up-ness, Excessive external pursuit of happiness. I will probably think of more.

Wait, what about the “Excessive External Pursuit of Happiness?” - I can see the headline now (haha, imagine my blog making a headline - ha!) - “Environmentalist wants to ban your happiness!!!.” No, that’s not it. Happiness is complicated topic. Often I see it tied up with external pursuits. External validation. I have a preference for the pursuit of Joy instead.

See, Joy is an internal state. There is a banner hanging on the wall of my massage therapist, that I read after every massage - and it reads “XXXXX”

So - how does this have to do with our human Epic Environment of Destruction (see what I did there, adding the word of? Changes the meaning slightly right?). See - our culture - here in the United States is one which inherently results in the destruction of the environment. Success = more. More money, more stuff, more waste. Success for many is a bigger house, bigger car, bigger vacations, newest phone, most expensive shoes, and the constant battle to lose weight to fit the ideal body shape. All this consumption however, can’t fill the well of joy. Sure, it might give you a sense of joy for split second when you eat that first chip or two (or french fries- that’s my jam) or but that thing you saw online that you had to have. But its not lasting. The curve drops back down, and so the seeking begins again to fill the void. The void. The hole. The emptiness.

Just like weight loss or fitness is unlikely to be attained or sustained just by managing calories and going for walks, our collective human problem (largely driven by western, “richer” cultures) is going to be difficult to solve in culture that has a sense of entitlement to a whole lot of stuff - like physical stuff. Fitness is more easily maintained - in a healthy manner - when there is inner peace. When the stress or emotions that contribute to stuffing a donut (or a whole box) in your pie hole is resolved or soothed with a different action. And so when it comes to us solving our Epic Environment of Destruction - we need a culture shift. Sure that shift includes loving the idea of renewable energy. But it will require more than that. A culture that is too busy all the time, that rushes and is constantly striving and seeking and climbing - doesn’t have time to climb hills. Or to bike to the store (instead of driving), or to bake bread or grow a garden, to help a neighbor. Our inner selves know this striving isn’t bringing joy. What brings joy? Knowing what you like, what feels true.

In other words, if we feel badly - sadly, depressed, repressed, undervalued, buying a new this or that won’t actually solve that problem. The only thing that will solve that problem is stopping, breathing, a little bit of thinking, but a whole lot of feeling. And a questioning of the beliefs that got you there. Are you shopping online all the time because you hate your job? The shopping doesn’t solve that. Looking for a new job may or may not solve that. Taking steps to connect with a purpose greater than yourself is a good start, but a really big step. Discovering where your feelings live in your body might be a more attainable step. Then there will the next step, and so on.

The pandemic is an opportunity to change up what we add back in. Where we pivot. Where we make adjustments. To determine what truly matters. Things like: Time, relationships (some not all), creation, peace, nature - the beauty of a butterfly, the taste of something fresh and delicious, that exhilaration riding a bike downhill, and the accomplished feeling of ascending . Working on a sticky problem that contributes to the greater common good. Feeling the connection with others. Finding your inner joy spark and keeping it glowing to provide light in these hot days and darkening nights.