I hope you’ve watched the interview with Jane Goodall on Netflix. It was purposefully released only after her death. That gave her permission to talk intimately about herself and to name the major perpetrators of brutality and ignorance in the world: Musk, Trump, Putin, Netanyahu and Xi. She’d like to put them all in one of Musk’s spaceships and send them off to some unexplored planet. Bravo!
One reason I’ve been unable to write these newsletters in the last few months is an inner struggle between hope and despair. Goodall tells us the world is in the most precarious state since the Second World War. The News is all about violence, war, famine, lies, and the abuse of power. How are we to protect a tiny flickering flame of hope in the face of a tornado of evil. How do we not give in to despair?
Jane Goodall was a beacon of hope, a nurturer of the flame. She cared deeply about animals, the environment and the well-being of human beings on our fragile home, this Earth. Jane never gave up the fight, never lost her calm in the face of antagonism. She just kept forging onward, pursuing a vision of compassion and connection.
I believe in that vision and on the whole my life is joyful and tranquil. Of course, as a white male in this society, I am privileged—not subject to the horrors of war or the abuse experienced by immigrants and people of color. I live surrounded by vibrant nature that has not yet been exploited. For that I feel a deep gratitude, but with it comes a nagging pain and outrage at the injustice and suffering caused by those in power.
It is not right—and we should know it is not right. In the face of so much inhuman destruction, it is hard to resist the urge to rant and rage–but that does not change a thing. Without self-awareness, rage turns inwards into a feeling of despondent hopelessness; anger becomes apathy.
We cannot all be activists like Jane Goodall. However, we each have the capacity to practice simple acts of compassion and connection and do whatever we can for the world. When we embrace the goodness of life, when we share our love for people and nature in words and deeds, then we push back against the corrosive darkness of the collective Shadow. In that way, we hold to hope and reject despair.
I have some simple mottos that help me:
- No whining, no complaining.
- Know what is happening in the world, but don’t get sucked in.
- Ask each day, what is this day for?
- Practice being more loving and compassionate.
Thank you Roland. I, too, balance despair and hope. Will respond more later. I am in a dentist’s office right now. Attend to your wellbeing as I am with my teeth. Although I grind them with what trump and his mafia are doing. Goodall stays stay on the good side.
A follow up. I have always enjoyed your writing, Roland. Hope you find yourself at least tiptoeing back into that.
I like Anne Lamont (Lamott?).
Hope begins in the dark,
the stubborn hope
that if you show up and do the right thing,
the dawn will come.
You wait, and watch, and work,
You don’t give up.
Of the three gifts, faith, hope and love, hope has always been by bedrock. With the chaotic incoherence of Trump and his mafia, bleakness and despair do come. And hopelessness. But as Mr. Rogers’ sage advice goes, Look for the helpers. That is where the healing path goes.
Your usually buoyant spirit has made you one of the good helpers. Even when the clouds appear, there is a tenacity to draw on that resilience which you have. Gardening has taught you that along with introspection.
I do balance despair and hope. And have said so many times re. the administration, “this too shall pass.” (You know that old story that ends with that phrase?)
Hope mixed with gratitude can go a long way. May your way be strengthened as you walk it.
I am mostly well, given the usual stressors in personal, social, national, and global issues. One of the buoys for me right now has been reading and re-reading “My Friends,” a book by Backman. Truly a gift of insight, wonder, grief, and humor. If you are into reading, the top of my list.
Affectionately,
Alan
Thank you Alan for the inspiration and quotes. I like Anne Lamott–quirky and real yet profound. I ask myself in times of trouble, “What is this for?” In the short history of humankind, the evolution of consciousness and compassion has always gone in fits and starts: lots of reversals and then periods of a growth spurt. We are in a period of reversal. Hopefully it will be followed by a leap forward in human kindness. We live in hope.
So good to read from you, Roland. The first sentence of the letter I sent to the Open Forum of the daily camera, is “Who is against compassion?” It is promoting the Issue of 1B in the November election. Increase of mental health resources. We MUST live in hope.
And, I am asking if you are willing to talk with me and our INMI editor of our blog, “Connections for Wellbeing: Stories for the Health Journey.” The blog you have written “Hope and Despair,” would be wonderful as a blog we could send out to our 1400 plus subscribers which goes out once a month. Interested?
I’ll be in touch.