Fighting Activism Fatigue

By Katy Anderson

Everything is overwhelming right now. It feels like we are drowning in bad news and that word "unprecedented" is now a broken record.

Globally, locally and for many of us, personally, the state of things have never been so tumultuous. I go about my day feeling on the brink of tears, just one little thing might tip me over. At the same time, I can't let that happen, because I'm a Mum and there are my small humans that depend upon me.

Seeking some breathing room this morning, I saw some interesting light over the ocean and followed it to the source.

It was beautiful. A sight that I see just about every day that looks so different every time.

It was very calm.

Letting my senses guide me, peace seeped through my bones.

The sight before me was of the breathtaking variety.

The sound of the waves swishing, the occasional boom of a big wave.

It drowned out the thoughts in my mind, which had done nothing but race every minute of every day for weeks. In the air, the smell of seaweed and the freshness of the morning drifted to my nose. I dug my hands into the sharp pebbles on the beach, relishing in the sensation of something tangible. The breeze was gentle and cold drifting across my face, tasting salty on my lips.

And for the first time in weeks, I just breathed.

Deeply.

With no weight on my chest.

Working in this activism space, you can very quickly lose your drive and resolution by focusing too much on the scale of the problem. We have to be able to celebrate the small wins in order to stay motivated. Taking small actions regularly can help us feel like we are making progress. These are my usual methods for dealing with the overwhelming scale of the problems I want to help tackle.

With the world as it is currently, I'm finding it's just not really working. Some problems right now just feel too many, too big.

I don't have all the answers. I'm just here validating how you're feeling, because I'm feeling it too.

I recommend going down to the sea today. Or the river. Or the lake. Anywhere that gives you peace and drowns out your own thoughts. Despite all the chaos, and all the external noise, there was the ocean just being the ocean. There were the seagulls just flying by being seagulls, and there were the clouds, just drifting overhead. It all just continues on.

Try just being like the ocean today. Just continue on.