In this week’s Good Stuff Letter: finding balance in troubled times…

Hi friends,

I don’t know about you, but I kind of freaked out this week when I heard that “the lungs of the planet” —the rainforests of the Amazon — are burning. The news and social media made it sound like planet earth apocalypse was upon us.

Reading further, though, it turns out the situation is hardly apocalpytic—yet. It’s bad. Very bad. This record year for Amazon fires reflects forest preservation policy reversal by the new, extreme right president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, which clearly puts the Amazon and the planet at threat in the too near future. But it’s not the end of the world, at least right this minute.

You can find links to some good articles below, but right now I don’t actually want to talk about the Amazon rainforests.

I want to talk about perceptions and emotions in these troubled times—and how to maintain some kind of balanced perspective.

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I am so sick of feeling constant panic, anger and fear! Aren’t you?

And I don’t even watch “the news” or any program about “the news”— which are all created with that very purpose.

It’s enough to just read about the events. Issue after issue, from climate crisis to U.S. concentration camps to mass shootings, increased hate crimes and more, it is hard to stay balanced and avoid falling head first into the darkness. But climate scientist John Foley shares a way in this blessing of an article. We can’t and shouldn’t avoid bad news—but we shouldn’t forget the good, either. Foley really helped keep me upright this week, that’s for sure.

“I’ve come to believe that the best place to live is precisely between two worlds — between the world of despair and frustration, which reminds us of the work we must do and the stakes involved, and the world of awe, wonder, hope, inspiration, and love, which refuels our minds and our hearts, and keeps us going.”

Yep, Anne would agree: t’s all about Both/And. Here’s Anne Lamott in her lovely essay, Show Up with Hope.

“I don’t presume to say what capital-T Truth is. But I do know my truth, and it’s this: Everyone I know, including me, has lived through devastating times at least twice, through seemingly unsurvivable loss. And yet we have come through because of the love of our closest people, the weird healing properties of time, random benevolence, and, of course, our dogs.”

For me, It’s helpful to remember that every event and situation we hear about is a story—the very definition of story is an account of people and events, real or imaginary. And the narrator who tells the story shapes our perceptions of what is happening. This story by CJ Hauser—which has gone viral—is all about claiming your own perceptions. (I loved this so much, I immediately read her first novel, The From-Aways, which is delightful (at the time of this writing just $1.99 on Kindle). And now I’m on to her latest book, Family of Origin. It has great reviews! I’ll let you know…)

But back to “news” stories, I know as we balance here on this tiny rope that is our lives, the full force of the internet is trying to blow us off balance. It’s important that we all check the narrators and compare their stories (it sure helped me get to the more complex truth of the Amazon)—and then share with others, especially with our children.

And we also have to check ourselves as narrators re-telling these stories to ourselves. Is it all really hopeless? OR…can we work for hope? (Especially when it feels most grim). Might we at least be happier if we talk to each other more?

Who tells us the story and how we are told the story and how we tell ourselves the story…I think reporting to ourselves and each other the stories that rely more on Both/And and less on Either/Or or Us/Them—just might keep us more balanced.

Here’s to more joy, laughter and peace—and also positive action in these troubled times.

Denise

P.S. Some stories about the Amazon fires:

The Amazon rainforest is on fire

Amazon burning not an oxygen problem

It’s really close: How the Amazon rainforest could self-destruct

Why Everything they say about the Amazon is wrong