Tending to the broken bones

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We find ourselves at a time of profound gravity. Last year, our planet crossed the 1.5°C threshold for the first time– not a mere statistical milestone, but a stark reminder of our rapidly closing window for action. While greenhouse gas emissions continued their relentless rise in 2024, we witnessed over 40 nations going to the ballot box, including the United States. The consequences of that election are unfolding in front of our disbelieving eyes, as we witness how reckless climate denial threatens to unravel years of careful progress in that country.

The world is of course much larger than the US, and many other countries have understood that decarbonizing the global economy is the only way to protect people, planet and even profit. Thus ironically the decarbonization of the economy might well continue in the US, driven by the sheer competitiveness of clean technologies. Globally, if some nations step back, others will step forward to fill the manufacturing vacuum and marketing opportunity. And the recklessness in the US shall pass once the current shrapnel shower has subsided, albeit having likely caused even more dangerous delays to climate progress.

But what is keeping me up at night these days is something even more fundamental: what keeps me up is the breaking of the very bones of society

We are witnessing the dismantling of something precious: the role of climate action as a unifying force for social justice, racial equality, women's opportunities, children's rights, protection of ancestral lands, the health of both humans and ecosystems, and so much more. These challenges are intimately interconnected – their intersectionality has taken us years to fully comprehend. And just as we had finally understood those crucial connections, they are being overthrown, both in relation to climate but also as specific social and structural inequities.

I will pause here to acknowledge that there may be some friends in the audience who support current US administration policies. I respect your right to hold your views, but I cannot remain silent about what I am seeing: egregious overreach of power, shameless assault on human rights, inhumane treatment of the most vulnerable, arrogant displays of dominance and exceptionalism, irrational denial of basic science and medicine, and the widening not of a gap any more, but now of a gorge between rich and poor.

The dramatic and traumatic announcements we have heard from the US government over the past few weeks are deliberately causing chaos and crisis to push through radical structural changes while citizens are overloaded with news and disoriented by the rapid fire. The arrows of callousness and intimidation are meant to frighten individuals, reduce public engagement and weaken democracy. That is in the US, but similar acts are taking place under less media coverage in other countries. Precisely when we need radical collaboration to address global environmental challenges, the opposite is taking over in so many corners of the world. The fabric of the society we long for is being pulled apart. Our societal and ethical bones are being broken.

So what do we do?

Some suggest we look away and pretend it's not happening – Nazi Germany was the devastating consequence of such wilful blindness. Others advocate for spiritual bypassing – gluing ourselves to our meditation cushions, hoping things will somehow get better. Neither approach takes us very far.

I put it to you that we must carve out a third option. That option starts with recognizing that we cannot abdicate our responsibility of leadership to current national leaders. If we don’t have the leadership we want, we have to call forth the leadership we need. This is the moment to step in and step up, to discover and nurture the leader that lies within ourselves.

For some this may be a natural step, for others it might take us out of our comfort zone. But the time for comfort is long gone.

The leadership that is required must be one of alignment along three levels: alignment with self, alignment with others and alignment at the broader systemic level.

First, alignment with self

This is not as easy as it sounds. It requires the courage to face the truth about ourself. To look into the dark corners we conveniently ignore. To acknowledge that by judging others, precisely as I have been doing here today, I am by default sanctifying, “angelizing” myself, hiding the painful and perhaps even shameful inner truths that when seen, will make me stronger. In this particular case, I recognize my quick reaction to deem my values and principles superior to those I see exhibited by the people I criticize. Am I entitled to cast aspersions? When I entertain deprecating thoughts and utter unloving words about my own brother, am I not being sanctimonious? Am I living out of my highest self when I consider how to outwit him in the family issues in which we are embroiled?

Furthermore, professionally, in my commitment to have a positive effect at the global level, could I have forgotten the local, the here and now of many? Have I overwhelmed or overseen those who have no other option but to focus on the next meal on the table? In my infinite wisdom to imagine and draw ever expanding circles of positive impact, have I become disassociated from the immediate? Have I become to some extent aloof, distant and insensitive to the experienced reality of so many?  Even if my intention is noble, does my language mystify my purpose which may intend to be on impact close to home but actually does not ring of proximity?

Turning a mindful lens on myself, I see how I have been so quick to engage in the “othering” behavior which is so abhorrent to me when I see it in others. Self-reflection brings the necessary dose of humility.

