Transform Eco-Anxiety Pod: Personal Responsibility

Frédéric Laloux, in The Week: “Some of us believe that to make this transition, governments must step up big time. But others think that personal responsibility will be key.”  

This meeting will examine personal responsibility and compare Laloux’s framework with that of Pierre-Eric Sutter who wrote “Living Well With Your Eco-Anxiety: Take care of yourself by taking care of the world” (Bien vivre son eco-anxiete: Prendre soin de soi en prenant soin du monde, 2023). 

There is a continuum that extends between social responsibility and personal responsibility, and throughout history there have been tipping points in which so many people responded personally that their entire society shifted. Laloux notes that tipping away from “monarchy to freedom and self rule, from slavery, from legal segregation, from women not being able to vote, from European fascism, and from communist dictatorships” all happened relatively quickly (historically) once people made their choices and then responded personally at scale. You may live in a country where your government is not adequately responding to the hottest historic year, 2023. (Although 2024 is expected to be hotter.) Yet you can still take personal responsibility by choosing personal actions grounded in optimism that improve your relationship with your ecological environment. Your actions can result in tipping your society’s actions and values. 

Pierre-Eric Sutter’s Step 6, “Confront your ideals with reality,” is about this procedural dilemma: wanting to act from your ideals but recognizing that the social reality which surrounds you would rather just remain the same. How can you make personal shifts that result in a social shift? Blocks which prevent movement from eco-awareness to eco-engagement can be evaluated and overcome. Join us for an inquiry into how this happens.

The Transform Eco-Anxiety Pod meets on the first Tuesday of the month. This session will include a breakout-room opportunity as well as a general discussion. A “Level 2” discussion will be held on Wednesday, July 3rd at 11 AM PT, to get deeper into these inspirational concepts.