Feel it.

As a conservationist you sometimes find yourself knee deep in statistics, facts, figures and that little voice in your head says, "I'm okay with this." But then that activist on my other shoulder rebuts and says, "No one walking down the street is going to give a flying fuck about your geeky message. Relate Heather. Relate."

After reading a scintillating article by Grist, I learned that we perceive and respond to risks only when we feel them. Hows that for a cosmpoliton of heavy and hippie-trippy all in one huh?

We sustainability geeks continually catch ourselves at a crossroads between wanting to share the deeply fascinating facts & figures we've worked hard on developing over the year and spreading the message that we not only are paid to communicate but passionately believe in both at the workplace and at home. There's a delicate balance we have to find while preserving our integrity and numbers. It's an artwork that really cannot be explained until you're right in the thick of it- spreadsheets open, media releases scattered throughout your desk, various communication pieces and ideas jotted down on scrap pieces of paper. Until weeks of ethos, pathos, logos later and you finally have something tangible to stand by. And it feels damn good, I must say.

Lessons learned.

Allow the person[s] engaged to leave feeling an activist. Don't let them see it. Let them feel it.

Make them take their hands off the rollercoaster bar and touch the sky.

All for now,

xxxh