How Zooming Out Will Give You Sanity - And Hope!

The Bigger Picture, Tree Hugging, and Climate Week NYC

In this newsletter:

• What if we zoomed out? 🗺️

• An invitation: Hug more trees 🌳

• Coming up at Climate Week NYC 🗽

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If I’m the optimist, my husband prides himself on being the pragmatic one. In a recent kitchen conversation (where most of our talking happens these days), he said that not long ago, he was in my camp: he believed that things seemed to be going right.

“Lately, though, I must admit, I think the world is going in a very non-sustainable direction,” he said.

But he’s not the only one to utter these words. I hear it everywhere, and truth be told, I’ve thought it too. So what came to me next, an insight out of the blue, has become sort of a guiding light for me lately, a reason for my sanity, and hopefully, with some degree of truth…

“What if we zoomed out?”,

I said to him. “Sure, if we’re looking at the day-to-day politics, things appear pretty dire. Since Trump got reelected, we can almost bring attention down to the hours because that’s how snappy he seems with his decision-making.”

“But think about it like the stock market”, I told him. “Because if you look at it closely, everything may seem to be crashing down in a matter of hours. Suddenly, there’s a big drop, and people lose thousands of dollars in just minutes. If you were to zoom in and look at the details of that graph, you would say that the market is going down. However, if you zoom out and look at that same graph over the course of a year, or maybe even decades, the trend might look very different. You might then see that although there have been ups and downs, over the long course, the stock has been on a steady rise.”

And perhaps the world is on the same up?

If we looked at the societal progression curve for this day, week, or even decade, things might seem to be heading for the deep dive (and It Isn’t Just the U.S. The Whole World Has Soured on Climate Politics). But on the timeline of a century or even millennia, are we on the spiritual up? Meaning - and I’m setting aside here the collapses in ecosystems and the approaching of dangerous tipping points, because obviously those aren’t great - on a spiritual level, on our scale of humanity, presence, and deeper purpose, are we more elevated and intuned than we’ve ever been before?

Of course, there’s no knowing, but something tells me we’re steadily approaching a different kind of tipping point, one that will unlock new human potential; a new sense of meaning and connection with Earth and everything around us. Technology and AI are scaling up that shift, however scary these new technologies can feel in the moment, and as the prophey goes*, if we choose to work with the “new world” in a way that will bridge the gap to our ancient wisdom and knowledge, we are looking at a future in which we’ve found the third way, a way of existence here on Earth that is unlike anything we’ve ever experienced before.

*The prophecy of the Eagle and the Condor is an ancient Indigenous American spiritual belief foretelling a time when two distinct paths of humanity would reunite to bring a new era of balance and peace to the world.

The Eagle symbolizes the path of intellect, industry, and the masculine, primarily associated with the North, while the Condor represents the path of the heart, intuition, and the feminine, linked to the South. The prophecy predicts a 500-year period starting in the 1490s when the Eagle's dominance would nearly cause the Condor's extinction, followed by a subsequent 500-year period beginning in the 1990s that offers a chance for these two paths to merge, allowing humanity to achieve a higher level of consciousness and global harmony

Source: Pachamama

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Pragmatic Optimism

But zooming out doesn’t mean stepping away. On the contrary, it should provide a lens through which we view our (unwavering) commitment moving forward. Because it’s easy to throw in the towel and claim to be pragmatic, a “realist.” — “Just look at the world, it is what it is!”

Only that looking at the world as it stands now says nothing about the potential we may unlock for tomorrow. It just means it’s easier to succumb to the status quo and accept being “stuck.”

I love this excerpt from the New York Times article I shared earlier:

“You can’t walk more than two feet at any global conference today without ‘pragmatism’ and ‘realism’ being thrown around as the order of the day,” says Jason Bordoff, a former Obama energy adviser who now runs Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. “But it’s not clear to me that anyone knows what those words mean other than this whole climate thing is just too hard.”

