The Power of Hope in Harrowing Times

Recently it’s felt like every day brings with it a new disaster. We have storms, floods, fires and earthquakes, along with mass violence, terrorism, political instability and threats of war.

It’s a big planet. On any given day, there are plenty of places where people suffer. Sometimes we forget that, and it feels like disaster only happens to other people. We watch it on TV, and, if we feel moved, we crack open the wallet, just as we are cracking open a beer to watch the game. Now, even the world of sports is dominated by an argument much bigger than which team to root for, or which team will win.

Now, we watch as our friends on social media lose their homes, their loved ones, and their livelihoods. Rarely does a tragedy happen that we don’t immediately think of those we know who may be impacted.

Most of us are compassionate people. We care about what happens to others, and want to help when we can. Some of us are empathic people. We feel the suffering of others, even across the distance.

Those of us who so far have been lucky enough to stay largely unaffected have been deeply moved when we see stories of heroism. Even as folks are attacking each other with words and memes on social media, people in disaster zones are helping each other survive.

For those who have been directly impacted by this recent wave of disasters, life will never be the same. Whether personal tragedy is suffered by a single individual or by a group, in a private disaster or a public one, the need for healing, for finding a new normal, and finding spiritual peace in the face of loss, is the same for everyone.

The rest of us, we lucky ones, are suffering, too. One can never compare the wounds of a nation with the wounds of a bereaved individual. Yet, it must be said that, after storms, fires, shootings and terrorism, we are all hurting right now.

We are hurt by the threat of violence, and we are hurt to see so many suffer, and so many still in harm’s way.

The Uranus-versus-Pluto political divide that is expressing itself all over the globe hurts us too. Here in the US, and in many places abroad, we are divided in our opinions and beliefs, but all hurt by the lack of civility and our recent inability to find common ground.

If you are lucky enough to have your home still standing and your family safe, you may feel a bit silly for feeling anything but gratitude for your good fortune. You may even feel a sense of “survivor guilt” as you go about your daily activities while others are longing for a return to normalcy that may never come.

None of that denies the truth that it can be difficult to live your normal life and work your normal job and enjoy your normal activities when it feels like the world is in chaos.

At the same time, those of us who are able to continue normal life have a responsibility to do so. It’s in everyone’s best interest to keep the fabric of normal life intact.

I’m not a sports fan by any means, but waking up to the news that the Houston Astros had won the World Series filled me with a sense of spiritual joy. That’s because the win reminds us all that we could be underwater one day, and champions the next.

Sometimes dire circumstances give us a special kind of courage, and a deep desire, not only to survive, but to thrive. Our ability to have hope in the face of disaster is a strong weapon against defeat.

Whether we are grieving private loss or a public one, the bravest thing we can do in any grave situation is to keep on going. Our greatest defense is to live, to laugh, to plan for the future and to play to win in the face of doubt and uncertainty.

Staying positive isn’t about being grounded in denial, it’s about knowing the powerful force that positive, proactive energy always is.

Even when we feel powerless to make a difference, and even in the face of grief and tragedy, we must stay focused on a better future because that focus is the greatest light we can bring to any dark situation.

Sometimes the light we bring is a donation of resources for those in need. Sometimes it’s a kind word, or a smile. Sometimes it’s the willingness to work a little harder and try a little more.

Always, the light we bring is hope – the knowledge that, just as great tragedy can strike at any time, wonderful blessings are always equally possible. Even better, the energy with which we respond to tragedy can set the stage for great victory.

Have a Good Day!

I have always despised banality in language. Expected responses are boring, and often untrue. I remember, as a teenager, challenging my father, the minister, after hearing him exchange pleasantries with his congregants.  I knew the essence of those pleasantries were often untrue. He wasn’t “fine, thanks,” he had a million problems that I knew about, and they didn’t. It just didn’t seem honest or useful to me.

I feel differently now. I tell everyone to “have a good day” when I see them, whether I particularly like them, or not, just as my father did. I don’t do it to be polite.

I do it because I’ve realized the power of positive words and thoughts.

