Pat Taub
“I’m terrified the escalating war in the Ukraine will become nuclear.”
“I’m frightened of the climate my children/grandchildren will inherit.”
“It’s so depressing to see abortion rights being chipped away.”
These are among the comments I hear from friends, who, like me, worry about the future. We live in scary times. We are running out of time to address global warming, peace in the Ukraine and to counter the right-wing attack on women and the poor. But despair isn’t our only response. By cultivating hope we don’t have to fear the future.
Teary students from the Sunrise Movement pleading with Nancy Pelosi to address climate change (2018)
Noted Buddhist teacher Joanna Macy, emphasizes that engaging with fear is the path to becoming hopeful:
“People fear that if they let despair in, they’ll be paralyzed because they are just one person. Paradoxically, by allowing ourselves to feel our pain for the world, we open ourselves up to the web of life, and we realize that we’re not alone.”
“We need to grow a sense of solidarity with others and to elaborate a whole new sense of what our resources are and what our power is.”
Joanna Macy, the Buddhist thinker and activist
In other words, the world becomes less scary when we can join with cohorts, who share our vision for a better world. I’m reminded of Ralph Nadar’s clarion call, “There are more of us than there are of them.” People are waking up and organizing to create change. I’m cheered by the growing anti-war movement and swelling labor union actions, not to mention all the young activists working for a livable planet and abortion rights.
Psychotherapist Miriam Greenspan sends a hopeful note when she preaches that engaging with fear allows us to open our hearts and be better able to connect to the best part of others, and ourselves. She advocates coming together to heal our communities, rather than locking ourselves into a bubble of individualism and denial.
In a similar vein, another Buddhist teacher, Joan Halifax worries that our screen culture limits our compassionate responses, isolating us from the world at large. Halifax urges us to get off our laptops and phones to join, in real time, community groups working for social justice.
Cell phones are an obstacle to community engagement in real time
Options abound for those wanting to participate in meaningful change. Among the national groups are the Sunrise teens, working for climate change; Elders Action Network, addressing climate change and social justice; Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights, started by young women taking their message to city streets; Rage Against the War Machine, advocating peace negotiations to end the Ukraine war with a national protest planned for March 18th.
For me, gratitude plays a big part in engaging with fear. When I face my fears and join with others in common pursuit, I feel hopeful, for which I am grateful. It’s like turning on a light in a dark room.
Another way I engage with fear is to remember all the ways history has been changed by small groups that evolved into movements. I derive inspiration from the Suffragettes, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Vietnam era anti-war movement, and the Standing Rock encampment.
Suffragettes carrying signs to recruit followers for a protest at the White House.
The Dalai Lama reminds us:
Compassion is not religious business. It is human business. It is not a luxury. It is essential for our peace and mutual stability. . . Compassion is the radicalization of our times.”
Let’s all become compassion radicals before it’s too late. We are on the verge of destroying ourselves unless we find a way to build a sustainable life together.