Sure, things are hard, which is why falling into hopelessness just cannot happen. We need to strengthen our leadership and nurture our guiding light even more intentionally than before, and we must trust that on that path towards enlightenment, we’re already on our way.

I think we’re finding our way back to ourselves in a profound way, and choosing to zoom out and look at it from that timeline might bring some sanity — and hope — to our otherwise confusing and frustrating days.

Some things in our surroundings we simply cannot impact, no matter how much we try to, and returning to source and remembering what we do have power over is a critical skill in these times. And when it comes to being an optimist or a pragmatist, I don’t think you have to choose. I will continue to be both!

"Pragmatic Optimism...is based on looking at how today's realities can be stretched to create more exciting, better, and richer futures".

— Julian Aldridge, Founder of Enact Agency

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Tips for Grounding (+ Sanity): Tree Hugging

Ever since I got into tree-hugging in my late teens, it’s been a go-to for me when it comes to necessary grounding. So much so that I wrote a chapter in my book named “You Should Hug Trees.”

Last week, I received a beautiful note from Chuck, who shared how much this chapter meant to him. It honestly brought me to tears as it reminded me just how profound this simple practice can be. Upon his permission, I’m sharing what he wrote, and I’ll let it be an invitation from both of us to try this practice — especially through these confusing and challenging times!

Here is what he wrote:

I recently finished your book and I wanted to share this with you.

I was listening to your chapter dealing with hugging trees on my way to play golf a couple of weeks ago and decided that as much as I wanted to hug a tree on the golf course that I must keep the ball in the center of the fairway away from the trees.

The next morning, as I was leaving my house to travel to the office, I had to go past an apple tree that I planted on my son Jason's 1st birthday and decided that it should be the first tree that gets a real hug from me.

The apple tree, a Northern Spy, is 51 years old, and as I hugged it and placed my cheek against it I burst into tears.

What a wonderful gift you gave me with your encouragement to hug a tree.

Since then I've hugged a few trees, usually around the house on my way into the office, and I found it to be a wonderful way to start my day before having to deal with people.

— Chuck Tomaselli, Ambassador to Rotary International for the Climate Restoration Alliance

Hidden benefits of tree hugging:

• Immune system boost from phytoncides

• Stress reduction from lowered cortisol

• Cardiovascular improvements

• Anti-inflammatory effects of grounding:

• Enhanced emotional well-being

• Improved focus and attention

• Deeper connection and grounding

• Boosted self-esteem

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Next Week at Climate Week NYC

I’m excited to finally share my lineup for Climate Week in New York next week. I won't be able to attend all the amazing happenings across the week (mom duty calls), but stoked to be there for a few golden nuggets. Check them out:

TUESDAY, 9/23:

Midday, I’m moderating two panels at The Climate Hub, presented by We Don’t Have Time at Nest Climate Summit:

• 11:30 - 12 pm: Nature Positive Economy & Society with Marco Lambertini and Carlos Manuel Rodriguez

• 12 pm - 12:20: Twenty-minute discussion with Rainn Wilson and Gail Whiteman.

Register here

In the late afternoon, I’m co-hosting an interactive and collaborative session on climate optimism, climate conversations, and climate futures together with Natalia Vásquez and Bernadette Woods Placky at Climate Mic Drop.

This event is sold out.

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WEDNESDAY, 9/24:

• In the morning, I’ll be attending a private breakfast with Business Insider on The Resiliency Playbook. Will you be there? Let me know!

• The rest of the day will be spent at The New York Times’ Climate Forward event. Get tickets here.

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SATURDAY 9/27:

I’ll wrap up climate week by moderating a last panel at this year’s Marketplace of The Future x Pinterest event!

• This panel will be on The Role of Climate Optimism, and I’ll be interviewing the Head of Sustainability at Pinterest, Imagine5, and Tom Toro (famous climate change cartoonist)

• See you there? Get your ticket here!

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SUNDAY: LAST DAY TO ORDER YOUR T-SHIRT!

Just a reminder that Sunday, September 28th, is your last chance to order a climate optimist t-shirt. Get your order in here.