April 14, 2023 • 17 mins
Is it cruel optimism to hold the hope of joy and healing in a time of Climate Emergency and other planetary ecological, economic, and social crises? Cruel optimism is a term coined by Lauren Berlant, and used by Johann Hari, author of Stolen Focus, to describe a focus on individual responsibility that trains people to adjust to a morally unjust social system. Some self-help advice out there is a perfect example of this. Is this also true of the Climate of Joy podcast?
Link for all who listened to the end: https://vimeo.com/817805424
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Welcome to the Climate of Joy podcast,
reclaiming joy and healing in the climate emergency.
This podcast is being recorded on the traditional and unseated territory of the peoples and the song and first nations unseeded means that there are very few treaties to acknowledge and compensate the original caretakers of this land.
(00:34):
Welcome to the very first episode of the Climate of Joy podcast.
I'm Christine,
your podcast host and I am so excited to be here with you and to launch this new endeavor,
why climate of Joy reclaiming joy and healing in the climate emergency.
(00:58):
Well,
for me,
even though scientists have been warning us for decades and recently have been raising the alarm even higher and uh telling us that we don't have decades to tackle the issue of the pollution that our activities are causing.
(01:24):
That's destabilizing the climate we have less than a decade.
So that's pretty important to me as a mother,
possibly a grandmother uh someday and also someone who has spent most of her life in health care.
So trying to improve the health and well being of other people and also now as an intuitive healer who helps people loosen up those invisible knots at the energetic and spiritual level that can really hinder our progress,
(01:59):
our happiness in life.
And also I work on loosening the spiritual and energetic knots collective knots of which climate change is a symptom.
So climate change is one of my passions.
I have been blogging and writing about climate change since 2009 when I stopped being what I call a climate change avoider.
(02:28):
And because of a writing project,
I had spent six months researching and writing about climate change.
And I realized individually that uh even though it was such a huge problem,
I needed to do what little bit I could about it.
And that's what I've been doing ever since.
This Climate of Joy podcast is accumulation of my 15 years of journeying through being a very climate concerned mother and lobbyist for change and spiritual and energetic healer.
(03:04):
I think it's really important to have a conversation about whether it's even possible or realistic to experience inner peace and joy during a time of climate emergency.
It's not looking really good out there right now,
scientists who've been raising the alarm for decades.
But what the science says are,
(03:26):
as I mentioned,
getting more and more alarmed at the lack of action um on the issue of the pollution that we're putting into the atmosphere that's destabilizing the climate.
And we are uh they tell us within a decade of tipping into total global climate chaos destabilization.
(03:52):
If we don't rein in our pollution,
we've got oceans that are also absorbing the carbon dioxide pollution and becoming increasingly acidic and inhospitable to life again because of our pollution.
We've got uh scientists tell us the sixth mass extinction ever on this planet is underway because of the harmful impacts of human activities.
(04:19):
So,
but wait,
this is supposed to be about joy and healing.
So kind of a bummer.
But as Doctor Phil mcgraw says,
you can't solve a problem that you don't acknowledge.
So the intent for me in this podcast is to talk about the fact that we are in the midst of a climate emergency and we can't pretend that we're not.
(04:44):
And what do we do about it?
Well,
the joy and healing part comes in because at the same time,
we're in this planetary crisis and we haven't even talked about the fact that our economic system is so out of whack that right now the 85 richest people on the planet own the same kind of wealth that of half of the world's population,
(05:09):
3.5 billion people.
So that is incredibly concerning and out of proportion.
There's a child who dies of starvation on the planet every 10 seconds.
So there is something really wrong with not only our environmental situation but our social and economic situation as well.
(05:33):
And I know that that's not news to you.
You wouldn't be listening to this podcast if that was news to you.
So at the same time that there's these extremes going on in the planetary level,
we have new science that's telling us that this physical world that we can see.
I'm looking at my window and I see a fence.
(05:56):
I see a beautiful nectarine tree outside my window.
I see the neighbor's house.
