I want to have hope too - not hopium - and I love the way you set this all out. Hope grounded in the actions available to us feels really important. Happy New Year, Gillian and Li'l Bean - you're two of my substack faves and I'm still pushing for Li'l Bean tee shirts ;)
Happy New Year to you, Sara. Thank you for your support; it means a heap coming from you as I find my feet pouring my thoughts into the world. T-shirts would be fun, wouldn’t they? I’ve just not had the brain space to imagine how, as they would have to be sustainable and aligned with my desire for a better world. Certainly, we don’t all just need more cheap merch! Any ideas? I saw the drag queen Pattiegonia (on IG) screen prints on secondhand shirts - I liked that idea but it is way more complex than drop-ship printing. I look forward to journeying with you again this year. xoxo
Thank you, this definition of hope is really helpful to me.
I had just booked a trip to LA for me and my daughters when the fires started, excited to see my friends, but also the city I love this spring. I haven’t been able to look at any drone footage yet. It’s just too devastating. So sorry you had to relive this trauma again.
I didn’t think the fires could still be going on come May, but reading your post I understand they most definitely could… we’ll see. Seeing the people we love is most important and this is just another reminder that if you really want to do something, you better get on with it. We had been talking about all the places we want to revisit, never considering some of those places might be gone.
Love this. Thank you. I read a quote by Richard Rohr a couple of days ago that I was reminded of when reading this post. I’ll try and find it as it resonated deeply with what you’ve said. My glimmers: super dark salty chocolate; a song sung for me on a voice memo from a friend; sparkly snow.
Also, I believe in hope else I wouldn't bother getting up and doing what I do every day. Every smile, every conversation, every act of kindness we experience is a sign of hope to ourselves, if not to someone else, that the world is full of humans that care.
Thank you for including me in your glimmers but special thanks to "helpers, care, bravery and community" that were part of the devestating LA fires story. Much peace. X
Hey Gillian I’m at the coast for the first time since those 2019 /20 fires … I hadn’t been able to bring myself to visit til now bc of the trauma. So many of my favourite places and friends homes destroyed. I was also in Canberra in 2003… yep. Both were terrifying. I’m listening to cicadas and kookaburras and children chatting now and in this moment I am at peace. I’m not sure about hope. For me it feels illusory. Hope has never been enough so your framing goals pathway and agency seem useful. Particularly the last 2. Goals ? Hmmm… in a world where we don’t have much control even goals seem
Tenuous but maybe it’s just the word that triggers me?! I prefer a broader question: What is mine to do? Or: what is my priority right now? Those questions for me are ones I can form in the present, not an uncertain future so feel more attainable. Then, I think the determining a pathway and reminding myself of my agency work!
Thank you as always for your glimmers and provocation! It’s wonderful to be able to discern our way forward by encouraging each other to think a little more deeply about our lives, times and responses!
I hope you enjoyed your coast trip! The good thing about the Australian bush is it sprouts back and fills out quickly in comparison to US/European forests that have to start again from seed. Things are looking good in all my favourite spots, even though the scars are still clear. I hear you with the word goal - that is the topic of my next post! Great minds think alike :) I’ve been thinking about what I want to achieve this year but been aware that goals are very concrete for uncertain times. Yes it is lovely to be able to bounce ideas around together. :)
I always find it especially touching when people from other countries follow events in the U.S. It's hard to ignore these fires (we hear about them when they happen in Australia too). I also have my own past story when my parent's house burnt down when I was an adult (the one I grew up in). Weirdly, a week before, I had the thought "In this day of better electrical construction who ever gets a house fire these days." I won't go into the details but the whole experience was surreal. You don't realize what you've lost until you realize you've lost it.
Thank you Gillian. Yep we lived through the 2019,20 fires up here in Northern Rivers NSW. I tell people the National and State Parks that surrounds here are beautiful..."except when they are on fire". We made it OK..the fire got within a kilometre. Certainly focused our attention! My glimer...beautiful summer rains...lots of them here. It is green, green, green. So beautiful.
Hi Ian, so glad it is green your way and no fires on the horizon! The years since 2020 have been uncharacteristically wet here - we are still mostly green too, which isn’t usual :)
I want to have hope too - not hopium - and I love the way you set this all out. Hope grounded in the actions available to us feels really important. Happy New Year, Gillian and Li'l Bean - you're two of my substack faves and I'm still pushing for Li'l Bean tee shirts ;)
Happy New Year to you, Sara. Thank you for your support; it means a heap coming from you as I find my feet pouring my thoughts into the world. T-shirts would be fun, wouldn’t they? I’ve just not had the brain space to imagine how, as they would have to be sustainable and aligned with my desire for a better world. Certainly, we don’t all just need more cheap merch! Any ideas? I saw the drag queen Pattiegonia (on IG) screen prints on secondhand shirts - I liked that idea but it is way more complex than drop-ship printing. I look forward to journeying with you again this year. xoxo
Thank you, this definition of hope is really helpful to me.
