Denise J Herman

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What is possible?

Denise Herman

Hello! Welcome to the next edition of my weekly habit of sharing.

Last week I sent just one article written by George Packer of The Atlantic that I think articulates the crisis of our time. This pandemic is like low tide, right? The treacherous terrain below the surface of our (polluted) national waters stretches out before us in full view. “The coronavirus didn’t break America. It revealed what was already broken.”

Like most of us, I struggle with it all. Political corruption, greed, injustice, social division, hate, climate crisis…the list goes on. And as a friend who read this article told me, “It’s a great article—but it’s singing to the choir…the only people who read that article are you and me and people who think like us…nothing is going to change.” It’s easy to feel helpless and hopeless.

But.

The world is a mysterious place and possibilities are actually unlimited. For all the malignant forces in our social, cultural and political fabric, we also have people—so many people—who offer solutions and possibilities for all of us to do better. We ourselves can each do so much better if we choose. So that’s what I want to focus on this week. What is possible?

  1. Consumers could prioritize sustainable business practices and encourage leaders like these 50 socially responsible CEOs. And wow, we could we use more enterprises like this one that creates denim to end poverty. (I was SO inspired by this podcast interview with the founder, James Bartle.)

  2. We could join this growing organization that is planting 8 billion trees and actually—truly—save the planet.

  3. What restaurants have to deal with right now is heartbreaking—but what might rise from the ashes?

  4. This podcast interview with Mark Cuban…Wow. Just wow. Talk about what is possible! And this article with Stacy Abrams. More wow. Double and triple wow. Democracy is possible.

  5. And how about possibilities right where we are? The transformation of despair into hope is alchemical work, creative work… And this On Being podcast: A Life Worthy of Every Breath So beautiful—Enjoy!

Peace and joy until next week—

Denise

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