Well,
if I had a,
a microscope,
if we had a microscope that was strong enough to zoom in to let's say my hand,
never mind the what I see out my window,
but my hand or your hand,
(06:16):
look down at your hand.
If there is a microscope that could zoom in past the cellular level,
past the molecular level in past even the atomic level and down to where there's neutrons and protons and even into further down what science is telling us is there is just pure energy.
(06:45):
So in some ways,
this physical world is a mirage which our wisest voices across millennia have told us,
right?
So we have this planetary crisis,
we have very reliable science telling us that this a material reality that seems so solid is not solid at all.
(07:13):
And in fact,
all of us and the world around us are moving energy and light.
So we've got these two things going on and my raise on debt for uh for launching this podcast is to talk about both of those things that I don't think are talked about enough in the world in general,
(07:41):
at least the world that I inhabit.
The fact that there's a climate emergency going on on one hand,
and the fact that this revolutionary understanding of ourselves and the world around us should be blowing our minds,
what we're energy.
What does that mean?
(08:03):
So this is a chance to explore those two topics.
And I'm really glad that you're here with me today and I'm looking forward to having a variety of guests who will also uh who will be discussing this topic with me.
We have a special guest in the next podcast who is an energy healer and intuitive as I am and a good friend of mine.
(08:30):
And she's going to talk about her perspective on the difference that we can make in the world differently.
So stay tuned for that.
And before I sign off,
I wanted to touch briefly on the idea of cruel optimism,
which wasn't coined by Johann Hari,
(08:53):
the author of Stolen Focus,
but he refers to it in his book.
Let me check my notes who it was invented by Lauren Beant apparently.
But I read it in Harry's uh most recent book Stolen Focus,
which if you have not read it,
I would highly highly recommend it.
(09:13):
I think it's really an important book.
And even in the context if you're concerned about climate change,
which it doesn't sound like a book about our inability to focus because of the uh technology that we're using these days could be about climate change,
but it is so a cruel optimism is uh focus on individual responsibility and almost a self help focus that offers an overly optimistic and simple solution to complex problems at its worst.
(09:57):
Harry says self help training is training people to adjust to an unacceptable and morally unjust social system.
So I did want to address that because here I am,
I'm um privileged in the comparison to many people on this planet.
(10:19):
I,
I'm a white woman,
uh who's uh doesn't have any economic concerns.
I don't need to worry about the roof over my head.
And I live in Canada,
which is a relatively prosperous and stable nation.
And so is the fact that I'm talking about finding a path to joy and healing in the climate emergency,
(10:45):
kind of hypocritical or cruel optimism.
And I wanted to address that because it's an important question.
And I don't know,
100% of the answer.
I do know that my journey as a climate concerned,
(11:07):
mother and lobbyist for change has been a painful one because of the lack of action,
collective action on this issue,
which when you're,
which is hard to understand why we're choosing to endanger the future of our Children and our children's Children and this beautiful planet of ours because it's hard to change the way we run our economic system.
(11:43):
But that is the situation that it is.
And so my journey through the climate emergency has really been one of a,
a spiritual and consciousness shift as well.
(12:04):
And there is a quote by Gus Speth.
Let me get it.
Gus Beth is a professor of law at the Vermont Law School.
He is the former Dean of the Yale University School of Forestry and environmental Studies among many other accomplishments.
(12:25):
And uh this quote of his,
I think encapsulates why I feel called to do another podcast because of course,
I co-hosted earth fields for several years uh ended recently,
(12:45):
but I feel like it's important to have a podcast that's specifically focused on consciousness and consciousness shifting.
And doctor Beth's quote says,
I used to think the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss,
(13:10):
ecosystem collapse and climate change.
I thought that with 30 years of good science,
we could address those problems,
but I was wrong.
The top environmental problems are selfishness,
greed and apathy and to deal with those,
(13:33):
we need a spiritual and cultural transformation.
My hope is that the conversations that we have on this podcast.
And definitely I want it to be a two way conversation.
I'd really like to hear from you folks.
You can get in touch with me at Christine at climate of joy dot com.
