Drastic change is coming...

Majority of working families are living paycheck to paycheck.

Housing affordability is a common problem among all major US cities.

Childcare costs are extravagant.

Fascism presence in the US is tolerated more and more by day.

The head of the January 6 insurrection is allowed to run for the 2024 election.

Record heat due to climate change.

Right-wing extremism is ubiquitous in many Western countries.

With the war in Ukraine and the war crimes against Gaza, it sounds like World War III is knocking loudly at the door.

To list a few small problems barreling down on us.

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I had to take to my blog to share these stunningly depressing realities. Each of these situations alone are hard topics to grapple with. We have the privilege of having them all coexist 🙃

The truth is, something drastic is going to happen, so that change can be ushered in.

Will there be a civil war?

Will American democracy win the 2024 election?

How much death and harm is required before we change our ways?

What level of destruction does climate change need to do for us to stop our ways of excess?

I think all of these are questions ones that we'll only have answers to after enough time passes. And as depressing as this all is, there's a chance to reframe.

Handling these huge challenges

Although the challenges in front of us seem insurmountable, there's nothing we can do individually to stop them entirely. It sucks.

But we can focus on taking care of the people near us. It's not as satisfying of an answer to hear “let the world burn, but keep your loved ones close,” but this is the situation we're in.

Stressing all of the world's calamities does nothing. From all of the stories and movies of everyday people living through war and historic events, we are getting firsthand experiences with it. Our roles are way more mundane and less spectacular than any Hollywood movie would make you think.

We can't stop the world from burning - but we can minimize how much those near us are singed by the flames.

Lesson that I'm sitting with is “stress less, care more”.