A dear friend emailed me the other day, asking for help. She, like many people, finds these times troubling. “How does one manage one’s outrage and feelings of helplessness when we watch what’s going on in this country?” she asked.
Her father is a Holocaust refugee. Everything that is going on is hitting her…hard. Understandably hard. It’s hitting me hard too. It’s hard to see our country so polarized. It’s hard to see such lack of discourse. It’s hard.
I’ll share with you what I shared with her. I don’t know if it’s helpful, but it’s what gets me through.
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- I try to do good. I believe that every person I touch, every person I help, and every person who begins to see life and love – and chooses to live from love – will make a difference. If we all learn to fight the good fights AND to choose love and ease and joy, I have to believe that this crazy world will right itself.
- I try to donate my time, attention, money, and energy however I can. And to support those who have more time, attention, money, and energy to give right now than I do.
- I do believe that the “us versus them” mentality, and any kind of fundamentalist or rigid thinking, that is going on is very cult-like. I have said it a bazillion times and I will say it again, there is nothing more intoxicating than knowing you have the truth. Because therefore everyone else is wrong. This is why I believe so strongly in finding a way to come together to share truths. To find commonality. To bridge bridges.
- I try to pay enough attention that I know what’s going on but to not get so caught up in and obsessed about the news that it depresses me beyond hope. To notice but not stay with. To care but not let it convince me that all is lost.
- I connect with people. Over and over. Again and again. I believe human connection will always save us from ourselves. When we can connect as the family of humankind, when we can have compassion for and openness towards others, when we can realize we’re all in this together – well then, we’ll all be in this together.
I believe in the good of the human spirit. I believe in the beauty of people. I may be Pollyanna-ish, but I choose to (at least try to) see the best in people and situations around me. To see the best, to allow for the best, to hope for the best.
It’s all about connection.
I’d love to hear your thoughts, and please share this post with others if it resonates with you!
Photo by Everton Vila on Unsplash
