In the sixth session of Awareness in Action, Christiana Figueres discusses Brazil’s Climate Conference, reflecting on our collective anxiety about present conditions and future uncertainties. She emphasizes that “the future is not waiting for us. The future is being shaped right now, every day, in the choices we make.” Drawing on Buddhist teachings of impermanence and interbeing, she argues that “change is not only possible, it is inevitable,” urging us to ask, “What seeds are we planting now?”
She shares an incredible and harrowing story from the 2015 Paris Climate Conference—when a bomb was discovered in a train station used daily by 45,000 people. She recounts the moment of panic, the fear of all that could go wrong, and how returning to her breath brought the clarity needed “to protect the field of concentration” for the negotiations. Just a few mindful breaths shifted the conditions that made the historic agreement possible. Christiana encourages cultivating this steadiness collectively, saying that wisdom emerges through deep listening, shared intelligence, and joy, reminding us that “the future is always now.”
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