The phrase “Have a Good Day” has been used for centuries. Its counterpart, “Have a Nice Day”, is a newer construct. Both are now synonymous with “goodbye”. With the right inflection, both can be said sarcastically, in a way that makes us think a good day is exactly the opposite of what we are being wished.

These days, when I say “have a good day” to someone, I say it as a prayer, or a magical spell. It costs me nothing. If the three-fold law holds, my day will go well, too.

Perhaps the more we tell folks we are “fine, thanks,” even if we are truly not, the more energy we may have to be fine.

Wishing each other well is more than a simple courtesy. It’s a radical act of magick for world peace.

The more people having good days across the planet, the better the planet will be.

Have a Good Day!

The Problem with Nostalgia

Recently a tarot friend posted a meme on Facebook. It was a lovely picture of people riding bicycles in the sunset. The quotation on it was a simple question that went something like this. "How has society changed since you were a child?"

Many of us answered the question. A few answered the question very directly, without value judgments, mentioning technological developments like the personal computer and the cell phone.

I was shocked by the number of people who turned the question into an invitation to make a value judgment. Many gave answers that basically said, emphatically, that they believe society has changed for the worse. They cited things like more violence, less trust and less respect. No one quoted any actual statistics; it was all just their perception.

I was shocked by this for a number of reasons. First, the original poster is one of the most positive people I know. I also know a number of the people who answered, and had never thought of them as being "negative" people. The fact that they would so easily take such a quantitative question and leap into a qualitative negative assessment disturbed me.

Equally disturbing was the fact that people were so quick to decide that our society is "worse" now than it was in their childhoods. They couldn't actually give real statistics or specifics to back up their particular claims, even when I gently asked them questions like "How are our morals worse now?" and "In what way is there less respect now?" The answers across the board basically said "It just is," as if I must be blind not to have noticed these things myself.

Are there things about our present society that disturb me? Of course there are. Overall, do I think things are somehow worse now than they were when I was a child, say, forty-odd years ago? No, I don't; not at all.

Here's why. When I was a kid, sexism, racism and homophobia were much more prevalent than they are today. DDT threatened the very existence of the birds and the butterflies. Ricky beat Lucy every night on television and people thought it was funny. When I was in my twenties it was the height of the Cold War. Most of my compatriots and I feared our lives would be cut short any minute by nuclear war with the Soviet Union.

In my lifetime I have seen the fall of the Berlin Wall, Nelson Mandala transform from prisoner to president, and much greater sensitivity to diversity. Do we have problems in our current society that scare me? Of course we do. Do I miss my youth? Who doesn't? But I have to wonder why so many people seem to believe that we are moving in the wrong direction.

It seems to me this is nothing new. I remember people in the late 1960's and early 1970's shaking their heads and wanting to go back to the 1950's. I remember Deadheads in the 1980's wishing it were the 1960's instead. I shake my head at the medieval festivals that make the Dark Ages look like fun.

My mother used to say that distance improves our perception of things. We forget the bad and remember the good. In some ways, that's a good thing because it helps us heal. In other ways, it may be less helpful.

Our tendency to whitewash our history may cause us to long for the past, and value the past more than we value the present and the future.

Now, politicians are promising to "return the greatness of America" and call for us to "go back to the things that made our country great." I would like to vote for someone who wants to go forward to greatness, rather than backward.

I wonder, too, if the majority of us long for the past, how can we, as a society, create a positive future? And why are we so unwilling to look at the cold hard facts about our past and our present? Was there really less violence in the past, or was it just not reported? Is it possible that the internet and the 24-hour news cycle give us a more negative perception of our present when compared to a time when the national news was reported only once a day for half an hour?

Yes, times are tough. But what would happen if we were grateful for the wonderful things in our lives, both past and present? What if we looked to the future with hope, rather than with fear? What if we worked to change the problems in our society with an eye on the future, rather than on the past?

It may be time for us to override our tendency to forget the difficulties of the past. Instead, it might do us well to remember them and learn from them as we move forward to a better future.