Silently seeking hope

There’s so much stress, anger, tragedy, and noise going on in the world lately, and of course, it’s all turned up to a deafening roar online. It’s overwhelming to me.

It feels like hope, acceptance, and support are only a dim light at the end of an infinite dark tunnel.

And admittedly, it’s getting to me. The aggressive noise has silenced me, perhaps in an effort at self-protection. I literally feel muted, and finding the inspiration to write, blog, or even share is completely blocked. Consequently, I’ve been staying offline as much as possible.

Many other people feel the same way and have expressed their dismay, but I think Bryan Bruce says it most eloquently.

Here is an excerpt of Bryan’s FB post;

“I ran out of words this week.

Every time I wrote a sentence to describe the slow motion collision of social, economic and political forces that are simultaneously destroying and reshaping societies around the world, I would erase it .

Not “writer’s block” so much as “writer’s inadequacy” – feeling torn between using ‘revolution’ or ‘evolution’ to describe the events on my news feeds over the last few days.

I tried writing a list.

(An old trick I have when trying to find a pattern in an apparent chaos)

•America has an absentee President

•The murder of George Floyd. Black lives matter.

•Stock Markets are on the rise.

•Peaceful Whitehouse protest attacked by police so Trump can hold up a Bible for a photo op..

•Houses are selling again some below CV some ridiculously above.

•Worldwide Covid 19 is still killing thousands of people everyday .

•A second Virus wave is a real fear so our borders are closed….except, entertainment is suddenly deemed an essential industry and Hollywood moguls get a free pass.

•Essential workers who helped keep us alive during the lockdown still receive the lowest pay.

•China is back to a 90% economy.

•America has the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression.

•Locally there are a lot of empty shops, a sudden rash of ‘for lease signs’ on office and warehouse properties, and evidence of a hotel industry in trouble.

The list doesn’t help.

For every positive sign I find suggesting a new more egalitarian post-Covid19 world will emerge, contra- indicators reveal the vested interests in the old order are still very much alive and kicking.

So I try another old trick. The History review.

I ask myself – is this moment unique? Have we been here before?

Answer? Yes and no.

Yes -in some societies there have been moments of very rapid social change when the existing social order has been suddenly overthrown. The French, American and Russian revolutions being three obvious examples.

No – because, this time, whatever is happening is a global phenomenon made possible by the invention of the internet and global air travel – two technologies that have transformed our mental and physical world so that Queen Street is now just around our mental corner from Wall Street and a virus born in Wuhan today can fly to Washington or Wellington and be living in us tomorrow.

So where are the words to describe what is happening ?

Pandemics are not new.

Social chaos is not new.

The battle between Good and Evil is as old as human conscience.

Somehow, despite all our short comings as a species, we are still here.

Perhaps, in that, there is some hope.” Bryan Bruce

Yes, hope. It’s still there hanging on by a thread, but I think it will triumph in the end. It has to.

And we still have gracious content creators to help us to stay focused on hope.

People like Bryan from above and Jane Lurie, who created the following post;

Hope Springs Eternal

“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope. “

~Maya Angelou

Thank you, Bryan, Jane, and everyone who is still managing to show us hope.