The great thing about the dilemma we’re in is we get to re-imagine every single thing we do. There isn’t a single thing that doesn’t require a complete remake. There are two ways of looking at that. One is: oh my gosh, what a big burden. The other way, which I prefer, is: What a great time to be born! What a great time to be alive! Because this generation gets to essentially completely change the world. ~Paul Hawken
Last night, looking up at the Grand Conjunction, I felt it again.
Hope.
The last four years have been a cacophony of misery, anxiety, anger and fear. It’s not been easy to maintain our sanity, and nearly impossible to achieve progress.
But we made it through, friend.
It’s not over. But we made it through a pretty wild and crazy four years. So last night, as I looked up at the stars and tried to convey the significance of two shimmery dots on the horizon to a shoeless 8-year-old who just wanted to go read another chapter of Dragon Masters, I had to pinch myself.
What a time to be alive.
What a time to be aware.
It’s not enough just to be physically present – you need an awareness of the consequence of the moment. You need the presence of mind to recognize you can make a difference. And you need the tools to make your mark.
You’ve got that awareness, that presence, those tools. What you do with them is, of course, up to you. But I hope you’ll use them to absolutely change the world.
Because you can.
Someone asked me recently why I don’t just throw in the towel. There’s so much to fix, they said. It’s like throwing a deck chair off the Titanic. (For the record, I am certain I would have thrown a deck chair off of the Titanic.)
But, see, there’s a blessing there – it’s hiding, but it’s there. There’s so much to fix that we need a complete overhaul of our entire world. And that restructuring is already happening right before our eyes. We have the amazing opportunity to be part of it.
So, I’m heading into the coming year with hopeful excitement.
I hope you feel it, too.
This is normally when I say “let’s get to work,” but with the shortened week and the Christmas holiday, it’s going to prove tough to reach folks this week. And I think we all deserve a moment to breathe. So take good care of yourself, and I’ll see you on the other side of the holiday.
And if you celebrate Christmas and are still looking for a gift (or if, like me, some of yours aren’t arriving on time), here are some ideas:
World Wildlife Fund’s Adopt an animal HERE.
Heifer International; from a flock of chicks to irrigation pumps, Heifer has lots of options to choose from. Your donation will go toward providing a family with livestock or supplies. Go HERE.
Climeworks: Climeworks is pioneering Direct Air capture of CO2. If we are going to hit our climate targets, we’re going to need to be creative. They take CO2 from the air and sink it in the ground (or repurpose it). Pretty brilliant, and at scale could be a game changer. Go HERE.
International Rescue Committee (IRC) provides support to refugees internationally. Go HERE.
UNICEF has a Charity and Dedication Gift site, so you can personalize a card and send it (by email or printout). Go HERE.
WHEW! GO, TEAM! SUPER PROUD OF YOU!
P.S.: Why don’t you make someone’s day and send this pep talk to a friend or two? I bet they need it.
If you’d like to sign up to get this pep talk and action list in your in-box each week, you can do that here. Welcome, friend!
P.P.S.: If you want to help support this work you can do so via Patreon at
https://www.patreon.com/smalldeedsdone or via paypal at https://www.paypal.me/smalldeeds
My deepest gratitude in advance.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for writing. I read and respond to every e-mail. (Really! I really do!) We’re in this together. Don’t you forget it.
Small Deeds Done 