Thinking today about the powerful final paragraphs of this piece from Rebecca Solnit
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Thinking today about the powerful final paragraphs of this piece from Rebecca Solnit:
We can’t afford to be climate doomers | Rebecca Solnit
It often seems that people are searching harder for evidence we’re defeated than that we can win
the Guardian (www.theguardian.com)
❝[P]eople assume you can’t be hopeful and heartbroken at the same time, and of course you can. In times when everything is fine hope is unnecessary. Hope is not happiness or confidence or inner peace; it’s a commitment to search for possibilities. Feelings deserve full respect as feelings, but all they inform you about is you.❞
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❝I don’t know why so many people seem to think it’s their job to spread discouragement, but it seems to be a muddle about the relationship between facts and feelings. I respect despair as an emotion, but not as an analysis.
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[T]he facts tell us that…we have the solutions, that we know what to do, and that the obstacles are political; that when we fight we sometimes win; and that we are deciding the future now.❞2/
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Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell last edited by [email protected]
She was talking about the climate crisis and not this election, but her words still speak to the heart of the present moment:
Hope is not happiness or confidence or inner peace. Hope is a ••commitment to search for possibilities••.
That’s a commitment I intend to keep, no matter what happens next, no matter whether we get the worst outcome or (heaven willing!) the very best.
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ADDENDUM:
Watch this animation from @LilahTovMoon.
“Hope is a commitment to search for possibilities.”
“When we fight, sometimes we win.”
