it’s a choice. It’s a choice to get through
that overwhelm and that despair. I think
hope and courage are strategic decisions.
It’s more than just a personal decision; it’s
about choosing to be part of the movement
that’s trying to create change.”
I ask Anna to explain how hope and
courage relate to our nation as a whole.
“We have the technical solutions to solve
the climate crisis, so all we need now are
political leaders with the courage to step
up and implement these solutions.
“But politicians only aim as high as their
constituents demand, so it’s our job to create
that demand. That means our courage is in
engaging in the broader movement of action
on climate change, not just lifestyle choices.
We have to step outside of our comfort zones
so our politicians can step outside of their
comfort zones.”
I suggest that approach allows people to
feel empowered to make change. “Yeah!” she
agrees. “And the awesome thing about living
in Australia is that this is a society where
change can come from the bottom up: we all
have a voice and we all have a vote.”
In the middle of the interview rain
arrives, which takes the conversation to
the element of water. Having moved to
shelter, Anna shares a recent experience of
leaning into courage as she found herself
in a “stretch zone”. She recalls, “I went for
a swim at Bondi and there was a rip. I grew
up surfing so I know what to do with rips but
it was pretty strong. And it made me really
think about my comfort zone.
“You’ve got your safety zone, or your
comfort zone; and then your stretch zone,
which is the things you can do; and then
you’ve got your danger zone, and that’s
different for everyone. When you’re thinking
about what you can do on climate change
— if you’re a really shy, introverted person,
then maybe speaking at a rally is not
going to be appropriate for you. But having
a conversation with 10 of your friends,
that could be in your stretch zone and
something you could do.”Head and the heart
Living from the heart is a recurring theme
in Anna’s writing. “My mum’s an English
teacher,” she shares, which could explain
Anna’s talent as a writer. I refer back to
some of Anna’s words in Madlands: “Maybe
some seeds were planted in his [Nick’s]
heart and mind that will grow over time.”
Asked if that connection between the
head and the heart has always been with her,
Anna replies, “I think so, yeah,” which moves
the discussion back to climate change.
Anna insists an emotional connection
must exist to get people to act on climate
change: “We have to build a movement ofpeople who care about this. People-powered
social movements have been the basis of all
significant social change throughout history.
“For people to have an experience that
gets them involved in this issue, head is
not enough. Everyone now knows the facts.
You’d have to be living under a rock not to
have seen that our climate is changing and
heard at least something in the media about
climate change. But, unless people have
an emotional connection to it, it’s highly
unlikely they will take that next step into
actually getting involved.
“The data alone is not enough. It has
to be stories, it has to be an emotional
connection and only when people
understand what the data really means
— it just makes it so real. I think the
heart is really important to this issue.
“There’s a role there for everyone. That’s
the beauty of it. It’s such an exciting time to
be alive because we get to be the generation
that turns this crisis around and creates
a more sustainable, regenerative world.”
I suggest this idea is changing the
narrative on climate change from something
doom and gloom to an opportunity to grow.
“Exactly! Like what Homer Simpson says:
‘crisitunity’,” Anna laughs.
Good storytelling is at the heart of
this crisitunity.Storytelling the solution
“The great thing about climate change is that
the solutions already exist,” Anna explains.
“And all the solutions are already being
implemented in different places all over the
world,” she adds, quoting writer William
Gibson’s words: “The future is already here
— it’s just not evenly distributed.”
“So our challenge is to take those
solutions and scale them up to make them
evenly distributed,” she continues.One of Anna’s friends, filmmaker
Damon Gameau, tells a very powerful story
about climate change in his new film 2040 ,
released in May. “The film is all about the
positive vision, the kind of society we can
create. About those solutions and where
they are being implemented ... It’s such
a beautiful, positive film. We need more
storytelling like that — about what it’s going
to take to solve it.
“I don’t want to gloss over that we
have already locked in some degree
of climate change and that is gonna
cause a lot of suffering, and already is,
but we also have to have that vision of
a sustainable future and have more
stories about that.”
Anna references American literary
critic Fredric Jameson’s famous words:
“Someone once said that it is easier to
imagine the end of the world than to
imagine the end of capitalism.” The man
raises an interesting point.
“We have all these films about the
apocalypse and the end of the world,” Anna
continues. “How many films do we have
about changing the system?”
Damon has responded to Anna’s question.Start where you are
“Everyone has the power to do something
amazing, and so the biggest message I have
is: you’re an amazing person living in an
amazing world. What is the amazing thing
you’re gonna do?”
Anna speaks with great tenderness
and compassion on this theme and when
asked who reminded her of those things she
answers, “There were two people. My mum
is just incredible and I’m so grateful to her
for instilling a very deep love of environment
in me as a kid.
“And then, when I was at high school,
someone came and gave a speech from the
Wilderness Society. He was a campaigner
[on environmental activism] and just said,
‘Start where you are.’ I was in high school
so I started there and I set up a group.
“If you’re at a workplace, start with getting
your workplace to think about this stuff;
or if you’re a stay-at-home mum, start to
talk about these issues with mums at the
park. You don’t have to leave your life to do
something about it.”
Four words — start where you are — can
have such a lasting impact and potential
to elicit the brave heart within us all, with
Anna Rose humbly leading the way.Ally McManus, the former editor of WellBeing, is
a freelance writer and editor in magazine and
book publishing. When she isn’t working on
copy or interviewing talent, she is teaching and
practising yoga on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula.“I think hope and courage are
strategic decisions. It’s more
than just a personal decision;
it’s about choosing to be part
of the movement that’s trying
to create change.”thinkers & doers
ANNA ROSE58 | wellbeing.com.au