Luke’s national-level climate career was destroyed by defunding. Alicia lost her journalism job. But listening to their longing revealed a whole new mission close to home.
When your work is defunded or discarded, it naturally sparks anger, grief, and helplessness. And when political shifts directly impact your ability to support your family, it feels personal.
Back in early 2026, Luke and his colleagues were suddenly sent packing due to an order from the U.S. administration. His years of work on climate communication and disaster preparedness were instantly lost when his organization’s website and all related email accounts were deleted.
When we first connected, I was surprised by his lack of anger or resentment. Instead, he was in a state of shock and despair. B
“Honestly, I was so stunned at first that I didn’t respond with anger,” he told me. “I was shocked seeing the destruction of so much vital information, and the potential deadly impacts of that.”
His colleagues responded in different ways. Some went public, angrily denouncing the government, and faced punishment.
Others were lost in their grief. One tragically ended his life.
Luke knew he wanted to turn all of it into something positive. But he had spent his entire career devoted to national organizations focused on climate data collection, projections, and helping the U.S. government plan preparedness programs.
As we talked about what he longed for, something surprising emerged.
He realized that what he really wanted to do was find a way to protect his community.
Luke explained how he was recognizing that resilience was going to come down to a matter of each community building its own resources, networks, and skills. Rather than focusing on reports and presentations, he wanted to sit down and talk to the people who lived near him about how they could work together.
“I know the value of the big-picture plans, but I longed to work alongside my neighbors.”
Sometimes a shock can invite us to get more intentional. Luke found a way to build personal and community resilience right where he lived.
“Choosing to go hyper-local invited me to step away from political differences,” he told me recently. “Things have come together in ways that still astound me. My neighbors are good people, and I am truly honored to work together to make our community stronger.”
Luke’s experience is not unique. In fact, most of the clients I have worked with have created a project that directly serves those in their local community.
And many clients who have lost their big-picture jobs due to political shifts are finding new meaning and relevance by bringing their knowledge and skills to community-building projects close to home.
Another client, Alicia, turned her job loss into a whole new life.
“I was shattered when our publication lost its funding,” she told me three months after we worked together. “But it woke me up in a way that allowed me to clearly see what would continue to be challenging, and what was feeling possible. It definitely prepared me to lean into my longing!”
Right after we worked together, she moved across the country to live with her mother, who required assistance. “I know all the tropes about living at home after the age of 30,” she said, “but honestly, it has been so much fun! Living alone made me hold all the hardship by myself. Laughing with my mom and my friends here has been incredibly healing. And as you know, this move has changed everything for me.”
Because when Alicia moved back home, she reached out to friends from high school and college who were doing climate-related work. She offered to help them with their storytelling in videos, articles, and on their websites. In the process, she formed a creative lab of like-minded community members who pooled their talents to strengthen the small companies, non-profit organizations, and projects that are focused on regenerative practices.
“I believe a lot of young adults have this same longing to feel rooted and supported. We are encouraged to go out and experience the world and be independent, and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to do that. It changed how I see, think, and write about the present and the future.
“But giving myself the permission to listen to my longing opened me to what I was missing. Having fewer expenses allows me to feel more grounded. Helping my mom with the garden (something she can no longer do) has been like having my own gardening coach, and now I gravitate toward other gardeners in my community. I wake up every day feeling so grateful that I made this move and chose to create something that supports those in my hometown.”
We often think of our longings as frivolous, unrealistic, or inappropriate.
But they are gleaming doorways that beckon to us for a reason.
Even when we do not actively pursue them, our longings hold valuable information that can help us see what is meaningful to us.
Luke, Alicia, and many others have chosen to trust what their longings are telling them. They took small steps toward that distant door that kept shining like a beacon in the darkness.
PROMPT
Do you have a longing to feel rooted and supported?
What small step can you take to explore that right where you are?
INVITATION
What invitations might you notice to start a conversation today?
Thank you for being here!
I so appreciate you and your interest in learning about the power of longing.
If you're feeling overwhelmed by all that's happening in the world and in your own life right now, I would love to hear from you.
I invite you to start a conversation with me here.
Read more CASE STUDIES HERE