A Shared Story Of Resilient Hope

Martin Seligman the psychologist speaks of a term he calls man’s “learned helplessness” – a fitting description apt for these times. We are, at home again. My goal is to use the energy for good – to not give in to anxiety but rather in this time of constantly shifting uncertainty, to keep bouncing forward. And this is the focus of this post, to spread that intention in this mycelia-like social network. My drumbeat (if you want to skip the read and jump straight to the point): Denial, apathy, and depression are not our friends – they do not help us thrive, instead they only increase our assumed powerlessness. Sometimes knowing what is not the way, helps us better define the right path.

We need applied hopefulness not learnt helplessness. Deep intentional attention to what we want rather than what we fear. To lean into the moment (again) and respond with creativity, courage and always with compassionate care for others. We are interconnected. Each of us has a ripple effect in the gigantic pond of life. We are each parts in a much bigger beautiful system. Perhaps we are invited at this crossroads to choose what matters most to us and to keep going, moving forwards with focused intention and purpose. The power of the will to begin the journey towards our preferred futures. To keep (as brilliant positive psychologist and resilience teacher Chris Johnstone calls) our water level high, double down our strengths and deal with difficult times resiliently. Our collective objective, to move towards better shared positive outcomes and navigate through paths of chaos – keeping our mood in check. Our mission: Stay motivated to participate in a bigger story of the collective and flourish. 

This is a reminder to stay positive and keep our mental health strong. We will get through this turning point in history, we will recover. We get to intentionally choose change over crisis to come back empowered, to return better than we came. We get to shift our belief and choose to chart a course for good. Our individual actions make a difference and can enliven others in hard times. This is the cycle model and we can learn from it. Nodes in the network as the wonderful teacher Gordon White says.

Photo of glass of water by Manu Schwendener on Unsplash

Is this glass half-empty or half-full? All depends on your perspective and your choice.

When we get bad news, we must face it, with what Dr. Chris Johnstone and Joanna Macy call “active hope”. In this decision, we move beyond resignation or grief and take action that feels focused, healthy and life affirming - despite the seeming adversity and darkness of the world. We can choose to keep growing. We are one species on a shared planet in a bigger interlinked planetary system, our healing is by the whole and the many not the individual or the one. We can’t avoid this corona-time, but we can move through it. We can choose how we will steer the boat, plan for the voyage, grow our capacity, condition ourselves with deep adaptation to expect the unexpected and stoically face it - seeding new possible and probable futures. Our greatest power is the one we choose.

What would a story of turning towards my hopes look like here?

Resilience trainer Chris Johnstone invites us to ask: What would a story of turning towards my hopes look like here? We make that distinction and define it, then we move in that direction which helps shape our next decisions and choices in the road. We are all on this mad adventure of human life in the 21st century. We can all co-design a new story of collective recovery, this is our shamanic-like medicine. It is an epic plot for sure with all this covid craziness, but – like a hologram – the whole story is to be found in each little step. We get to catch a ride to a shared vision for humanity. We all have parts to play in a big system.

Practical pragmatic responses to help care for each other in uncertain times: this is a useful model of self-help and community activism to embrace. Deep resilient hope is a radical choice, a daily choice – like showering or brushing our teeth. When executed effectively, perhaps a transformational one. A metamorphosis, rather than mere incremental evolution.

Discomfort then, can be motivating. Pain, once acknowledged, pushes us to create a new response and generate different results, perhaps ones we would otherwise never have knowingly identified. Every negative has the counter-balance potential of a new positive emerging - or as father of the Permaculture movement Bill Mollison said, the problem is the solution. This may sound absurd but it's the key principle of Permaculture design - we must look to turn our problems into solutions. This is also a founding precept of Positivism.

The problem is the solution.

We are invited to reframe the problem here. Let us coach ourselves better, be fertile with hope, fecund with positivity, connect to each other, rediscover nourishing practice to self-soothe, seek a regenerative approach to life and hold witness to something better growing under the weird 2021 soil. Something better down below, a seedling from the earth emerges.

The journey quest, the mission, the call that sounds out to us is simple: Write a new story of this time - one with a better collective outcome. Imagine it. Then go live it out. But unlike a monomyth, this call and journey has evolved from the classic heroic one. This call is for non-heroes, a non heroic plot - but adventure none the less, a collective co-created narrative.

Non-heroism happens in everyday life, with all of the imperfections and incompleteness that are simply part of being human. … Non-heroic undertakings need not be grandiose to make a profound difference.

Carol Sanford in her book The Regenerative Life, says: "Non-heroism happens in everyday life, with all of the imperfections and incompleteness that are simply part of being human. … Non-heroic undertakings need not be grandiose to make a profound difference."

Photo of story by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash

Calling All the Non-Heroes: Let's stay together on this path to a better shared future. A real magic one. 

The non-heroic path (as I've learnt through discovering this work via Rune Soup) is a journey. We each play our role in the story of change to script new shared destiny into life. Let's write a better resilience story for our time. Together, with hope. 

Resilience Magic can make miracles.

(P.S. Happy Mercury Retrograde today folks! My little weekend blogging is homage to great Hermes. Remember, it only looks like he's going backwards from our/earth's point of view - it's an illusion, he' not changed direction at all but it's a tricker's astrological slight of hand, a zodiac misdirection. In reality he's just so far ahead, he 'appears' to be behind. What a great magician you are dear great Mercury!)