We
Are No Strangers to Love
“OMG
♥!!” I texted my colleague Zoe a few days ago, as
I sent her the now-viral TikTok video of Greta Thunberg
singing and dancing to Rick Astley’s ’80s hit,
“Never Gonna Give You Up.” (Apparently the brief
performance was a version of something called “Rickrolling.” The things one
learns late in life!) There was something so
uplifting about seeing the 18-year-old, now-world
famous, climate activist bopping around and
singing a few lines onstage with a friend before
rushing off, giggling gleefully, into a welcoming
cluster of more friends.
Gone was the
serious, taciturn 15-year-old I’d interviewed in 2019 when the
world had just begun to turn its gaze on her. Back
then, Thunberg felt she was waging a lonely
battle. She didn’t think too many folks, including
her peers, cared about the climate. But in the
three years that have passed since, I think she
has realized she’s not alone. Young people today
are engaging with climate and environmental
activism in ways that previous generations
haven’t. Best yet, they are no strangers to
love!
Love for this living world and for
our fellow beings is what drives environmental
activism after all. It’s the sharing of that love
that gives us strength and keeps us going. And
it’s what allowed Thunberg to run up on stage that
night and, for a while, simply be a teenager
having a bit of giddy fun.
I was reminded
of the importance of love and community again by
another young climate activist, Artemisio Romero y
Carver, during a Q&A session with this years’
Brower Youth Award winners on
Tuesday. “You need other people,” she said.
“Through relying on other people, when the time
comes that you are burned out, when it is too
traumatizing, when it is too exhausting, there
will be other people to do that work until you
feel like you can… and you will take over for
someone else.”
So my takeaway this week:
Find your peeps. You know, those folks who offer
you love and encouragement even as they challenge
you to do your best to save our imperiled world.
And, while at it, be sure to make some time to
dance. 
Maureen Nandini
Mitra
Editor, Earth Island
Journal
P.S.
The kids are really alright! Photo by bekkchen /
Flickr
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