So writing about positivity can be really tricky. I mean I have always tried to live my life looking at the bright side, arguing that I can find the beauty in anything. And I’m actually really good at it, I’ve been known among my friends as someone who can always find at least one nice thing to say about someone else. And cuz two things can be true, (does it seem to anyone else that people tend to forget this a lot these days?) sometimes things are so hard and I just want to (and sometimes will) go rock in a corner or crawl into bed until I can face the world again. I’ve yelled at people who definitely did not deserve to be yelled at, rolled my eyes at countless people in the produce department of countless grocery stores, and talked some serious shit about people I disagree with. And that’s ok. That’s what I really want to talk about – it’s ok for things to knock the wind out of you, for life to hold you down until you call uncle. What’s not ok is letting that be the last thing you do. We must pick ourselves up and get back in the game, nothing gets better by rolling over and waving the white flag. You can be wobbly, it can look ugly, you can be scared to death, but you get up because you matter, your people matter, your life makes a difference.

I am so incredibly lucky to know a lot of young people and even more lucky to have some of them trust me enough to share thoughts and feelings with me. It’s not always easy to be young. Figuring out what you stand for, who you are, all the things while still trying to get a date to prom or ace the SAT’s. And then throw in a pandemic, civil unrest and having guns be the number one way your peers are dying. So many of them are spinning – they don’t know what they want to do in a world they don’t believe and feel safe in. How do you find a positive light for them? None of us knows what will happen in the future and even as adults we are thinking things are feeling kinda sketch. Climate change, wars, racism, on and on. It feels unprecedented even if it isn’t.

I’ve looked to history for some solace. If you go back and look at some George Carlin bits, he often talked about government and big business trying to pit us against each other so we don’t have time to notice what they’re actually doing. There’s even an interview from years ago with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson saying the same things. And if we think back in history to things like the Cuban Missile Crisis or President Kennedy’s assassination, we see that stability has never been a guarantee. Or, remember all the brave people in WWII that risked their lives and the lives of their families to do the right thing and help people being persecuted. After 9/11 we started hearing about Mr. Roger’s mom, how she reminded him to “look for the helpers”.  Yes, evil pops its head up and hopes to scare us into submission. But stop and pay attention to the helpers – the people who run into burning buildings, who say yes to hiding families in attics, who stand up to bullies in their schools, their businesses, or their government. These are the majority, even though the media won’t admit it because then no one would be scared enough to listen to them anymore. 

Hold on to the truth that it will all be ok in the end, and until that time comes, find the joy and love and light that are just waiting for people to let go of fear and notice them again. Write, garden, paint, act, code, volunteer, do whatever your gift is that helps you bring light to those around you. Will finding the beauty in life change the world? Maybe not but it will make it a lot harder for the world to change us.