(13:55):
But as I was saying,
my hope is that the conversations that we have on this podcast contribute to that spiritual and cultural transformation that results in uh beautiful,
thriving and joyous future for all of us.
(14:16):
So Thanks for listening to this introductory broadcast and stay tuned for more.
If you are hearing this message,
you've listened to the entire Climate of Joy podcast first episode.
And for that,
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I hope you enjoyed this first Climate of Joy episode.
(14:39):
And if you did,
please leave us a review on Apple podcast and Spotify.
And also if you enjoyed it,
I invite you to share this episode with others who may be interested in the topic of reclaiming joy and healing in the climate emergency.
Also,
I'd love to hear from you.
Let me know what topics you'd like to see covered in future episodes.
(15:03):
You can email me at Christine at climate of joy dot com or leave a comment below if you hang on and you've hung on this far.
The very last link in the show notes is a video that I've made just for the first viewers of the podcast,
uh like you and it's a walkthrough tapping on making room in your energy system for more joy in the climate emergency.
(15:34):
I'm so grateful that you dropped in and that you stayed this long.
So from the bottom of my heart,
thank you.
Please check out that link below.
And if you've hung in this far,
I'm gonna pop in a sneak preview of the next episode of Climate of Joy.
Until next time.
(15:56):
Is that enough for today or do you want to add something else before we do a tapping session together.
Well,
I also I'm very aware of all of the effects of both other people,
electrical energy around us,
technological energy around us,
which I don't think is very helpful,
but also the moon,
(16:17):
the the phases of the moon I think are very powerful.
And I also take note of some of the planetary movements as well because we know how much of water we are.
We know how the moon affects the tides.
And I do feel the differences in the moon phases and I like to use them to my advantage.
(16:38):
I like to feel what's going on,
feel the ebb and flow and ride a wave effectively.
If there's a wave to ride,
I'll ride it and if there's one to avoid,
I'll stay down you.
Ok.
So the moon last week was full.
We're recording this on April 13th.
(17:00):
Uh That was,
I think it's a week since the,
the moon was full.
And so is there something that you want to touch on about?
Yeah.
Um We've had a really powerful benevolent week this week.
That's episode two of Climate of Joy podcast with my special guest,
Sandra Boatman,
intuitive healer and light worker.
(17:22):
Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss an episode.
Welcome to the Climate of Joy podcast,
reclaiming joy and healing in the climate emergency.
This podcast is being recorded on the traditional and unseated territory of the peoples and the song and first nations unseeded means that there are very few treaties to acknowledge and compensate the original caretakers of this land.
(00:34):
Welcome to the very first episode of the Climate of Joy podcast.
I'm Christine,
your podcast host and I am so excited to be here with you and to launch this new endeavor,
why climate of Joy reclaiming joy and healing in the climate emergency.
(00:58):
Well,
for me,
even though scientists have been warning us for decades and recently have been raising the alarm even higher and uh telling us that we don't have decades to tackle the issue of the pollution that our activities are causing.
(01:24):
That's destabilizing the climate we have less than a decade.
So that's pretty important to me as a mother,
possibly a grandmother uh someday and also someone who has spent most of her life in health care.
So trying to improve the health and well being of other people and also now as an intuitive healer who helps people loosen up those invisible knots at the energetic and spiritual level that can really hinder our progress,
(01:59):
our happiness in life.
And also I work on loosening the spiritual and energetic knots collective knots of which climate change is a symptom.
So climate change is one of my passions.
I have been blogging and writing about climate change since 2009 when I stopped being what I call a climate change avoider.
(02:28):
And because of a writing project,
I had spent six months researching and writing about climate change.
And I realized individually that uh even though it was such a huge problem,
I needed to do what little bit I could about it.
And that's what I've been doing ever since.
This Climate of Joy podcast is accumulation of my 15 years of journeying through being a very climate concerned mother and lobbyist for change and spiritual and energetic healer.
(03:04):
I think it's really important to have a conversation about whether it's even possible or realistic to experience inner peace and joy during a time of climate emergency.
