How Do We Cope with the State of the World?

This week I attended a web session facilitated by a group called “DC Peace Team.” It was a space for RESULTS volunteers like me to share how global conflict affects how we show up as advocates.

Image: Tourists in South Korea shield with
umbrellas against stormy weather by the sea.

Our facilitators asked us for a “weather report,” a summary of how we felt about the state of global conflict put into a weather metaphor. I think people find it easier to talk about the weather than share such personal feelings immediately with strangers. The reports varied, but none of them were sunny! We had “stormy,” “in the eye of a hurricane,” and even “cloudy with a chance of meatballs." I described myself as living in the musical Hadestown, where the weather is either oppressively hot so that I can barely function on my normal issues (like poverty or gun violence) or frozen because I just don’t know what to do on unfamiliar issues that seem out of my control (like Ukraine or Gaza).

We talked through a lot of more specific feelings, but I’ll cut to the end to give you takeaways I found most helpful to get moving again.

Remember you are ONE

“I am only one, but I AM one.
I can’t do everything, but I can do SOMETHING.
I won’t let what I can’t do interfere with what I CAN do.“

Image: Cindy (bottom left, pink jacket) standing in front
of the US Capitol as one of many ONE Campaign activists.

Our session leader shared this quote, and it resonated with me. It’s a paraphrased quote by American author and Unitarian minister Edward Everett Hale (sometimes mis-attributed to Anne Frank) in 1902, but it rings as true now in 2024. Sometimes the magnitude of problems before us can lead to that "frozen" or "moving through molasses" feeling. But if I can free myself from the misconception that I’m supposed to do everything and remember that I am part of a large movement of people all working together…then I can refocus on doing my part. This is not entirely new to me. I once wrote a blog about how pulling on my own little thread of justice helps unravel the whole cloth of oppression. In that post, I said, "Don't become so frustrated about how you can't solve everything, that you fail to do something." Still, a new quote or metaphor can breathe new life into an old truth.

If you'd like a song along these same lines, I recommend Pat Humphries' song "In This Life," which contains the lyrics, "I am one, but one of many single voices in the silence that refuse the lies that bind us. We are worthy, we are safe."

Celebrate and amplify good news

When it seems like the world is full of bad news all around and then a piece of good news finds its way to you…celebrate! Share it with others who might need that boost, too! Maybe it’s something personal, like your child graduating from high school. Or, maybe it’s something huge and global like yesterday’s win for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance that RESULTS, Shot@Life, and the ONE Campaign collectively campaigned for this year!

Image: Cindy smiling in front of a Shot@Lifebackdrop
holding a sign for Sustainable Development Goal #3:
Good Health and Well-being

First Lady Dr. Jill Biden announced a U.S. pledge of at least $1.58 billion over five years to Gavi. An early, increased pledge from the U.S. was NOT a guarantee even a few months ago. Advocates building bipartisan backing in Congress played a HUGE role in this. With major threats to global aid funding, a bold increased pledge to Gavi is an extraordinary sign of commitment...even more so in an election year!

It’s the first time the U.S. has ever made a 5-year pledge, the largest U.S. figure ever, and it is the first government pledge to kick off the road to Gavi’s replenishment, making it a really important signal to other donor countries. Gavi has already reached 1 billion children with lifesaving vaccines, and now have a plan in place to reach ANOTHER 1 billion children in HALF the time. They'll reach more kids, with more new vaccines, faster.

Writing this blog and telling you about the Gavi pledge is part of how I’m celebrating and amplifying today!

Start small, but start now

One of my long-time fellow RESULTS advocates reminded me of a quote from our colleague Nick Arena who said,

"Don't wait to be inspired to take an action. If you want to be inspired, take an action!" 

I find that if I can summon the energy to take even a small, easy action (like writing a two line postcard to Congress), that will usually kindle a little momentum to move me toward a bigger action (like writing a letter to the editor or organizing a bunch of people to write letters). Go ahead. Impress yourself! 

Do something for yourself that benefits no one but you

This one is about your own mental health. I picked up the phrasing from my new friend and fellow St. Louis activist/author Ben V. Greene, author of “My Child is Trans, Now What?: A Joy Centered Approach to Support." At his book launch talk, he responded to a question about activist burnout with this advice and added that for him that might look like Dungeons & Dragons. For me, it might be a glass of wine and a puzzle or an ‘80s arcade game. Whatever it is for you, set aside time to do the thing that regulates your senses and restores your equilibrium.

Cartoon by Gemma Correll 2022 of
a person trying to relax.

I saw a cartoon from Gemma Correll’s Instagram of a stressed out person trying to relax and thinking, “There must be a way of relaxing that’s more productive.” Ha! That’s totally been me as a multi-tasking, stressed-out mom-activist. But NO!...unless you're a crafter. I do relax by quilting and sewing and get immense satisfaction from a finished product. So, crafters get a pass on that one if we get joy just in the thing's making.

Share your thoughts

I hope this post is helpful to folks weathering their own storms, but it’s not a comprehensive list at all! So, you tell me. What do you do to help yourself get moving again when you feel overwhelmed by the state of the world?

Image: Book cover

Buy an autographed copy of "From Changing Diapers to Changing the World: Why Moms Make Great Advocates and How to Get Started" at my website www.changyit.com or order it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any independent bookstore!