Second, alignment with others

If governments are not going to care for their citizens, we better do so ourselves. We can practice leadership through caring and service, creating safe spaces for others to bring their fear, grief and anger in whatever shape or form it comes, to be received and embraced without expectation or judgement. We can intentionally build communities of humility, empathy and love. Communities that are anchored in kindness and compassion. Kindness. I recently heard a former Head of State say that her mission in office had been to bring kindness to citizens. Kindness has sadly become a scarce resource. We can do something about that.  We can ensure kindness remains a renewable, and constantly renewed resource.

Third, systems alignment

We must understand that our interconnection with each other and with all other species persists even if it is denied by some, just as the sun does not cease to burn because of a passing cloud. We each have a direct sphere of influence which we can easily identify- home, family, office, institution- but we also have an indirect sphere of influence which is boundless. Our every thought, our every action has vast ripple effects, and those are destructive or constructive depending on the nature of the originating energy.

Heretofore it has perhaps been sufficient to focus our impact on our immediate surroundings, but given the systemic structural polarization we are witnessing, I would suggest that we have the opportunity if not the responsibility to act locally yes, but be purposeful about the vast ripples our actions have. It is that mindful intention that propagates the ripples way beyond what we can see or touch physically.

Think of the mycelium, the network of invisible underground highways that connect all trees in a forest. The mycelium not only distributes nutrients, it enables one tree to send information of opportunity or threat to all the other trees in the forest, whether they stand within “sight” of each other or not. We are interconnected in a somewhat similar way, being able to send out waves of caring that touch beings far away in both distance and time. We all inter-are.

So friends, today, right now, we can move from the understandable traumatic disbelief and paralysis to loving engagement. We can build bridges across the very divides we see, crossing the walls we ourselves have erected. We can create pathways of love and kindness.

How do we implement this type of leadership?

It starts with a daily choice. Leadership is not positional. It is not a one-time decision but a continuous commitment. We must practice what we could call "strategic optimism" – not blind hope, but clear-eyed determination. Remember that what gets fired together gets wired together. Our consistent actions create lasting change.

The future is written in the present. We can still choose a path of transformation, but it requires every one of us to step into our power as leaders. This is not the time to remain in despair, disbelief or denial – it is the time for clarity of thought and awareness in action.

Some people atribute to the renowned anthropologist Dr. Margaret Mead the story that she was once asked “what was the first sign of civilization?” After a thoughtful pause, she answered that the first sign of civilization was a healed femur bone.

Whether coming from Mead or someone else, the story is instructional. In humanity’s earliest days, a broken thigh bone was a death sentence. Even if the victim could have survived the injury, they would not have been able to gather food for themselves or defend themselves against any animal attack. A broken femur was a slow but certain death, unless some other person acted beyond their own self interest, out of compassion and kindness, to provide the necessary care over an extended period of time.

In our journey toward healing our fractured world, we would do well to recognize that fundamental truth about humanity: civilization emerged not from dominance, but from vulnerability and care. Contemplate that profound moment thousands of years ago when one human decided to stop and tend to another with a broken leg, choosing compassion over self-preservation.

That isn't merely a historical footnote - it's a powerful mirror reflecting our present moment. Just as our ancestors faced the choice between isolation and connection, we stand at a decisive crossroads: Will we remain trapped in the cycle of “othering” that is tearing the fabric of our society? Or will we choose, with fierce determination, to walk the path of love and kindness?

To those who say drill baby drill, I say breathe baby breathe! Stop. Focus. Do not allow the news to keep you mentally scattered. Take a moment to scan through your body, your heart, your mind and your soul. Take a moment to mindfully align from the inside out, from your innermost to your outermost.

The brokenness we see today is not our final state - we can transform it

Like a plant breaking through harsh soil to reach sunlight, we must break through the walls that keep us divided. In our intricately interconnected world, when one part of humanity suffers, we all bear the wound.

We can be the mindful guardians of a future based on care and connection. It's not a simple path, but neither was it for that first human who chose to tend another's wounds. We have within us the capacity to transform any reality we are given into the reality we want - one where broken bones, broken spirits, and broken systems all find their healing.

This is the decisive decade not just for climate change, but for redefining what it means to be human. We could be in the midst of the most critical rite of passage humanity has ever experienced. We can choose to be cultivators of a world where healing happens through millions of small acts of care, rippling outward to touch every corner of society. And it isn't just about fixing what's broken - it's about nurturing what makes us whole.

This article is also available on Outrage + Optimism. Find more from Christiana Figueres on her podcast Outrage + Optimism, The Climate Podcast. illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability & Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.