Hope for troubling times

Or, how to use your anxiety for good

As you amble on through life brother, whatever be your goal, keep your eye upon the doughnut, and not upon the hole. Every time I saw my grandfather, he offered this message.

My friends, the hole in our world is gaping at the moment. It feels impossible to ignore.

We’re watching the United States fracture. We’re watching the effects of fear succumb to an inability for us to think critically. We’re watching families, friends, communities, and entire nations lose the ability to find connectivity. We’re watching the rich grasp for the illusion of power with every fiber of their being. We’re watching the corporations, often treated better than humans, continue pillaging the planet for profit. We’re watching the planet, our Earth, respond with Arctic blasts and heat waves, droughts, fires, hurricanes. We’re watching species disappear and children being swallowed by technology.

The hole of humanity gapes at us.

And yet…

I cannot accept that this is it. I will not accept that there is no hope. Maybe it’s my fatal flaw to be an optimist like my grandfather. He was a child of the Depression, a Jew who, by luck of birth, survived World War Two simply because his parents had the luck to escape Austria before the stars were distributed. He watched nuclear bombs crash on innocent people and the “greatest generation” become culprits in environmental degradation. And yet, he woke up every morning, thanking his God for another day on this Earth.

He believed that the best meal he ever had was the one in front of him. He believed in only using what he needed, reusing everything from wood scraps to wrapping paper. He potted the medical marijuana he grew for his second wife during her cancer treatments in take out containers. He never stopped trying to bring a smile to anyone he met’s face.

In the end of his life, he spent hours reading each word of the Los Angeles Times, awed by the changing world around him. After he digested the stories of bombs and wars, famines and droughts, he’d do his three S’s (shit, shower and shave), burn some toast, and head out to his garage workshop to build something of worth. He once told me that what kept him alive was having something to do every day.

We, my friends, are not at a loss for what to do. We might not have time, or energy, or we just don’t know where to start. Or maybe, as Greta Thunberg recently said on Instagram, we all want to do something, but we don’t know what, and we don’t want to take charge.

Yet, I’ve seen so many of you taking charge in your lives and kicking ass. So many of you are working full time, nursing sick kids, siblings, and parents, teaching your kids, washing dishes, taking care of your own mental health, and still, you’re able to make sourdough starter, or knit masks, get out of bed in the morning. Every day you’re doing more than you ever imagined possible. I see you.

My friends, it’s time to rebrand our actions as acts of hope.

Choosing Hope

When we choose to believe that we can change, that we can make a difference, our actions change. We don’t spend hours scrolling through other people’s lives on TikTok or Instagram. Instead we use IG and TikTok to make change—I mean, can we give a shout out to the K-Pop youth who used social media to rock Trump’s campaign rally; or the IG activists sharing photos of the Capitol invaders to help ID them!

This week, my friends, we’re going to choose optimism. You can be angry and afraid—I sure am!—but let’s find ways to use it for good?

Here are some examples that inspired me this week:

Judd Legum of Popular Information single handedly has flipped the script on politics. He and his assistant “contacted 144 corporations and asked if they would continue to support the Republican members of Congress who objected to the certification of the Electoral College vote.” And now, dozens of corporations have chimed in saying they will no longer financially support government officials who supported the invasion.

Emily Atkin reports in her newsletter “Heated” that more and more corporations are divesting from fossil fuels in 2020 than ever! Gotta give a shout out to my employer, the UC system, for being the largest university system to fully divest from fossil fuels.

These are real people using their voices to take action. They aren’t going out into the world and putting themselves in danger—they are simply speaking up and sparking action because they have hope that they can make a difference.

This week’s challenge

Recently, I interviewed Peter Hjemdahl, co-founder and chief marketing officer of RePurpose Global, an organization that offers plastic offsetting to fund innovative solutions to plastic pollution for this piece. He said that as humans we make “thousands of micro purchase decisions every day and every one can be a little bit better.” He explained that corporations change their ways “because consumers ask them to.”

He told me to tell you to use your social media time for good.

“Every single month,” he added, “send an Insta DM to your favorite brand and ask, What are you doing about this? Customer feedback is tracked. Three comments asking the brand to go plastic neutral or use biodegradables goes up the ranks to customer service, to marketing team. Your ask makes a world of difference. We, as consumers, can make a difference.”

So, here’s your task this week, friends, use your social media, or online surfing addition for good. DM or email your favorite brand(s) asking them to be better. If you’re pissed about plastic, bug them until they change their packaging. If you want them to support government officials that will actively take climate action, then tell them that they work for us. They won’t know you care unless you tell them. Corporations and politicians are the same. They follow the money.

Speak up. Use your voice for good. Let’s help each other keep our eyes on the doughnut, not the hole.

And let us know what you did! Tag me on socials, and I’ll share your awesome actions. Leave a comment, or email me with a screenshot.

Thanks for showing up, my friend. Until next week.