I had just booked a trip to LA for me and my daughters when the fires started, excited to see my friends, but also the city I love this spring. I haven’t been able to look at any drone footage yet. It’s just too devastating. So sorry you had to relive this trauma again.
I thought of you and your other favourite city! Hopefully, things will be coming back together by the time you visit. xo
I didn’t think the fires could still be going on come May, but reading your post I understand they most definitely could… we’ll see. Seeing the people we love is most important and this is just another reminder that if you really want to do something, you better get on with it. We had been talking about all the places we want to revisit, never considering some of those places might be gone.
It hits hard, doesn’t it? Fires here continued while we had no rain; as soon as the weather broke, everything settled down. xo
Let’s hope for rain soon. It really hardly ever does over there.
Love this. Thank you. I read a quote by Richard Rohr a couple of days ago that I was reminded of when reading this post. I’ll try and find it as it resonated deeply with what you’ve said. My glimmers: super dark salty chocolate; a song sung for me on a voice memo from a friend; sparkly snow.
Thanks Madeleine! Yum, dark choc and a song voice mail - I’ve never got one of those, how fun! I’ll look forward to the Richard Rohr quote.
Also, I believe in hope else I wouldn't bother getting up and doing what I do every day. Every smile, every conversation, every act of kindness we experience is a sign of hope to ourselves, if not to someone else, that the world is full of humans that care.
Yes! Humans who care are everywhere and a beautiful, valid reason for hope. Thank you!
Thank you for including me in your glimmers but special thanks to "helpers, care, bravery and community" that were part of the devestating LA fires story. Much peace. X
My pleasure! Thank you for my glimmer :)
Hey Gillian I’m at the coast for the first time since those 2019 /20 fires … I hadn’t been able to bring myself to visit til now bc of the trauma. So many of my favourite places and friends homes destroyed. I was also in Canberra in 2003… yep. Both were terrifying. I’m listening to cicadas and kookaburras and children chatting now and in this moment I am at peace. I’m not sure about hope. For me it feels illusory. Hope has never been enough so your framing goals pathway and agency seem useful. Particularly the last 2. Goals ? Hmmm… in a world where we don’t have much control even goals seem
Tenuous but maybe it’s just the word that triggers me?! I prefer a broader question: What is mine to do? Or: what is my priority right now? Those questions for me are ones I can form in the present, not an uncertain future so feel more attainable. Then, I think the determining a pathway and reminding myself of my agency work!
Thank you as always for your glimmers and provocation! It’s wonderful to be able to discern our way forward by encouraging each other to think a little more deeply about our lives, times and responses!
I hope you enjoyed your coast trip! The good thing about the Australian bush is it sprouts back and fills out quickly in comparison to US/European forests that have to start again from seed. Things are looking good in all my favourite spots, even though the scars are still clear. I hear you with the word goal - that is the topic of my next post! Great minds think alike :) I’ve been thinking about what I want to achieve this year but been aware that goals are very concrete for uncertain times. Yes it is lovely to be able to bounce ideas around together. :)
I always find it especially touching when people from other countries follow events in the U.S. It's hard to ignore these fires (we hear about them when they happen in Australia too). I also have my own past story when my parent's house burnt down when I was an adult (the one I grew up in). Weirdly, a week before, I had the thought "In this day of better electrical construction who ever gets a house fire these days." I won't go into the details but the whole experience was surreal. You don't realize what you've lost until you realize you've lost it.
Where are you in the US Shelby? Sorry to hear about your Mum’s house - disorienting and scary at any age.
Thank you Gillian. Yep we lived through the 2019,20 fires up here in Northern Rivers NSW. I tell people the National and State Parks that surrounds here are beautiful..."except when they are on fire". We made it OK..the fire got within a kilometre. Certainly focused our attention! My glimer...beautiful summer rains...lots of them here. It is green, green, green. So beautiful.
Hi Ian, so glad it is green your way and no fires on the horizon! The years since 2020 have been uncharacteristically wet here - we are still mostly green too, which isn’t usual :)
Thank you for sharing this. Your Goals/Pathways/Agency graphic gave me a lot to think about.
You are welcome Sydney, glad it feels useful. If you want to dive deeper listen to Chan Hellman's TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/chan_hellman_the_science_and_power_of_hope