I have this phrase tattooed on my arm and itās in my profile bio. In our current times, so many people are stuck in a place of resignation. They see the harshness and ignorance of the world and go, āThatās just how the world is.ā They are stuck in this narrow, short-sighted view.
While it may be true that the world is full of harshness and ignorance and hurt, we do not need to accept these as a fixed or permanent state ā since no state of being is fixed or permanent. Worlds die and are reborn every day!
Instead, we can invoke the power of our imagination to dream of another world, a better world, with greater compassion, deeper wisdom, and less suffering. We can allow this individual imagination to connect with our collective imagination and allow both to guide our actions.
In this time of polycrisis ā as we face climate change, wars, pandemic, social inequality, the rise of fascistic authoritarianism ā we need our imaginative power now more than ever.
We may never achieve a utopian world but allowing ourselves to stretch our imaginations and dream of a brighter future will create the space necessary for a another world to come into being.
1d ago
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It's easy to watch the bleak horizon, fill your eyes and ears with promises of a grim future, and be fixated on foreboding cultural, social, political likelihoods to the point of being frozen and immobile.
Oftenāat least this has been the case for meāthat fixation on the fear of the future takes me away from possibilities for impact right in front of me. There's need and possibility and hope in my day right now: today I can help one person or do one life-giving deed or affirm kindness in some small way.
One of the 20th century's most impactful warriors against poverty was Mother Teresa. She said: "Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you."
We (you, me, us) are incredibly powerful.
Don't surrender that power by forsaking the now.
Jan 27, 2025
Iām not gonna lie. Things are bad right now. Weāre disconnected from one another and it has fostered a hyper-individualism that borders on solipsism.
Ignorance, greed, and aggression are in good supply but they are also not new. There have always been people whoāve caused harm, but donāt let those people be the only ones who capture your attention and imagination.
There are people taking action every day in both big and small ways. There are people protesting, and fighting legal battles, and driving people to get safe abortions. And there are people who show tenderness to their children when they received none; people who check in on their elderly neighbor; people who give water, food, or money to an unhoused neighbor in need.
There is kindness all around us and itās happening all the time. Donāt lose sight of it and, most importantly, donāt lose hope. Another world is possible.
Art via Landon Sheely
Mar 24, 2025
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But at a personal level thereās so much we can do. Love our families and friends, meet our neighbors, help out in our communities when we can. Spend time out in the world where people interact face to face!
There are rich people, corporations and politicians all over the world that seem hellbent on making our world worse, but on a small scale we can make a difference for each other. We can create reasons for each other to feel hopeful.
This is a strange and frightening time, though. We certainly should be worried.
Apr 6, 2025
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Iām not a parent and do not plan to be. Kids can wear me out fast with their high energy and noise level; it leaves me very over-stimulated. But itās pretty extreme when people say they āhate kidsā and I often feel itās a reflection of their childhood and beliefs around how kids āshould be.ā That they were expected to be quiet, obedient, and out of the way by their parents when they were little.
Itās fucking hard to be a kid. Youāre dealing with a rapidly-changing body and underdeveloped brain, managed by flawed adults who are enforcing boundaries that you do not understand. Itās confusing and hard to manage your feelings and honestly just a lot.
People are impatient with kids when theyāre brand new to the world and figuring it all out, and this is a time kids need a friend the most. Children can also be teachers to adults with how they are less habituated to the world. They teach us how to be free and open-hearted and silly and imaginative.
A good practice is to be kinder and gentler with kids. If that feels difficult, start with gentleness toward your inner child. Maybe thatās the child in your life that needs your attention and kindness most.
3d ago
I meant to post this yesterday. Absolutely beautiful morning for walk.
This morning is also beautiful but in a spring rain kind of way.
Mar 23, 2025
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Prescriptive gender is a prison. Rather than gender being a form of self-expression, gender is treated as a pass/fail test for how well you can conform to cultural expectations.
Since I was young, I remember feeling a great deal of pressure to conform to these expectations around what āmenā are meant to be. You like sports, cars, womanizing, aggression, and not having feelings. I felt so distant from this ideal. I was sensitive and shy, and I preferred spending my time being creative in some way
For a long time, I felt like I was failing at ābeing a man.ā In many ways I was! Because I didnāt need toĀ bea man. All I needed to be was myself.
Itās taken me a long time to separate myself from prescriptive gender, sharpening in on which aspects of masculine energy I identify with and which I donāt. Iām not done yet. Maybe I will never fully be. The self continues to evolve over time, and I suspect aspects of my gender will too.
Mar 15, 2025