Active Hope: A Mindful Remedy for Overwhelm Among Change-makers
How Buddhist wisdom and mindful action can help social justice and climate change leaders sustain courage and resilience.
Active Hope: An Antidote to Overwhelm
The photo is to capture your attention — I hope it worked. This picture is from our wedding day.
We recently celebrated our 17th anniversary with a long, luxurious lunch. We hadn’t caught up properly in ages, and as we talked, I felt my heart fill with gladness and gratitude. This blog was inspired by him — and by many of the leaders and colleagues I work alongside in social justice, and by my husband, who works in climate change.
Because while their causes may differ, the experiences often overlap.
There is burnout.
There is despondency.
Social justice practitioners are navigating an unprecedented rise in racism and accompanying hostility. Those in the climate movement grapple with despair, feeling the weight of what some call a ten-year window to save the planet. Both face immense emotional, moral, and existential pressure — and both risk being crushed by the enormity of what they’re fighting for.
Through my coaching on resilience and mindfulness, I try to support leaders and changemakers to care for themselves as they care for the world.
The Role of Active Hope
The peace and environmental activist Satish Kumar — and the scholar and teacher Joanna Macy — speak powerfully about Active Hope: a hope that is not passive, but intentional, courageous, and alive.
Hope, they remind us, is not naïve optimism. It’s a practice — a verb with its sleeves rolled up. It asks us to stay open, to discover our strength, and to be willing to act in alignment with what we believe is possible.
Active Hope is a crucial component of resilience. It fuels perseverance through difficult times and helps us return, again and again, to our purpose — even when the outcomes are uncertain.
But what happens when the action itself begins to feel like swimming against the tide?
When even the most committed among us feel helpless and overwhelmed?
I’ve coached a few leaders within the climate movement and many in social justice who face this daily. They share the same questions: How do we keep hope alive when our energy falters? How do we keep showing up when the problems feel too vast to solve?
Returning to the Present Moment
After our celebratory lunch, I happened to listen to a Plum Village podcast — Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet — which serendipitously offered profound guidance.
The teachers remind us that whatever we can do for the future must be rooted in the present moment. Overwhelm is often future-oriented — it’s anxiety projected forward. Mindfulness, by contrast, anchors us in the here and now, where we can actually act.
When asked how to find peace amid so much suffering, Thich Nhat Hanh replied:
“If we know we have done our part,
If we know we have made our contribution and we have done our best,
That is how we know we can have peace.”
That teaching breaks through the clouds of overwhelm for me every time. It’s not about doing everything — it’s about doing one thing well.
Thay once said he had learned to “sit well and walk well.” It sounds simple, almost glib, but it’s profoundly practical. Sitting well, walking mindfully — returning to stillness — allows us to act from clarity rather than reactivity. It’s from that groundedness that wise, compassionate action becomes possible.
The Practice of Active Hope
Part of our work, then, is not only to act — but also to cultivate Active Hope. To find comrades to link arms with. To stay ready to discover reasons for hope, and occasions for love. To nurture the steadiness that allows us to return to purpose, again and again.
So, if you’re feeling exhausted or disheartened — whether you’re working for the planet, for equity, or simply trying to stay afloat in turbulent times — perhaps ask yourself:
What is the one thing I can do well today?
What action can I take with steadiness, not striving?
How can I reconnect to my purpose in this moment, rather than the impossible scale of the whole?
Active hope isn’t about certainty. It’s about showing up — together — with presence, courage, and love.
A Closing Reflection
Through my coaching and mindfulness teaching, I support leaders and changemakers who are navigating uncertainty, complexity, and emotional fatigue. Much of this work is about returning to what Joanna Macy calls “the strength to be discovered” — reconnecting to our capacity for presence, compassion, and active hope. Because when we tend to hope as a practice, not a feeling, we begin to shape the very future we long for — one grounded in wisdom, care, and collective courage.