I do feel that as a citizen I have some level of duty to know what is going on in my country and around the world. But I almost have to brace myself before opening the paper or switching on the six o’clock news.  My newspaper is on-line so I often scroll quickly through the various headlines picking out things I might like to know about in more detail and skimming over items where a headline really is sufficient.  What most of these articles have in common is their ability to invoke  fear and despair.  It would seem that we are in a mess. We have a worldwide pandemic which continues to kill. We have a meltdown in Afghanistan and tensions across the Middle East. We have global warming; fire and flood. We have millions of displaced persons across the globe, many fleeing war, terror and dictators. We hear of the decline of the West and the rise of the East and fear cyberattacks on our networks, financial and defence systems. Then we discover at home that we do  not have enough people willing or able to pick pumpkins or work more generally on the land or in low paid occupations. There is a shortage of HGV drivers  and millions waiting for operations on the HNS. Oh…..and the care system needs reform as does the education system and we seem to have a rise in mental health problems.  One article this week told how Covid infection rates were beginning to rise again followed but the question “how worried should we be?”

And there lies the rub!  How worried should we be?  Perhaps one answer is that we should be very worried. I heard a lady from Extinction Rebellion speaking on the radio yesterday. She was very fired up about the need to protest arguing that as they have taken more direct action their membership rate has increased.  Yet I didn’t feel any desire to join her on the streets. I know there is a place for protest but part of me shies away from it. Yes, governments do need to take action on climate change and arguably across the globe not enough is being done but I can’t help but feel the change that is needed is so much deeper and more fundamental. You can’t bring about change using the same mind set that created the problems in the first place. I think so many of our global problems stem from greed and from fear itself: fear of ‘the other’ who becomes the enemy, fear of losing what you have, fear of alienation, fear of death.  Over the years the ‘West’ has sought to impose its power and values on the rest of the world.  I know it has become fashionable to knock our colonial past and it is fair to say that we brought about many good and innovative systems alongside the oppressive. But nonetheless the dominant idea has been that we must act in the best interests of our own country and culture irrespective of the cost to other people or the planet.  And we fear loss of power. Of course this belief is not unique to the West and has been the conscious state of most of humanity for centuries. Perhaps the chickens are coming home to roost!

The problem is that in the face of all these issues we can feel powerless. We witness the scenes from Afghanistan and our hearts are filled with compassion for the suffering. We ask how can this be?  Where does the blame lie? What can be done?  But the answers are complex and the roots of the problem deep. As individuals it can seem that there is very little we can do beyond giving a donation of some kind. 

But the argument I want to make is that we might need to become more consciously aware of the choices we make and the actions we take. Although governments matter so do individual actions however small.  We need to be aware of when fear is our dominant motivator. If fear is one of the root causes of our problems then it cannot be part of the solution.  Fear is at the root of many of the mental health issues faced by so many. I speak with people every week who have poor sleep related to an inability to stop overthinking and worrying. 

Worrying is fine if at its conclusion action is taken. But worrying about things you cannot change and which exist only as mental possibilities is bad for your own mental health and contributes to the state of global angst.  The shift we need is from fear to love. There can be power in the smallest of acts. So the gardener who cares for her allotment because she loves it and grows her flowers and vegetables with care and attention is contributing to the well-being of the planet.   The person who keeps an eye out for a lonely neighbour providing a friendly hello or a cup of tea is contributing to the well-being of the planet. The man who sets up a collection to take clothes to refugees arriving from Afghanistan is contributing to the well-being of the planet.   All these acts are rooted in love. There are an infinite number of ways in which individuals can show love and care for each other and the planet, most of them being very quiet and largely unnoticed.  I always liked the idea of finding good things to do for other people but without being found out.  I do believe it matters, and in the face of the enormity of the world situation we can find our own power and purpose in small acts of love and kindness. So whilst I am continually saddened by what I see and read, this is only part of the story of our world.  The blackberries are still ripening on my evening walk, the dogs I pass still lick my hand and my cats curl up beside me on the bed. There is love and beauty all around we just forget to appreciate it. So I will do what I can…….but I’m not going to worry!!