It's not looking really good out there right now,
scientists who've been raising the alarm for decades.
But what the science says are,
(03:26):
as I mentioned,
getting more and more alarmed at the lack of action um on the issue of the pollution that we're putting into the atmosphere that's destabilizing the climate.
And we are uh they tell us within a decade of tipping into total global climate chaos destabilization.
(03:52):
If we don't rein in our pollution,
we've got oceans that are also absorbing the carbon dioxide pollution and becoming increasingly acidic and inhospitable to life again because of our pollution.
We've got uh scientists tell us the sixth mass extinction ever on this planet is underway because of the harmful impacts of human activities.
(04:19):
So,
but wait,
this is supposed to be about joy and healing.
So kind of a bummer.
But as Doctor Phil mcgraw says,
you can't solve a problem that you don't acknowledge.
So the intent for me in this podcast is to talk about the fact that we are in the midst of a climate emergency and we can't pretend that we're not.
(04:44):
And what do we do about it?
Well,
the joy and healing part comes in because at the same time,
we're in this planetary crisis and we haven't even talked about the fact that our economic system is so out of whack that right now the 85 richest people on the planet own the same kind of wealth that of half of the world's population,
(05:09):
3.5 billion people.
So that is incredibly concerning and out of proportion.
There's a child who dies of starvation on the planet every 10 seconds.
So there is something really wrong with not only our environmental situation but our social and economic situation as well.
(05:33):
And I know that that's not news to you.
You wouldn't be listening to this podcast if that was news to you.
So at the same time that there's these extremes going on in the planetary level,
we have new science that's telling us that this physical world that we can see.
I'm looking at my window and I see a fence.
(05:56):
I see a beautiful nectarine tree outside my window.
I see the neighbor's house.
Well,
if I had a,
a microscope,
if we had a microscope that was strong enough to zoom in to let's say my hand,
never mind the what I see out my window,
but my hand or your hand,
(06:16):
look down at your hand.
If there is a microscope that could zoom in past the cellular level,
past the molecular level in past even the atomic level and down to where there's neutrons and protons and even into further down what science is telling us is there is just pure energy.
(06:45):
So in some ways,
this physical world is a mirage which our wisest voices across millennia have told us,
right?
So we have this planetary crisis,
we have very reliable science telling us that this a material reality that seems so solid is not solid at all.
(07:13):
And in fact,
all of us and the world around us are moving energy and light.
So we've got these two things going on and my raise on debt for uh for launching this podcast is to talk about both of those things that I don't think are talked about enough in the world in general,
(07:41):
at least the world that I inhabit.
The fact that there's a climate emergency going on on one hand,
and the fact that this revolutionary understanding of ourselves and the world around us should be blowing our minds,
what we're energy.
What does that mean?
(08:03):
So this is a chance to explore those two topics.
And I'm really glad that you're here with me today and I'm looking forward to having a variety of guests who will also uh who will be discussing this topic with me.
We have a special guest in the next podcast who is an energy healer and intuitive as I am and a good friend of mine.
(08:30):
And she's going to talk about her perspective on the difference that we can make in the world differently.
So stay tuned for that.
And before I sign off,
I wanted to touch briefly on the idea of cruel optimism,
which wasn't coined by Johann Hari,
(08:53):
the author of Stolen Focus,
but he refers to it in his book.
Let me check my notes who it was invented by Lauren Beant apparently.
But I read it in Harry's uh most recent book Stolen Focus,
which if you have not read it,
I would highly highly recommend it.
(09:13):
I think it's really an important book.
And even in the context if you're concerned about climate change,
which it doesn't sound like a book about our inability to focus because of the uh technology that we're using these days could be about climate change,
but it is so a cruel optimism is uh focus on individual responsibility and almost a self help focus that offers an overly optimistic and simple solution to complex problems at its worst.
(09:57):
Harry says self help training is training people to adjust to an unacceptable and morally unjust social system.
So I did want to address that because here I am,
I'm um privileged in the comparison to many people on this planet.
(10:19):
I,
I'm a white woman,
uh who's uh doesn't have any economic concerns.
