Recently I remembered that being alive is an unfathomable miracle. After a long period of grief and anxiety, of trauma having such a strong hold over me, I feel alive again. I can look the people I care about in the eyes again. I am finally reconnecting with the complete wonder of this planet. Acting out of despair held this from me. So often I see people acting only out of fear, despair, hopelessness and anger. Of course, I believe that those emotions have their place. I have used those emotions to help create tangible shifts in our collective reality. But it’s so easy to let the pain become the whole picture. I also act out of love, wonder and adoration for what it means to be alive. Life on Earth is so incredibly precious, even in the face of so much uncertainty and pain. Don’t get me wrong, I am still completely devastated by the reality of our situation. But through that grief I have recognised a love for life so deep that I still want to live and protect life even when I feel the gut-wrenching despair of the harm being done. Social justice movements see trauma after trauma after trauma. We bear witness to the pain inflicted on life. We are met with apathy and rejection over and over as we navigate life as advocates and believers in a better world. But we deserve to have peace. And finding that, amidst increasing uncertainty, is more crucial than ever if we are to continue to defend what is right even when the rivers are dry, the UK is in a drought, it feels like everything is burning and climate catastrophe threatens our safety more imminently than we imagined. We need to find that strength from within. For me, recent months have been all about awakening, making peace with myself, and healing. I just want to be as resilient as possible to protect our magical, wonderful, miracle Earth. I don’t want to hurt myself any more than we are already being hurt by systems of oppression. Thank you to the wonderful humans who have helped me remember that this Earth is worth it even in times of darkness. That includes every single person who has cheered me on from afar 🐞🐛🦋🌻 sending you all resilience, we really need it right now.