What the hell 2020?
To say that 2020 has been a difficult year, is a severe understatement. Every year, we are faced with new challenges — relationship problems, financial struggles, loved ones passing away or an episode of illness. Compound the usual struggles with a global pandemic, an important and emotional movement fighting for justice and equality, climate-change enhanced wildfires ravaging our forests and destroying the habitats of millions of animals as well as our homes, explosions decimating cities and an international hunger crisis killing millions of people, and you have got a real shit storm of a year.
And on top of that, America is disgraced by the most utterly incompetent leader.
Depressing? Yea. Overwhelming? Definitely.
Hopeless? Maybe not.
I have always said that I am an optimist and a realist. But being a realist these days, and looking at the state of the world empirically, is leaving little room for much positivity. My 92 year old grandma tested positive for COVID, my partner is off tirelessly fighting the wildfires that are burning our state down, our community and world is going on 6 months of social isolation, and every day as I start my (now remote) job to help one business at a time take small steps to be more sustainable, I watch as our government pretends the climate crisis is fake and seeks to to further destroy our environment. Just recently, Trump finalized plans to open up 1.6 million acres of some of the last pristine wilderness on this planet to more oil drilling - reminding me how insignificant my power is to determine the fate of the planet when ignorant leaders and corrupt politics prevail.
But I am still one of the incredibly lucky ones. I have an enormous amount of things to be grateful for, and remind myself of that every. single. day. People from all over the world have it much, much worse.
So what do we do? What is one individual supposed to do to make a difference? How do we help to make a POSITIVE change in a world that is in such dire need of some goodness, and hope.
I don’t really know if I have the answer. Because I don’t think there is one answer. But I have taken the time to compile some ideas and resources that I have found to be stepping stones to positive change. Perhaps if everyone took it upon themselves to act in ways that better impacted themselves, their community, the oppressed, and the environment - then maybe, that collective effort could have a massive impact.
One year ago, if you had told just about anyone that the entire world could mobilize in a matter of weeks to shut down businesses and entire economies, shelter in their homes and convert all of our social and work interactions to virtual communication - they would have thought you were insane.
A virus, an organism so tiny that we can’t even SEE it, had the ability to shake our entire world. Something so small that it fits inside a drop of water and travels invisibly through the air, has us cowering in our homes, closing our businesses and uprooting life as know it. But it isn’t hopeless, and how we respond to challenges ultimately determine who we are.
This list is far from exhaustive - but here are some small things that I have found are meaningful and impactful little ways to do something instead of nothing. And just remember, that it’s not about being perfect, it’s about making progress:
Personal Health:
Take a break from your screens (phones, computers, TV). I can’t tell you how much I need this and how much it helps, especially because I work on a computer nearly 40 hours a week.
Spend some time in nature: Go for a hike, a surf, a walk, a run, sit on a beach or in a park or in the forest. Try to go somewhere where the abundance of plants outnumbers the humans.
Be OK with feeling like shit for a bit. Life is all about the ups and downs - just so long as you recognize that your down isn’t going to last forever. Accept how you are feeling, embrace it and be ready to let yourself move past it. It is okay to not always be happy, and don’t surround yourself with people who make you feel guilty for that.
Write it down. Maybe this will help you, maybe it won’t. But I have found that my thoughts can be whirling around in my head, making me feel overwhelmed and confused. Writing them down, whether it is journaling, writing a song, a poem, or a string of curse words - whatever makes you feel better.
Do what YOU need. I can’t tell you what activities, people, or things make you feel better. Maybe it is listening to music, maybe it is sitting in silence. Maybe it is pushing your limits on a hike, or doing yoga, cooking, taking a hot shower, reading a book, woodworking in your yard, facetiming a friend. There is no one size fits all for self-care and for good mental health. Do what you’ve got to do.
Environment:
Consume less: Buy less plastic (see my Sustainability page for how to go plastic free and WHY), use less energy (turn lights and appliances off, drive less and walk or bike more), use less water… and basically just don’t buy shit you don’t need.
Buy local: Shop at local stores, support small businesses, buy produce from local farmers. The environmental costs of transporting goods is massive. Amazon? I know it is quick and easy, but the carbon emissions from Amazon are massive, so try to make that a last resort. Buying local is all around better, and also helps to put money back into your own community.
Use less fossil fuels: Drive less, bike more and carpool. Use less energy in your homes. Buy less plastic (a petroleum byproduct). Support Green Businesses and companies that are dedicated to protecting the environment.
Start a garden :) This is more for fun. But home grown food is not only 10x better than store bought, it also reduces the demand for produce purchased from far away places.
VOTE: We need people in office who care about our people and our planet - vote for your kids’ generation. Because the policies we make for the environment over the next ten years, will affect the rest of their lives. We cannot leave the next generation with an ocean filled with more plastic than fish, polluted air and a climate that makes growing food impossible in many places. I won’t say who to vote for, but I urge you to vote for candidates that will put the health of our planet and our people as a priority.
Social Justice:
Become educated. Here are just a couple resources that I have started to dive into or that have been recommended to me. I am trying to be more educated on black history in America and I think the most important part is to make it a constant learning process. It is important to keep staying involved and strive for social justice, and learn from our black leaders and our black peers:
Podcast: 1619
Documentary: 13th
Book: White Fragility
Sign the petitions supporting black lives matter