Parenting in a Changing Climate: Tools for Cultivating Resilience, Taking Action, and Practicing Hope in the Face of Climate Change

by Elizabeth Bechard

Restorative, regenerative self-care practices are not an optional luxury; they are essential for resilience and long-term success. If we do not care wisely for our muscle of imagination, we will not be able to use it to craft the future our children and grandchildren deserve. So when despair, anxiety, or a sense of numbness make it difficult to envision thriving in a climate-changed future, the wisest approach may be a counterintuitive one: take a break from trying to dream about what’s to come and refuel by reconnecting with who and what you love in the present. Hug someone you adore. Move your body in a nourishing way. Bake your grandmother’s gingerbread. Watch a favorite television show. Take a walk through the forest. Come back to your imagination practice when you feel renewed.