I don't need to worry about the roof over my head.
And I live in Canada,
which is a relatively prosperous and stable nation.
And so is the fact that I'm talking about finding a path to joy and healing in the climate emergency,
(10:45):
kind of hypocritical or cruel optimism.
And I wanted to address that because it's an important question.
And I don't know,
100% of the answer.
I do know that my journey as a climate concerned,
(11:07):
mother and lobbyist for change has been a painful one because of the lack of action,
collective action on this issue,
which when you're,
which is hard to understand why we're choosing to endanger the future of our Children and our children's Children and this beautiful planet of ours because it's hard to change the way we run our economic system.
(11:43):
But that is the situation that it is.
And so my journey through the climate emergency has really been one of a,
a spiritual and consciousness shift as well.
(12:04):
And there is a quote by Gus Speth.
Let me get it.
Gus Beth is a professor of law at the Vermont Law School.
He is the former Dean of the Yale University School of Forestry and environmental Studies among many other accomplishments.
(12:25):
And uh this quote of his,
I think encapsulates why I feel called to do another podcast because of course,
I co-hosted earth fields for several years uh ended recently,
(12:45):
but I feel like it's important to have a podcast that's specifically focused on consciousness and consciousness shifting.
And doctor Beth's quote says,
I used to think the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss,
(13:10):
ecosystem collapse and climate change.
I thought that with 30 years of good science,
we could address those problems,
but I was wrong.
The top environmental problems are selfishness,
greed and apathy and to deal with those,
(13:33):
we need a spiritual and cultural transformation.
My hope is that the conversations that we have on this podcast.
And definitely I want it to be a two way conversation.
I'd really like to hear from you folks.
You can get in touch with me at Christine at climate of joy dot com.
(13:55):
But as I was saying,
my hope is that the conversations that we have on this podcast contribute to that spiritual and cultural transformation that results in uh beautiful,
thriving and joyous future for all of us.
(14:16):
So Thanks for listening to this introductory broadcast and stay tuned for more.
If you are hearing this message,
you've listened to the entire Climate of Joy podcast first episode.
And for that,
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I hope you enjoyed this first Climate of Joy episode.
(14:39):
And if you did,
please leave us a review on Apple podcast and Spotify.
And also if you enjoyed it,
I invite you to share this episode with others who may be interested in the topic of reclaiming joy and healing in the climate emergency.
Also,
I'd love to hear from you.
Let me know what topics you'd like to see covered in future episodes.
(15:03):
You can email me at Christine at climate of joy dot com or leave a comment below if you hang on and you've hung on this far.
The very last link in the show notes is a video that I've made just for the first viewers of the podcast,
uh like you and it's a walkthrough tapping on making room in your energy system for more joy in the climate emergency.
(15:34):
I'm so grateful that you dropped in and that you stayed this long.
So from the bottom of my heart,
thank you.
Please check out that link below.
And if you've hung in this far,
I'm gonna pop in a sneak preview of the next episode of Climate of Joy.
Until next time.
(15:56):
Is that enough for today or do you want to add something else before we do a tapping session together.
Well,
I also I'm very aware of all of the effects of both other people,
electrical energy around us,
technological energy around us,
which I don't think is very helpful,
but also the moon,
(16:17):
the the phases of the moon I think are very powerful.
And I also take note of some of the planetary movements as well because we know how much of water we are.
We know how the moon affects the tides.
And I do feel the differences in the moon phases and I like to use them to my advantage.
(16:38):
I like to feel what's going on,
feel the ebb and flow and ride a wave effectively.
If there's a wave to ride,
I'll ride it and if there's one to avoid,
I'll stay down you.
Ok.
So the moon last week was full.
We're recording this on April 13th.
(17:00):
Uh That was,
I think it's a week since the,
the moon was full.
And so is there something that you want to touch on about?
Yeah.
Um We've had a really powerful benevolent week this week.
That's episode two of Climate of Joy podcast with my special guest,
Sandra Boatman,
intuitive healer and light worker.
(17:22):
Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss an episode.
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