BOWWBLOG #28: The Ache for a Lost World: Navigating Our Collective Climate Grief
From the mountains of Benguet to the flood warnings of today—how to hold heartbreak and hope in the same hand
WHAT: The World We Knew is Changing
The first ten years of my life were cradled in the mountains of Benguet. My playground was the great outdoors—a world of lush greens and crisp air where I felt, instinctively, that I belonged to the earth. That world feels like a distant dream.
As I write this, a stark notification flashes on my phone: "NDRRMC: Red Rainfall Warning sa Palawan. Asahan ang matinding pag-ulan, pagbaha at pagguho ng lupa."
This is our new reality. According to the World Risk Index 2025, the Philippines ranks as the most disaster-prone country on the planet. We are battered by an average of 20 typhoons a year, our sea levels are rising three times faster than the global average, and the economic and human cost is staggering.
The data is no longer abstract. It has a face and a feeling.
SO WHAT: The Name for Our Pain is Climate Grief
Fifty years after my idyllic childhood, the loss is palpable. Baguio is no longer the cool summer capital of my memory. In my home in Sta. Rosa, spontaneous bush fires ignite from the sun's intense heat. My brisk walks are now weighed down by oppressive temperatures.
This deep, pervasive sadness has a name: Climate Grief. It’s the sorrow for the lost landscapes, the fear ignited by fires in LA, and the heartache felt when speaking with farmers and fisherfolk whose livelihoods are vanishing. It’s the exhaustion that leads to a defeated "Bahala na ang Diyos," a learned helplessness in the face of a permacrisis.
We are mourning a world that is slipping away, and it is a valid, profound, and shared pain.
NOW WHAT: From Grief to Grounded Action
In a painful irony, the Philippines ranks 7th in the 2025 Climate Change Performance Index for its climate action. It's hard to trust such news when we see corruption undermining the very projects meant to save us. But this is where we must choose: will cynicism win, or will we channel our grief into the kind of action that honors the legacy of heroes like Jane Goodall?
Our collective anger and grief are not a dead end. They are a fuel source. Here is how we can use it:
1. Practice "Sacred Activism" in Daily Life.
· Action: Choose one sustainable swap and make it a ritual. Refuse single-use plastic with the reverence of protecting our oceans. Patronize a local farmer's market as an act of solidarity with the land. These are not small acts; they are daily prayers for the earth.
· Why: It transforms helplessness into purpose, merging spiritual intention with tangible impact.
2. Become a "Storykeeper" for the Earth.
· Action: Share your memory of Benguet or your favorite place with a young person. Tell them what the air smelled like. Post a photo of a pristine place you love with the hashtag #ThisIsWorthSaving. Our stories are weapons against apathy.
· Why: We fight for what we love. By remembering the beauty, we reinforce what we're fighting to protect.
3. Channel Anger into "Accountability Advocacy."
· Action: Support the journalists and organizations investigating environmental plunder. Write a brief, respectful message to your local official demanding transparency on flood control projects. Attend a community meeting.
· Why: Corruption thrives in silence. Our collective voice is the disinfectant.
4. Create "Pockets of Resilience" in Your Community.
· Action: Start a neighborhood plant-sharing group or a seed bank. Organize a local clean-up not as a chore, but as a celebration of your community. Connect with your neighbors.
· Why: A prepared community is a resilient one. The same bayanihan spirit that topples dictators can build buffers against climate impacts.
5. Join our upcoming First Friday Forum on Nov 7 where I have a deeper conversation with Eileen Tupaz, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, and Ecological Grief Researcher.
My Personal Call to Your Heart
For older ones among you, the ache you and I feel for the mountains of our youth is not a weakness. It is our love for this country made tangible. Let that grief be our compass. Let it guide us to act, not with the frenzy of panic, but with the steady, determined love of a guardian.
We cannot single-handedly stop the storms, but we can decide to be each other's shelter. We can choose to be the ancestors future generations will thank.
What feeling is climate change stirring in you—sadness, anger, fear, or hope?
Name it in the comments below. Then, share one small, sacred action you will take this week to honor that feeling.
Let's hold this space for each other. Our grief, shared, becomes our strength.
-Susan Grace Rivera
Posted on: October 19, 2025
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