There’s a lot going on at the moment and the world feels a little dark. If you’re feeling anxious or depressed, it’s understandable, but there are little things we can do to make things lighter.
The other day I was listening to the radio news in my car and the top three stories were the American Supreme Court abortion decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the war in Ukraine, and the spread of monkeypox.
To be specific, the news announcer gave the details of what the Supreme Court decision would mean for women seeking abortions in the United States and finished by saying that the court may overturn laws allowing gay marriage. Then, the story about the war in Ukraine ended with an interview with an expert who said the war was unlikely to end anytime soon. Finally, the monkeypox story said the disease was spreading quickly and had tripled in Europe. That was a lot to take in.
Since then, we’ve heard that yet another COVID-19 wave has already started in B.C., driven by a new Omicron variant that is more transmissible than the last. We’ve heard that B.C. Premier John Horgan is resigning as premier and leader of the NDP, effective this fall and that he won’t be running in the next election. Horgan is the first B.C. premier in decades to not either be defeated in an election or leave under a cloud of scandal or public mistrust. He’s recently been through his second cancer diagnosis and treatment, so one can hardly blame him for wanting to spend more time enjoying himself and less time in politics, particularly given the storms coming up. He’s already led us through COVID-19, devastating climate-change fueled wildfire seasons and flooding that destroyed highways, and the discovery that money laundering is rampant in the province. That’s enough for any leader to face and despite all of that, Horgan remains one of the country’s most popular premiers, never dipping below a 43 per cent approval rate, according to pollster Angus Reid.
Meanwhile, inflation is running rampant, which anyone who has bought groceries lately will have noticed. There’s a housing crisis of unprecedented proportions and an opioid crisis causing deaths from poisoned drugs at an unrelenting pace. Interest rates are going up, so the days of easy money and no-pain borrowing are over, at least for now. Our health care system is struggling under the weight of COVID-19 and staff shortages and burnout. Anyone who wants to travel to take a break from all this reality won’t have an easy time of it. Passport offices are overwhelmed and the airports and airlines are struggling to cope, causing significant travel delays and hassles. And we can’t forget about climate change, with B.C. still recovering from last year’s ravages. Although it’s a cooler summer this year, greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, meaning there is still a reckoning to come.
I can’t remember a time with so much bad news. It’s enough to make even a hardened news junkie like myself want to turn off the TV, hide the newspaper and listen to only music. How are we to cope?
There are two strategies I’ve learned that can help. The first is to focus on the present moment. Most of the time, the present moment is okay. We are safe, housed, fed and loved. If that’s not the case for you, take action and ask for help to try to make it so.
If your basic needs are taken care of, you’re in a good position to try the second coping strategy, which is to take action. Taking action, particularly when that action is helping someone else, is a great way to get out of your head and start acting with your heart.
Taking action can seem overwhelming. Trying to fix climate change or stop the opioid crisis is too much – no one person can solve those problems alone. But there are many small things we can do that will make ourselves feel better and improve life for others.
Worried about climate change? Participate in a shoreline clean up or join an environmentalist group. Want world peace? Start by being peaceful yourself in your relationships with others or volunteering with a peace group. You get the idea. Even if the actions you take lead to only small changes, they will make a difference and you never know who or what you might inspire through your small steps. The biggest changes have to start somewhere, why not with you?
Tracy Sherlock is a freelance journalist who writes about education and social issues. Read her blog or email her [email protected].
