Quite brilliant as always and reflects my view toward our human nature in a manner that is beyond my capabilities. As a pubic person, I have come to focus on my soul- engaging in my work in a manner that feeds my soul - not the insecure need for headlines that rarely reflect the truth. I know who in am and those who know me are also aware. I am over the moon at the progress we have made and get up every day after solving a big problem to the not so positive side of our nature, where headline grabbers find something new to belly ache about. The color of lipstick or a computer that takes 2 seconds to load.
You are right about certain aspects of our nature, but each of us can transcend and, as Albert Einstein said in Living Philosophies, “ each of us arrive on this planet earth for a short moment, not knowing why, yet somehow seeming to Devine a purpose”.
Thank you Bob. And yes, so true that we each of us have a choice about how we relate to the world around us and what we chose to attend to and emphasize.
Discovering your work at The Progress Network and other excellent "good news" media organizations (namely Future Crunch / Fix The News) really changed my outlook on the world as a twenty something American.
When I first got exposed to good news compilations (after feeling burned out from the overwhelming negativity of mainstream media / doom inc.), I felt relief. I thought to myself "how wonderful, look at all this good stuff."
Then, after about a month of regularly reading good news newsletters, I thought "This is crazy. They can't keep up this pace. These people are going to run out of good news. There cannot possibly this be much."
Then, a couple months after that, it hit me that the good news was not going to stop, and I just felt angry. I actually could not believe that this much incredible stuff was happening all the time, and all anyone wanted to focus on was a Tesla autopilot crash, or something else way less important than say, the invention of a malaria vaccine, radical progress being made against extreme poverty, the cratering price of solar energy, the astounding victories for human rights happening in many places, etc...
Eventually I got so mad about it that I started collecting stories of progress and interviewing optimists in my home state of New Hampshire, where I live and am thoroughly planted. Now I just get mad when people talk about NH like it's some awful backwater place. At least now with Granite Goodness I have something original and fact oriented with which to respond to those inordinately bearish on NH (which is a surprising amount of Granite Staters actually, nevermind the fact that there was a mass exodus of Massachusites here during covid. I welcome them all!).
Of course most days the work is absolutely joyous, even if a little maddening at times when people don't appreciate how good we have it.
Anyhow thank you for this post, I think it accurately captures how your work makes myself and many others feel. For what it's worth, your approach of being a source of calm electing to stand on a digital street corner while (politely and gently) asking people to calm the fuck down has actually really changed my life for the better.
Thanks btw for recommending my page, that means that world to me!
Wow! This is the first piece of writing that really gives me direction. I love your posts and this one goes in my journal for those days I forget to celebrate all the good. Thank you!
While all you say makes sense, the question becomes point of view. If I am hungry does it really matter if we identify the issue as a distribution problem and not a food problem. If I am unable to get a job because of race or gender discrimination I still do not have a job. If I live in Ukraine, Gaza or was attacked by Hamas terrorists - do I feel progress has been made? If I am a slave laborer mining minerals used in chips do I feel progress has been made? Many of us humans are better off than we would be in the dark ages, but it still does not mean for way too many it is really, really dark. So, I am Mad As Hell that we still have a hoarding problem, that we still have not solved the distribution problem. That too many of us allow racism. We still allow poverty. We still allow abuse of our nature. That we still allow guns in our world. That we still allow nations to kill children and innocents....
They say that until the capitalist system collapses nothing will happen. If you are mad as hell at the way the world thinks or feels about itself, then how will you feel after a total break with the past, as the entire modern system fall and 90% of us are wiped out along with many non-human species of worth
Preach, Zachary!! I’m with you. I’ve lost some friendships because of friends who couldn’t get out of a negative doom spiral, always looking at the worst of things in a binary way without willingness to hold the complexity and nuance, let alone the true scope of progress even amidst continued struggles
In a sense, I hope this attitude spreads, but I gave up actively trying to change others quite a while ago. I still get mad when I meet people who seem hell bent on living in a world where they have no right to exist (because they’ve committed the sin of being a Horribe, Bad, No Good At All, Human and everything is going to hell) but all I can do is change myself to never ever be that kind of person anymore and hope that someone eventually catches on. I don’t do gratitude (too religious), but I appreciate the hell out of everything - including being a human and how absolutely marvelous we are when at our best. I think what you’ll notice though is that when you actively and truly step out of the doom and gloom, you have to start thinking for yourself… and sometimes you really have to step out of the mainstream and orthodox. This happened to me on quite a couple of issues where, once I was looking at things from a vantage point of possibilities and less doomerism, what seemed to me previously like a logical and sound conclusion was now so very evidently affected by the zeitgeist. I’m intentionally cryptic because you really have to question some holy cows.
Men Against Domestication! Stay wild my friend.
To focus on the positive rather than the negative, the practice of gratitude, is a worthwhile orientation. I'm on board!
thanks I needed that ,,,
excellent
Quite brilliant as always and reflects my view toward our human nature in a manner that is beyond my capabilities. As a pubic person, I have come to focus on my soul- engaging in my work in a manner that feeds my soul - not the insecure need for headlines that rarely reflect the truth. I know who in am and those who know me are also aware. I am over the moon at the progress we have made and get up every day after solving a big problem to the not so positive side of our nature, where headline grabbers find something new to belly ache about. The color of lipstick or a computer that takes 2 seconds to load.
