The climate crisis is a multifaceted issue, encompassing science, politics, and economics, but beneath the statistics and headlines, something more profound is unfolding. Something profoundly human.
The destruction of the planet is not just an ecological catastrophe. It is an existential one that we, as individuals, are intimately connected to.
To fully confront the climate crisis, we must engage with ourselves, our freedom, our fears, our responsibilities, and our place in the world.
Responsibility Without Guarantees
Existentialism, a philosophical movement that emphasises individual existence, freedom, and choice, teaches that there are no pre-written scripts for how to live. We are thrown into a world not of our choosing, yet we are responsible for how we respond.
This is as true of our relationship with nature as it is of our relationships with others.
No one is coming to save us. And there is no guarantee our efforts will "work."
But we are still responsible. Protecting the planet isn't about certainty. It's about authenticity.
If we value life, we must act in ways that honour it.
Anxiety and Avoidance
Climate anxiety is not a disorder. It is a natural and appropriate response to a world in peril. It's the feeling of unease or fear that arises from the threat of climate change. However, it can also be a catalyst for action, prompting us to make changes in our lives and advocate for systemic change.
But anxiety, in the existential sense, also signals possibility. It emerges when we awaken to our freedom, our capacity to choose, to act, to change for the better.
What matters is what we do with that anxiety.
Do we numb ourselves with convenience and distraction? Or do we allow discomfort to wake us up to what truly matters?
The Earth as Mirror
Our treatment of the Earth reflects how we treat each other.
A culture that views nature as expendable often views people in the same way. It cuts us off from each other, from limits, from the humility of being temporary guests on this planet.
Existentialism calls us back to being:
- To our creatureliness
- To our interdependence
- To the beauty and terror of knowing we are part of something vast, unknowable, and sacred
When we honour the Earth, we begin to celebrate the vulnerability of existence itself.
Hope as Commitment
Existential hope is not wishful thinking. It is the courage to act without guarantees.
- It's picking up litter when the world is on fire.
- It's planting trees you won't live to sit beneath.
- It's teaching your children to care, even as the ice caps melt.
As Viktor Frankl wrote: "What is to give light must endure burning."
Hope is the fire. Action is the light.
Becoming Earth-Keepers
To protect the environment is to reject despair.
It means saying: I will not go numb. I will not look away. I will live as if my actions matter because they do, and they can make a significant difference.
Existentialism encourages us to confront reality rather than escape it. In doing so, it invites us into a deeper relationship with the Earth and with ourselves.
This isn't just about sustainability.
It's about meaning.
It's about being.
It's about belonging.
Sean Phelan is an existential psychotherapist in private practice. He writes about the intersection of meaning, responsibility, and the challenges of modern life.
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