What We Need to Do Now

These stressful times require that we stay human, support each other and do what we can

I was talking with a friend the other day about how we’re coping in these times — or not. Some of us just aren’t.

There’s so much to cope with: witnessing an ongoing genocide, environmental devastation, nuclear brinkmanship, the cost of living, the housing crisis, mis- and disinformation, strained relationships with family and friends, and the inevitable challenges life throws at us.

How do we cope when things are overwhelming?

What do these crazy times require?

When I ask myself this question, the answer that comes to me is: sane and grounded human beings.

How do we go from being stressed to being sane and grounded?

As Chris Hedges says in this talk, we have a moral obligation to stand up for peace and decency. Despite the pressure of greater society, of mainstream media and of the many who are still sipping the kool-aid, we have to do everything we can to assert our values into day to day life, the geopolitical realm, and everything in between.

Why the outgoing Biden administration is doing all it can to start the next world war is beyond me.

It has given Ukraine permission to use American missiles to strike targets deep inside Russian territory—an acknowledged act of war. And Ukraine has promptly used them. Russia has retaliated with its powerful Oreshnik missile, which is impossible to intercept because of its incredible speed and ability to make evasive maneuvers.

In other words, the west has no way of defending itself against these missiles if any western nation decides to attack Russia.

The world is changing before our eyes, as described in Azra Dale’s latest post, whose site I highly recommend. We have to be aware of this — our shifting geopolitical reality, and the violence inflicted on the rest of the world by western countries — and respond appropriately.

As Azra said in a comment, “We appear to be amidst the breakdown from which we will breakthrough and shift into new ways of being on all levels.”

This moment requires that we show up fully, ready and able to act. And act we must! Whether its writing, speaking out, going to demonstrations, discussing our situation with others, boycotting or all of the above plus some. These are incredibly dangerous times.

Is anyone else questioning absolutely everything about our western culture right now? I just saw this beautiful video which questions the erasure of Palestinian culture, and it brought up the shame so many immigrants feel about their origins upon moving to a western country.

This includes my family, immigrants or children of immigrants on both sides. So much was lost: languages, culture, traditional wisdom. And what do we end up with? A culture that looks down on us, commits genocide and wages war with our tax dollars, ravages the planet, pits us against each other, makes life unaffordable, and tries to turn us into fascists.

Maybe we need to tap into what we know of the cultures we came from, that our parents and grandparents were shamed out of passing along to us. And maybe we need to learn from each other, and each of our traditions.

I wonder how our ancestors dealt with hostile situations in the past? What can we learn from them?

I think something people shared was a deeper sense of community. That’s something that we need to develop if we’re going to survive this critical time. We need each other now more than ever.

How can we offer mutual support? How do we create informal social safety nets in our communities?

And how do we help each other to stay calm and grounded enough to do what needs to be done, even when we don’t know exactly what that is.

Some of the things might be continuing what we’re already doing and not burning out. Simple things like listening deeply, feeding each other, helping out when we can. Connection and support help us to stay sane.

I’d like to share a recording of a talk by Jack Kornfield that helped me. When I went to bed the night I listened to it, I had an anxiety attack. This probably doesn’t sound good, but it helped me to get in touch with my emotions, even though they were uncomfortable. It made me realize that with everything going on, I feel numbed out quite a bit. What’s going on is so overwhelming, it’s hard to allow all the feelings that come up.

Probably what we need to do will be different for everyone. I like this short TedTalk that helps people figure out how they can best contribute. It’s about environmental activism, but could easily be applied to any kind of activism.

This time, although highly disturbing, is rich in is meaning. Our actions right now carry a lot of weight. Refusing to scapegoat others; working towards peace, trying to end the genocide in Gaza and other wars, making sure we are getting our news from trustworthy sources, helping each other through, perhaps reclaiming some lost skills and identities that our dominant western culture has discouraged: all these things will help.

Because what we do now is the foundation of the kind of life we’re all transitioning to. If we get through these times, it’ll be because we’ve learned to work together, developed trust, and kept our wits about us. We will have learned to apply our skills and be resourceful together. What we do now matters profoundly. We’re blazing the trail to the future, and the journey shapes the destination.

What do we want to reclaim? What do we want to let go of? How do we change the trajectory of the west?

Who will we be when we make it to the other side of this treacherous time? Every decision we make will define who we are, and our future together.

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I love the BDS campaign and the effect it’s having on Israel’s economy.

Here's an excellent list of products from Israel: https://boycott.thewitness.news/browse/1

Here's a way to help others not in your bubble to boycott Israel: https://www.cjpme.org/stickies_2024_en

And here's where you can support Palestine by buying a keffiyeh: https://www.hirbawi.ps/