Recently, a listener to Mongabay’s podcast sent us an email thanking us for our work and asking, “how can you keep going?” amid all the systems at play that are destroying nature. They wondered how to do even more to save our planet and feel less helpless and depressed. These are good questions. I take them seriously. As someone who has dealt with this for years, I have some advice that hopefully will save you some of the pain from the mistakes I made. If, like me, you find your head spinning, and day after day you are wound up and feeling despair at the state of the world, you need to pause. Take a breather, disconnect from the news cycle or social media, and connect with your support networks, mental health counselor, friends and family. Take care of yourself. Do this first. The world can wait. Also, get out in nature. Find the joy that feeds your creativity and your soul, whether it’s a place, person or activity. Connect with it as often as you can, and don’t forget why it matters to you. For me, I find that in my art. I also make time to visit places that bring me peace. The shores of northern Honshu in Japan set my head straight. White rhyolite spires on the shores of Jodogahama Beach in Miyako, Japan. Photo by Mike DiGirolamo/Mongabay. Now, let me tell you a brief story about why I don’t quit and how I found the answer…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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