You are right about certain aspects of our nature, but each of us can transcend and, as Albert Einstein said in Living Philosophies, “ each of us arrive on this planet earth for a short moment, not knowing why, yet somehow seeming to Devine a purpose”.
Thank you Bob. And yes, so true that we each of us have a choice about how we relate to the world around us and what we chose to attend to and emphasize.
Love this.
Discovering your work at The Progress Network and other excellent "good news" media organizations (namely Future Crunch / Fix The News) really changed my outlook on the world as a twenty something American.
When I first got exposed to good news compilations (after feeling burned out from the overwhelming negativity of mainstream media / doom inc.), I felt relief. I thought to myself "how wonderful, look at all this good stuff."
Then, after about a month of regularly reading good news newsletters, I thought "This is crazy. They can't keep up this pace. These people are going to run out of good news. There cannot possibly this be much."
Then, a couple months after that, it hit me that the good news was not going to stop, and I just felt angry. I actually could not believe that this much incredible stuff was happening all the time, and all anyone wanted to focus on was a Tesla autopilot crash, or something else way less important than say, the invention of a malaria vaccine, radical progress being made against extreme poverty, the cratering price of solar energy, the astounding victories for human rights happening in many places, etc...
Eventually I got so mad about it that I started collecting stories of progress and interviewing optimists in my home state of New Hampshire, where I live and am thoroughly planted. Now I just get mad when people talk about NH like it's some awful backwater place. At least now with Granite Goodness I have something original and fact oriented with which to respond to those inordinately bearish on NH (which is a surprising amount of Granite Staters actually, nevermind the fact that there was a mass exodus of Massachusites here during covid. I welcome them all!).
Of course most days the work is absolutely joyous, even if a little maddening at times when people don't appreciate how good we have it.
Anyhow thank you for this post, I think it accurately captures how your work makes myself and many others feel. For what it's worth, your approach of being a source of calm electing to stand on a digital street corner while (politely and gently) asking people to calm the fuck down has actually really changed my life for the better.
Thanks btw for recommending my page, that means that world to me!
-Andy
A very touching and gracious note. Thank you Andy
Thank you!!! If you're ever in NH know you'd be a welcome and honored guest at our farm : )
I share the progress network newsletter with my family every week and now they're all catching the optimism bug-- it's infectious!
Keep up the great work
To focus on the positive rather than the negative, the practice of gratitude, is a worthwhile orientation. I'm on board!
Thank you David
Wow! This is the first piece of writing that really gives me direction. I love your posts and this one goes in my journal for those days I forget to celebrate all the good. Thank you!
Thank you Shannon
Okay. This was the one that turned me into a paid subscriber. Thanks. I really needed this.
Thanks Rebecca
While all you say makes sense, the question becomes point of view. If I am hungry does it really matter if we identify the issue as a distribution problem and not a food problem. If I am unable to get a job because of race or gender discrimination I still do not have a job. If I live in Ukraine, Gaza or was attacked by Hamas terrorists - do I feel progress has been made? If I am a slave laborer mining minerals used in chips do I feel progress has been made? Many of us humans are better off than we would be in the dark ages, but it still does not mean for way too many it is really, really dark. So, I am Mad As Hell that we still have a hoarding problem, that we still have not solved the distribution problem. That too many of us allow racism. We still allow poverty. We still allow abuse of our nature. That we still allow guns in our world. That we still allow nations to kill children and innocents....
Fair enough, and yes, there is very much an open question of whether the reasons for continued issues matter as much as the fact that they do.
Appreciate the reply
Well written, thank you!
They say that until the capitalist system collapses nothing will happen. If you are mad as hell at the way the world thinks or feels about itself, then how will you feel after a total break with the past, as the entire modern system fall and 90% of us are wiped out along with many non-human species of worth
Preach, Zachary!! I’m with you. I’ve lost some friendships because of friends who couldn’t get out of a negative doom spiral, always looking at the worst of things in a binary way without willingness to hold the complexity and nuance, let alone the true scope of progress even amidst continued struggles
In a sense, I hope this attitude spreads, but I gave up actively trying to change others quite a while ago. I still get mad when I meet people who seem hell bent on living in a world where they have no right to exist (because they’ve committed the sin of being a Horribe, Bad, No Good At All, Human and everything is going to hell) but all I can do is change myself to never ever be that kind of person anymore and hope that someone eventually catches on. I don’t do gratitude (too religious), but I appreciate the hell out of everything - including being a human and how absolutely marvelous we are when at our best. I think what you’ll notice though is that when you actively and truly step out of the doom and gloom, you have to start thinking for yourself… and sometimes you really have to step out of the mainstream and orthodox. This happened to me on quite a couple of issues where, once I was looking at things from a vantage point of possibilities and less doomerism, what seemed to me previously like a logical and sound conclusion was now so very evidently affected by the zeitgeist. I’m intentionally cryptic because you really have to question some holy cows.
Good on you! That vacation did you some good after all!
Beautiful, important column, Zachary !
Thanks Elaine