Bushfires and big feelings

Overwhelmed Onlookers! Graham here.

Well, fuck.

This last few weeks have been intense here in Australia.

For any potentially worried international readers following the unfolding bushfire crisis, we are okay! Big Feels HQ is located in smoke-tinged-but-decidedly-not-on-fire Melbourne. 

But some of our Australian readers may not be so lucky. 

I know that a fair few of you are dotted about the country in places that may well be directly affected by the bushfires.

If these bushfires have affected you and your home or those you know and love, I don’t know what else to say other than... Fuck. I am sorry this is happening. And I hope you are staying safe.

xx

When in doubt, sew something?

Thinking about what to write this week was a weird one. I wanted to talk about The Big Awful Thing, but I didn’t know what I could say that would be particularly useful.

If you’re like me you’ve spent a great deal of time in the last few weeks glued to the news, feeling increasingly heartbroken, helpless, angry, scared... so I was tempted to run our previously planned content as a distraction. But that didn’t feel right either.

So instead please accept these pictures of Honor, sewing pouches for fire-affected kangaroo joeys and bats:

Honor: "Here's me tired. Worried. Not sure what face to make for this photo. But feeling slightly less useless."

Like me, Honor didn’t know quite what to do with herself last week as the news continued to unfold, so when a friend suggested this activity she jumped on it. She was glad she did. Something about being around other people, doing something small but helpful, and taking a break from being equally angry and despairing at the news.

Donations

And of course, if you’ve got some spare coin and you haven’t already done so, you might be considering a donation to one of the many agencies helping through this crisis.

It can be overwhelming trying to figure out where to send your money in a situation like this. I took ages trying to make the ‘right’ choice then realised there isn’t a right choice, you just hope what you’ve offered helps someone in some small way. 

For what it’s worth, our well-informed friends at Future Crunch report the following, as of last Friday:

The donations have been pouring in from around the world - at last count it’s something like $150 million. However, they’re not being distributed evenly, and right now the sector that’s getting the least attention is wildlife recovery.

The number of injured or distressed animals from these fires is mind-boggling. Wildlife Victoria is doing amazing work. It’s all volunteer run, and they’re distributing donations to wildlife shelters to help rebuild enclosures and equipment they lost in the fires so that they can continue their lifesaving work, and support those that are struggling to cope with the enormous number of animals that will need care in the coming weeks and months.

And lastly I’ve just been told that flatmate-finding websites like this one are now helping people contact those who need temporary accommodation. In case you want to offer more direct help, and you happen to have a spare room.

Then of course, after any of that, you may still feel helpless. 

There’s a scale to what’s unfolding right now that is - like Gus from Future Crunch says - just mind-boggling. 

And even if you’re not directly affected, even if you’re not Australian, I think there’s a layer of horror lurking underneath it all. That thought:

Is this how it is now? 

This thought, it's what's behind the anger I’m feeling, currently directed toward those elected officials that have shown anything but leadership before and during this crisis. (Read: I've been yelling at the TV. A lot.)

It's also behind the surge of gratitude and sheer awe I feel toward the many helpers stepping up at the frontlines, and the real leaders emerging, coordinating those ongoing efforts.

And it’s behind the dread in my stomach, the feeling that something very important has changed, and even if we saw it coming, it's still a total shock.

Feeling helpless makes sense right now

It’s unsettling when your catastrophic thinking lines up with actual catastrophes.

And I’m certainly not going to argue that any fears for the future are unfounded here. But I am finding it helpful to remind myself that it at least makes sense to feel confused and helpless right now.

The science on climate change has been predicting events like this for years. But as a community, we are still collectively making sense of what these events mean for us and our future. Yes it was predicted, but it's still uncharted territory.

Keeping this in mind helps me remember to go lightly right now. To remember it's normal to feel scared, and if you're not directly affected, to generally feel a bit useless while other Australians are dealing with such life-altering events first-hand.

It’s a very unusual time.

Go lightly people, where you can x